Author: Liz Walter

Liz Walter is a freelance lexicographer and writer, living in Cambridge, UK. She worked for many years on Cambridge University Press's range of ELT dictionaries and now works with Kate Woodford on dictionaries and other books about the English language. Her other interests include politics, growing vegetables and family holidays in her camper van. She tweets at @LizJWalter
Two businesspeople riding escalators in different directions

Ascending and descending: talking about going up or down

On By Liz WalterIn the English language, Vocabulary2 Comments

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Two businesspeople riding escalators in different directions
Jacobs Stock Photography Ltd / DigitalVision

by Liz Walter

My colleague Kate Woodford recently wrote a post about the stock market, which included several synonyms for going up and going down. The context was of prices, values and amounts, but most of these words can be used very literally for objects as well – prices rise but so do hot-air balloons. This post continues the theme with a few more words for going up and down, some of which are used in rather specific contexts.

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a rooster weathervane against the sky with N, S, E, and W direction points

Up north and down south: prepositions for expressing directions

On By Liz WalterIn the English language, Vocabulary7 Comments

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a rooster weathervane against the sky with N, S, E, and W direction points
Paul Biris / Moment

by Liz Walter

It is very common to use prepositions and preposition-based phrases to talk about where a place is in relation to where you are yourself. This could be within a country, a region or a city.  There are some subtle differences in the way speakers of British and American English do this. In this post, I’ll discuss some of the most common ones.

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coworkers giving each other high fives

Killing two birds with one stone: talking about achievements

On By Liz WalterIn the English language, Vocabulary9 Comments

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coworkers giving each other high fives
Oscar Wong / Moment

by Liz Walter

When my dear Granny had completed a task to her satisfaction, she used to exclaim, ‘That’s a good job jobbed!’ Although she wasn’t the only person to use this phrase, it’s pretty rare, so this post will cover some much more common ways of talking about doing things successfully.

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a football in an undefended goal

Open goals and jumping the gun: more sporting idioms

On By Liz WalterIn Idioms, the English language, VocabularyLeave a comment

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a football in an undefended goal
PeopleImages / iStock / Getty Images Plus

by Liz Walter

My last post looked at idioms that come from the sport of boxing. This post presents some more common sporting idioms. Back in 2019, I wrote about idioms with the word ‘ball’. I won’t repeat those here, but there are plenty of others!

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boxing gloves hanging off a corner post in a boxing ring

The gloves are off: idiomatic phrases from boxing

On By Liz WalterIn Idioms, the English language, Vocabulary7 Comments

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boxing gloves hanging off a corner post in a boxing ring
allanswart / iStock / Getty Images Plus

by Liz Walter

Back in 1974, the world looked on as Muhammed Ali beat the great George Foreman in the thrilling boxing match known as the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. Foreman’s recent death was a reminder of that contest, and also of just how many boxing terms have made their way into general idiomatic use. This post will cover a few of the most common ones.

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A red-carpet walkway with stanchions and velvet ropes on the sides

Anyone who’s anyone: talking about how important people are (2)

On By Liz WalterIn the English language, Vocabulary2 Comments

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A red-carpet walkway with stanchions and velvet ropes on the sides
Patrik Giardino / Stone

by Liz Walter

My last post looked at ways of describing how important someone is in an organization, for example at work or in the armed forces. This post covers some more general ways of talking about how important someone is in a society, or how important other people make them feel.

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wooden figures ascending a stack of wooden blocks, symbolizing climbing up in social or work status

The pecking order: talking about how important people are (1)

On By Liz WalterIn Idioms, Synonyms, the English language, Vocabulary4 Comments

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wooden figures ascending a stack of wooden blocks, symbolizing climbing up in social or work status
Zolak / iStock / Getty Images Plus

by Liz Walter

Zoologists tell us that if you watch a group of chickens, you can place them in order of importance because birds with a high status peck those with a lower status. While humans don’t peck or – usually at any rate – physically harm one another to demonstrate power, we do use the phrase pecking order to talk about social hierarchy, in other words how important one person is in relation to others.

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a bricklayer's hand using a trowel to apply a thick blob of mortar to a wall in construction

Laying it on thick: talking about exaggeration

On By Liz WalterIn the English language, Vocabulary8 Comments

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a bricklayer's hand using a trowel to apply a thick blob of mortar to a wall in construction
Iryna Melnyk / iStock / Getty Images Plus

by Liz Walter

“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times: don’t exaggerate!” So goes the old joke. In general, we disapprove of people who exaggerate, that is, make something seem more extreme than it really is. Today’s post looks at some of the many ways we have of describing this behaviour.

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a paper cup filled with chips (French fries) with ketchup on top and two small forks stuck in them

Cheap as chips: talking about low prices

On By Liz WalterIn Synonyms, the English language10 Comments

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a paper cup filled with chips (French fries) with ketchup on top and two small forks stuck in them
Grant Faint / The Image Bank

by Liz Walter

My last post looked at words and phrases for things that cost a lot of money. Today’s post looks at ways of describing things that don’t cost much.

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A chihuahua wearing a tiara and sitting in a high-end handbag

It costs a fortune: talking about high prices

On By Liz WalterIn Idioms, the English language, Vocabulary11 Comments

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A chihuahua wearing a tiara and sitting in a high-end handbag
JW/LTD / Stone

by Liz Walter

Today’s post and my next one look at words and phrases for talking about how much things cost – a common topic of conversation! This first one looks at words for things with high prices.

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