by Liz Walter
It is natural to want our family and friends to be safe, and this post looks at words connected with being careful – both for advising people to be careful and for describing careful people and actions. Continue reading “Look out! Talking about being careful.”
Today, in the latest of my money-themed posts, I’m looking at money idioms, by which I mean idioms that say something about money (and not idioms about other subjects that feature the words ‘penny’, ‘money’, ‘coin’ etc.). There are lots of money idioms so this is Part 1 and we’ll publish Part 2 in a couple of weeks. Continue reading “Paying through the nose and pushing the boat out (Money Idioms, Part 1)”
by Liz Walter
You will probably already know several ways to express your opinions in English. This post is about something different: the words we use with the noun opinion – in other words, its collocations. Continue reading “Conflicting, positive or strongly held? Using the word ‘opinion’”
chauffeur mum noun [C]
UK /ˈʃəʊ.fə ˌmʌm/ US /ʃoʊˈfɝː ˌmʌm/
a mother who lives in an area with little or no public transport and spends a lot of time driving her children to and from school and other places
Chauffeur mums are a well-known Australian phenomenon. A lack of convenient transport options coupled with gendered roles has made many suburban women (and their children) car-dependent, whether they like it or not. And, more often than not, the demands of household chores and child rearing fall more heavily on women.
[theguardian.com, 8 November 2022]
sittervising noun [U]
UK /ˈsɪt.ə.vaɪ.zɪŋ/ US /ˈsɪt̬.ɚ.vaɪ.zɪŋ/
the activity of watching your children while they play on their own
Sittervising may sound obvious once you realize what it is (sitting while supervising your kids). But think about it: How often do you sit on the park bench while your child plays on the playground? Exactly. The goal of sittervising is to let your kids hang independently while you take a minute (or two) to yourself.
[theskimm.com, 31 August 2022]
jellyfish parent noun [C]
UK /ˈdʒel.i.fɪʃ ˌpeə.rᵊnt/ US /ˈdʒel.i.fɪʃ ˌper.ᵊnt/
a mother or father who is not very strict with their children and often spoils them
Other styles of parenting have been developed over the years inspired by animals: jellyfish parents are more lenient and permissive in their parenting. They have few rules for their children and can often overindulge them. Studies have shown that children raised by jellyfish parents show a lack of impulse control. Jellyfish parents prioritise connection and love over setting rules and boundaries. They very rarely use punishments to discipline their children.
[twinkl.com, 27 April 2022]
Last month I wrote a post on words and phrases used to talk about our money habits. Continuing with the money theme, I’m looking this week at verbs and verb phrases for spending money. Continue reading “Skimping and splurging (Verbs for spending money)”
by Liz Walter
My last post looked at some meanings of the word way and how to avoid common mistakes when using it. This post will look at just a few of the very many useful phrases that contain way. Continue reading “No way! Using the word ‘way’ (2)”
Would you describe yourself as careful with money or are you a big spender? Today’s post considers the language we use to talk about our money habits. Continue reading “Spendthrifts and skinflints (The language of how we spend)”
by Liz Walter
According to the Cambridge International Corpus, we use the word way 848 times in every million words, making it extremely common (by contrast, method comes up 65 times per million). Continue reading “Is this the way? Using the word ‘way’ (1)”
In a supermarket last week, I heard a mother telling her child not to be naughty. Naughty is, of course, a word usually used for (badly behaved) children rather than adults. It made me think about other words that we use mainly for children, and I thought the subject would make an interesting post. Continue reading “Telltales and fidgets (Words that we use for children)”
by Liz Walter
My last post looked at linkers that express the contrast between ideas. This post covers linkers for adding extra information, showing the reason for something, and showing things in sequence. Continue reading “Moreover, consequently and therefore: ways to link ideas (2)”