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by Kate Woodford

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking to the shops when I slipped and fell on a patch of ice. I got up immediately and was absolutely fine, though of course, rather embarrassed! Later, when telling a friend about my accident, I said I had fallen ‘in a heap’, to convey how heavily I had fallen, the whole of my body landing on the ground. I started thinking about this phrase and all the other ways we talk about falling and thought I’d share my thoughts with you. Continue reading “Stumbling and tumbling (The language of falling)” →

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by Kate Woodford

There’s a nice idiom in English that says before you criticize a person, you should walk a mile in their shoes. In other words, instead of judging someone, you should try to imagine what it’s like to be that person, with all the problems and challenges that they face. The phrase is essentially a call for us to be more empathetic (or empathic), using our imagination and experience to understand other people’s feelings and thoughts. This post looks at the words and phrases we use to talk about and convey empathy. Continue reading “Walk a mile in my shoes (Words about empathy)” →

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by Kate Woodford

This post is for anyone who feels they use the word ‘tired’ too much and is looking for some more interesting and emphatic alternatives. As usual, it will include both single words and phrases. Continue reading “Dog-tired (Ways of saying ‘tired’)” →

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by Kate Woodford

Today’s post looks at the various ways we talk about thinking, in the sense of using our brains to consider or understand something, or to solve a problem or plan something. Continue reading “Pondering, musing, and brooding (The language of thinking)” →

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by Kate Woodford

The theme of today’s blog post may not be exactly cheerful, but you might just find it useful. The subject is death and dying. Whether we like it or not, it’s something that we all talk about at some point in our lives. Continue reading “Talking about death (Part 1)” →