I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher, and this time we’re going backwards, linguistically at least! Let’s explore some interesting “reverse” words and terms that have caught my eye recently. Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Reverse”
by Kate Woodford
It will come as no surprise to you that an aspect of the human body as important and visible as hair features in a lot of English idioms. Today I’m going to look at a selection of these phrases that feature in contemporary English. Continue reading “I’m tearing my hair out here! Hair idioms”
Listen to the author reading this blog post.
by Liz Walter
It can be tricky to use just the right words when we invite someone to come to our home or to do something with us. We probably want to make them feel welcome but at the same time give them the opportunity to refuse the invitation if they aren’t keen. Today’s post looks at some phrases we use to do this. Continue reading “Are you free on Saturday? Phrases for invitations.”
Listen to the author reading this blog post.
by Kate Woodford
Last month, I published a post on idioms connected with man’s best friend (=the dog). When I researched the piece, I found that there were more frequent and useful canine idioms than I was expecting, so here is a second post on the subject. As well as idioms containing the word ‘dog’, I have included a few that feature dog-related vocabulary. I hope you learn a phrase or two from it! Continue reading “You’re barking up the wrong tree! (Dog idioms, Part 2)”
Listen to the author reading this blog post.
by Liz Walter
My last post focused on words connected to fire and burning. Many of these words and phrases are also used in metaphorical or idiomatic ways, and today’s post discusses this aspect of them. Continue reading “Fanning the flames: idiomatic language connected to fire”
I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher, and these are the words I’ve been watching.
What does the word “holiday” make you think of? Sightseeing and souvenir shopping? Lying on a beach? Actually, these days we’re finding all sorts of interesting ways to spend our precious time off. So let’s broaden our horizons in this post and look at some of the new types of holiday that have caught my eye recently. Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Holidays”
Listen to the author reading this blog post.
by Kate Woodford
The dog is sometimes referred to in English as man’s best friend, reflecting our close relationship with this remarkable animal. In the past, we used dogs to protect ourselves against predators. Nowadays, they perform all manner of roles for us, including herding farm animals, assisting in police work, and helping people with disabilities. And of course, many of us keep dogs as companions. It’s no surprise, then, that the word ‘dog’ features in a great many English idioms, (though it seems rather unfair that so many of these phrases have negative meanings!) This post and my next look at some of the most frequent and useful dog idioms. Continue reading “There’s life in the old dog yet! (Dog idioms, part 1)”
Listen to the author reading this blog post.
by Liz Walter
Today’s post looks at words connected with fire and burning. As well as looking at words for different types of fire, I’ll cover some common collocations (words that go together) that we use when we talk about fire, several of which would not be possible to guess. Continue reading “Bursting into flames: talking about fire”
Listen to the author reading this blog post.
by Kate Woodford
Today I’m looking at idioms and expressions from a range of national newspapers that were published on the same day. I do this every few months as a way of providing you with up-to-date, frequently used idioms. Continue reading “Biding your time and bottling it (Newspaper idioms)”
Listen to the author reading this blog post.
by Liz Walter
The simple verb hit forms part of a surprisingly large number of idioms with very varied meanings. Today’s post looks at some of the most useful of these. Continue reading “Hitting the nail on the head: idioms with ‘hit’”