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Readers of our About Words blog often ask us for posts on currently used English idioms. One way that we make sure we give you up-to-date idioms is by looking at expressions used in current newspapers. This week, the idioms come from a range of national newspapers that were published on 5 October 2023. Continue reading “The calm before the storm (Newspaper idioms)”
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Today’s post is the latest in my ‘newspaper idioms and phrases’ series. The aim of this series is to keep you supplied with up-to-date, frequent English idioms. As with previous ‘newspaper idioms’ posts, these expressions all come from a range of national newspapers published on the same day. Continue reading “A flash in the pan (Newspaper idioms)”
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by Liz Walter
My last post was on phrases containing the verb ‘talk’. This one looks at some phrases with the related words ‘speak’ and ‘say’. Continue reading “You’re speaking my language! Phrases with the verbs ‘speak’ and ‘say’”
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by Liz Walter
My last two posts (Verbs to use instead of ‘say’ and Using animal noises to show human emotions) have been about verbs that describe the way people speak. In this post and the next one, I’ll be looking at some useful phrases that actually contain the verbs talk, speak, and say. Continue reading “Now you’re talking! Phrases with the verb ‘talk’”
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In a recent post, I looked at phrases containing the word ‘day’, most of which relate in some way to time. Today, I’m considering frequent idioms that feature the word ‘day’. In many of these, the original meaning of ‘day’ isn’t quite as obvious. Continue reading “At the end of the day (Phrases with ‘day’, Part 2)”
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The word ‘day’ features in a lot of commonly used phrases and idioms so I thought I’d take a look at the most useful ones. This post focuses mainly on phrases rather than idioms. Continue reading “From one day to the next (Phrases with ‘day’, Part 1)”
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by Liz Walter
My last post was on the topic of bravery, so by way of a contrast, this one looks at words and phrases connected with the opposite. The most common word for someone who isn’t brave is coward. The related adjective is cowardly (one of those rare adjectives that ends in -ly) and the noun is cowardice: Continue reading “Wimps and scaredy-cats: talking about people who are not brave”
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A friend recently told me that she needed a new sofa. Her current one, she said, ‘had seen better days’, meaning that it was clearly old and damaged. This nice idiom (‘have seen better days’) got me thinking about the many ways we describe the condition of objects, both good and bad. This post, in two parts and covering both single words and phrases, is the result of this. Continue reading “On its last legs (Describing the condition of objects, Part 1)”
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Today’s post is the latest in my ‘Idioms and phrases in newspapers’ series, which I write in order to provide you with a regular supply of contemporary, frequently used English idioms and phrases. The expressions all come from a range of national newspapers that were published on the same day. Continue reading “Calling it quits and pitting your wits! (Idioms and phrases in newspapers)”
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My last blog post looked at adjectives used to describe things that are unusual or in some way different. In today’s post, I focus on idioms and phrases in this area. Continue reading “Out of the ordinary: ways of saying that something is unusual (2)”