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)”
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)”
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)”
My last ‘How we talk’ post focused on words used for people who talk a lot, including adjectives such as ‘talkative’ and ‘forthcoming’. This week, I’m looking at the opposite – words that we use for people who say very little. Continue reading “Has the cat got your tongue? (How we talk, Part 2)”
This week and next, I’m looking at ways to describe how much – or how little – we speak. There are lots of words (especially adjectives) in this area, with very different connotations, from chatty (=talking a lot in a friendly, informal way) to reserved (=tending not to talk about your feelings or opinions):
Jamie was his usual chatty self.
My grandfather was a quiet, rather reserved man.
This post will cover words and phrases that mean ‘talking a lot’ and Part 2 will deal with the opposite. Continue reading “He could talk the hind legs off a donkey (How we talk, Part 1)”
In part 1 of this post (Changing our minds, Part 1), I looked at language that is often used to refer to people in positions of power changing their decisions or plans. This post continues the ‘changing your mind’ theme but instead focuses on the sort of language that is used when people more generally change their minds. Continue reading “Having second thoughts (Changing our minds, Part 2)”
by Liz Walter
My last post looked at a range of verbs to talk about touching and hitting in a variety of contexts. This post focuses on hitting things and people with force. Continue reading “Walloping, belting and clobbering: verbs for touching and hitting (2)”
‘A wise man changes his mind. A fool never will,’ or so says the proverb. Whether or not this is true, we all change our minds, sometimes about trivial things and sometimes about things that really matter. This post (in two parts) takes a look at nouns, verbs and idioms in this area of the language. Today, we’ll look at the sort of language that is often used when people in positions of power change their opinions or plans. Continue reading “U-turns and flip-flopping (Changing our minds, Part 1)”
by Liz Walter
There are an incredible number of verbs that express the concept of touching or hitting someone or something, and they can have very different connotations, from caressing (touching in a very gentle and loving way) right through to punching (hitting someone or something very hard with a closed hand): Continue reading “Caressing, patting and elbowing: verbs for touching and hitting (1)”