a person's hand reaching out to take one slice from a pie chart made up of five coloured segments: red, white, green, yellow and blue

Obtaining information and deriving satisfaction: 5 different ways of saying ‘get’

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a person's hand reaching out to take one slice from a pie chart made up of five coloured segments: red, white, green, yellow and blue
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by Liz Walter

One way to improve your English is to find more interesting vocabulary to use instead of very common words. This post looks at five verbs you can use instead of ‘get’. Regular readers of my posts will know that I often talk about collocation, or words that commonly go together. I’ll be focusing on this particularly today because although the words I’m covering are basically synonyms, some of them tend to collocate strongly with particular groups of nouns. Note that they are all a little more formal than ‘get’ but still commonly used, especially in writing. Continue reading “Obtaining information and deriving satisfaction: 5 different ways of saying ‘get’”

close-up photograph of a mobile phone with a cracked screen

Chips, cracks and dents (Describing the condition of objects, Part 2)

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close-up photograph of a mobile phone with a cracked screen
boumenjapet / iStock / Getty Images Plus

by Kate Woodford

I recently published a post on the various ways we describe the condition of objects, including words such as shabby and rickety and phrases such as beyond repair and on its last legs. Staying with this theme, today I’m looking at words that we use to describe specific types of damage to particular types of object. Continue reading “Chips, cracks and dents (Describing the condition of objects, Part 2)”

a small white cat with black and orange markings on its ears and tail looking frightened by something off-camera

Wimps and scaredy-cats: talking about people who are not brave

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a small white cat with black and orange markings on its ears and tail looking frightened by something off-camera
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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”

picture of an old, worn teddy bear against a dark red background

On its last legs (Describing the condition of objects, Part 1)

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picture of an old, worn teddy bear against a dark red background
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by Kate Woodford

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)”

a man with his mouth open and eyebrows raised in a shocked expression, halfway through removing his glasses as he stares at something off-camera

Stunned and thunderstruck (Words for being surprised or shocked)

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a man with his mouth open and eyebrows raised in a shocked expression, halfway through removing his glasses as he stares at something off-camera
izusek / iStock / Getty Images Plus

by Kate Woodford

This post is for anyone who feels they use the words ‘surprised’ and ‘shocked’ too much and is looking for more interesting alternatives. It will include both single words and phrases. Continue reading “Stunned and thunderstruck (Words for being surprised or shocked)”

a woman looking brave and determined as she prepares to do a difficult trick in a skate park

Plucking up courage: talking about being brave

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a woman looking brave and determined as she prepares to do a difficult trick in a skate park
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by Liz Walter

Everyone has times when they have to do things that scare them, and there are lots of different ways to talk about this. Continue reading “Plucking up courage: talking about being brave”

Close-up photograph of silver, crown-shaped confetti on a red, white and blue Union Flag

Pomp and pageantry: language for the coronation of King Charles III

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Close-up photograph of silver, crown-shaped confetti on a red, white and blue Union Flag
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by Liz Walter

On Saturday, 6 May, the UK will see its first coronation (ceremony to make someone king or queen) since 1953, when Queen Elizabeth began her extraordinarily long reign (the time she was queen). This post looks at some of the vocabulary connected with that event. Continue reading “Pomp and pageantry: language for the coronation of King Charles III”

four seated men seen from the chest downwards - three are sitting formally and wearing plain black suits, and one is sitting casually with crossed legs and wearing a bright red suit

Out of the ordinary: ways of saying that something is unusual (2)

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four seated men seen from the chest downwards - three are sitting formally and wearing plain black suits, and one is sitting casually with crossed legs and wearing a bright red suit
Peter Cade / Stone / Gettymages

by Kate Woodford

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)”

three whole fish cooking in a frying pan set over a campfire

There’s bigger fish to fry: talking about things that are not important

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three whole fish cooking in a frying pan set over a campfire
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by Liz Walter

I have recently written two posts on the topic of importance, so this one looks at the opposite: how to say that something isn’t important. Continue reading “There’s bigger fish to fry: talking about things that are not important”

portrait of a textile artist wearing eccentric make-up and sequins and a large, brightly coloured headdress

Quirky and novel: ways of saying that something is unusual (1)

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portrait of a textile artist wearing eccentric make-up and sequins and a large, brightly coloured headdress
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by Kate Woodford

Today, I’m looking at the various words that we use to describe things that are unusual or in some way different. As usual, I’ll be looking at the subtle differences in meaning between this group of near-synonyms. Continue reading “Quirky and novel: ways of saying that something is unusual (1)”