I recently watched a fascinating and shocking TV documentary called ‘Dirty Business’. The subject was the terrible state of the UK’s rivers and seas, and the title has a double meaning. On the one hand, it refers to literal dirt in the water and on the other to apparently unethical practices from both water companies and the UK Environment Agency which should be protecting our water quality. In this post I take a closer look at the way ‘dirty’ is used metaphorically and the words and phrases we often use with it. Continue reading “It’s a dirty business: the metaphorical use of ‘dirty’”→
If, like me, you spent your spare time last month watching the Winter Olympics, you’ll know how exciting it was. I enjoyed everything about it. When I wasn’t watching the events or admiring the fabulous scenery, I was looking at the spectators as they cheered for (=encouraged by shouting at) their country’s sportsmen and women. This post looks at the language we use to describe the behaviour of people who have come together to watch a sports event or an occasion such as a play or concert. Continue reading “Applauding or heckling? (What audiences do)”→
A couple of weeks ago, I was walking to the shops when I slipped and fell on a patch of ice. I got up immediately and was absolutely fine, though of course, rather embarrassed! Later, when telling a friend about my accident, I said I had fallen ‘in a heap’, to convey how heavily I had fallen, the whole of my body landing on the ground. I started thinking about this phrase and all the other ways we talk about falling and thought I’d share my thoughts with you. Continue reading “Stumbling and tumbling (The language of falling)”→
There’s a nice idiom in English that says before you criticize a person, you should walk a mile in their shoes. In other words, instead of judging someone, you should try to imagine what it’s like to be that person, with all the problems and challenges that they face. The phrase is essentially a call for us to be more empathetic (or empathic), using our imagination and experience to understand other people’s feelings and thoughts. This post looks at the words and phrases we use to talk about and convey empathy. Continue reading “Walk a mile in my shoes (Words about empathy)”→
Most readers of this blog will be familiar with the verb throw when it means using your hand and arm to send something such as a ball through the air. Today’s post looks at some of the many ways that this basic sense of ‘throw’ is used in more idiomatic ways, often in fixed or semi-fixed phrases. Continue reading “Throwing a punch or throwing your head back: using the verb ‘throw’”→
This post is for anyone who feels they use the word ‘tired’ too much and is looking for some more interesting and emphatic alternatives. As usual, it will include both single words and phrases. Continue reading “Dog-tired (Ways of saying ‘tired’)”→
In my last post I wrote about hot and warm temperatures. Today’s post looks at vocabulary for things that are colder, again with an emphasis on what each word or phrase can describe.
Something that is cool is quite cold. This is almost always a positive description, especially when it contrasts with something that is too hot:
There was a lovely cool breeze coming from the sea.
If we say that there is a chill – or more informally a nip – in the air, we mean that the weather is rather cold. A person who is very cold might describe themselves as being chilled to the bone. Chilly describes cold places, people or parts of the body, while nippy is used for the weather or the air but not usually people or parts of the body. Neither adjective is very emphatic:
There’s a real chill in the air this morning.
After two hours waiting at the bus stop, I was chilled to the bone.
I was feeling rather chilly.
It’s a bit nippy outside today.
There are several words or phrases for talking about very cold temperatures. A general and very common one is freezing or freezing cold. This can be used for objects, weather and people:
My feet are absolutely freezing!
It was a freezing cold day.
Something that is icy is either covered in ice or extremely cold. This adjective can be used for most things, as can the expressions ice-cold and as cold as ice, which both emphasize extreme coldness. Stone-cold tends to be used rather negatively for something that was once hot or which should be hot:
We shivered in the icy wind.
I’d love an ice-cold drink.
Her hands were as cold as ice.
By then, the soup was stone-cold.
We can say that a place or the weather is bitter or bitterly cold. These words are negative and imply that the cold is painful:
We tried to shelter from the bitter wind.
It was bitterly cold on the mountain.
In extremely cold climates, we may talk about sub-zerotemperatures. Glacial and arctic are also emphatic adjectives for extremely low temperatures:
Parts of the country experienced sub-zero temperatures last night.
Glacial temperatures added to their problems.
The temperature in his room was positively arctic.
Liquids that are only slightly warm may be described as lukewarmor tepid. Both these words usually express disapproval and imply that the thing being described should be hotter:
The food was lukewarm.
The water in the bath was tepid.
I hope these temperature words are useful. Let me know in the comments if you can think of any more!
The theme of today’s blog post may not be exactly cheerful, but you might just find it useful. The subject is death and dying. Whether we like it or not, it’s something that we all talk about at some point in our lives. Continue reading “Talking about death (Part 1)”→
