by Liz Walter
11 February is the UN’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and, as a small contribution to this important topic, today’s post is all about science words. Of course, this is a vast field, but I have picked out a few key terms from the areas of biology, chemistry and physics, which I hope will be useful. Continue reading “Genes, molecules and momentum: talking about science”
digi-dog noun [C]
UK /ˈdɪdʒ.ɪ.dɒg/ US /ˈdɪdʒ.ɪ.dɑːg/
a dog trained by the police to use its sense of smell to find digital devices that have been used by criminals
Whether it’s a Sim card from a drug gang’s burner phone, a key fob for a getaway car, a terrorist’s mobile phone [or] a laptop in a fraud case … Jake and his fellow “digi-dogs” can sniff it out. “On every digital storage device there is a chemical that has a very specific scent,” explains the instructor, one of three dog handlers who have been spearheading the Met’s digi-dog training scheme.
[thetimes.co.uk, 12 December 2021]
shellfish hotel noun [C]
UK /ˈʃel.fɪʃ həʊˈtel/ US /ˈʃel.fɪʃ hoʊˈtel/
a place where shellfish that will be sold for food are kept in conditions that are as close as possible to the natural environment where they usually live
Not just a restaurant, Hackney’s The Sea, The Sea is also a seafood processing lab … On site are live lobster and crab, housed in a high-tech “shellfish hotel” made up of specialist filtration tanks that mimic their natural habitat as closely as possible, keeping these delicious decapods relaxed and serene.
[globetrender.com, 23 September 2021]
flockdown noun [U, C]
UK /ˈflɒk.daʊn/ US /ˈflɑːk.daʊn/
a period of time in which captive birds, especially chickens, must be kept indoors to stop avian flu from spreading
UK birds to enter “flockdown” in response to bird flu threat. UK-wide housing measures will be introduced to protect poultry and captive birds against avian influenza, the Chief Veterinary Officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have agreed.
[Farmers Guardian, 24 November 2021]
by Liz Walter
My last post looked at the basic building blocks of first, second and third conditionals. This post gives a little bit more detail about common variations we can use. Continue reading “Unless you leave now… : Using conditionals (2)”
This week I’m looking at the language we use to describe how people express (or don’t express!) emotions. It’s an interesting area with a range of words and phrases so I’ll present the information in two parts, Part 1 and Part 2. Continue reading “Express yourself! (Showing and not showing emotions, Part 1)”
by Liz Walter
We use conditional sentences to talk about what will, might or could happen in various circumstances. There are three main conditionals which we call first, second and third. This post is intended as a brief reminder of how we choose which conditionals to use, and how we form them. Continue reading “If I had a million dollars: Using conditionals (1)”
Each year in January, the Education World Forum brings together delegates from all over the world to discuss the future of education. To mark this important annual event, we thought we’d take a look at some useful words related to learning. Continue reading “Learning by heart and cramming (Learning words)”
by Liz Walter
The English philosopher George Henry Lewes said ‘We must not assume that which is incapable of proof.’ Certainly, proof and evidence have an important role in many areas of our lives, so it is not surprising that there is a lot of vocabulary related to these concepts. Continue reading “Conclusive or anecdotal? Talking about evidence and proof.”
In previous posts in this thread, we looked at nouns, verbs and phrasal verbs meaning ‘success’ and ‘succeed’. In this post, we focus on idioms in this area. Continue reading “Going from strength to strength (The language of success, Part 3)”
by Liz Walter
Family is important to most cultures at this time of year, so this post looks at the way we describe family relationships. I’m going to assume that you already know the basic family words such as aunt, grandmother, cousin and nephew and concentrate on some more interesting terms. Continue reading “Siblings and in-laws: talking about family relationships”
resimercial adjective
UK /ˌrez.ɪ.ˈmɜː.ʃᵊl/ US /ˌrez.ə.ˈmɝː.ʃᵊl/
A resimercial office combines elements of “residential” and “commercial”, with comfortable furniture and design that makes it look more like a room in a home.
Remote work has been extremely stressful for many people but others have grown accustomed to certain domestic comforts … An office-furniture dealer told me that some employers are aware of this. “How do we bridge that gap [and] bring people back to the office? Maybe if we design it in a way that is more resimercial, more homey, they’ll feel a little bit more comfortable in coming back and using the space,” he said.
[theatlantic.com, 21 September 2021]
broken plan adjective
UK /ˌbrəʊ.kᵊn.ˈplæn/ US /ˌbroʊ.kᵊn.ˈplæn/
A broken plan room or space is divided into smaller areas for different activities.
For years the trend of open plan living has reigned supreme, yet a new contender is entering the ring – broken plan living. A twist on open plan, broken plan retains that sense of openness, while also offering more privacy and cosy nooks. It’s a chance to get creative with your home, allowing you to play with shelves, partitions, and even half walls … You don’t need to undertake a massive renovation project to achieve a broken plan space. If you already enjoy an open layout, but you want to divide up space, get creative with your furniture.
[resi.co.uk, 11 March 2021]
probiotic architecture noun [U]
UK /ˌprəʊ.baɪˈɒt.ɪk.ˈɑː.kɪ.tek.tʃəʳ/ US /ˌproʊ.baɪˈɑː.t̬ɪk.ˈɑːr.kə.tek.tʃɚ/
the practice of designing and making buildings that can host certain types of bacteria that help keep people healthy
Richard Beckett is a researcher working in bio-augmented design … His vision is to create buildings which – like the human body – could allow specific microbial communities (also known as ‘the microbiome’) to grow on them and in turn help us to fight infectious disease … He calls the concept “probiotic architecture”. “These indoor microbiomes can influence our health,” says Richard, “and I’m interested in how we might design buildings and their microbiomes to make buildings healthy and more resilient.”
[ribaj.com, 19 January 2021]