by Liz Walter
Spending several weeks under (partial) lockdown has made me think more deeply about the concept of ‘home’. It’s a word that has a huge amount of implied meaning over and above its main literal meaning of ‘the place where you live’. It is also a very common word that can cause problems for learners because it acts in odd ways with regard to the use of prepositions.
Continue reading “Staying at home, going home or working from home: using the word ‘home’.”
hyflex adjective
/ˈhaɪ.fleks/
a way of learning in which lessons are given face to face in classrooms and also made available on the internet
Any in-person activities will be offered in a hybrid/flexible (hyflex) model, meaning that students will have the choice to participate in real-time, either in-person or remotely. These hyflex learning opportunities may take the form of group projects, workshops, or social activities.
[professional.uchicago.edu, 1 July 2020]
STEAM noun [U]
/stiːm/
abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (as subjects of study)
STEAM is a way to take the benefits of STEM and complete the package by integrating these principles in and through the arts. STEAM takes STEM to the next level: it allows students to connect their learning in these critical areas together with arts practices, elements, design principles, and standards.
[educationcloset.com, 14 January 2020]
Shape noun [U]
/ʃeɪp/
abbreviation for Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy (as subjects of study)
A national fight to restore the balance between rival academic disciplines and give back lost weight to subjects such as history, foreign languages, geography and English literature, will start this week with the unveiling of Shape, a “rebranding” drive to promote the humanities and social sciences
[The Observer, 21 June 2020]
I’m often surprised by the number of words and phrases that exist in a particular area of the English language. This was the case when I started to look at the language around light and all the things it does and the various ways it appears. Indeed, there are so many words that this will be a 2-part blog post.
Continue reading “Sparkling and dazzling! (Words related to light, Part 1)”
cottagecore noun [U]
UK /ˈkɒt.ɪdʒ.kɔːr/ US /ˈkɑː.t̬ɪdʒ.kɔːr/
a lifestyle based on traditional rural activities, or a way of dressing that suggests that lifestyle, usually adopted by people who live in cities
Cottagecore activities such as baking, gardening and making your own clothes have all boomed during the pandemic. Now menswear is taking note. Monthly searches for the staples of so-called “grandad style” have increased.
[The Guardian, 4 July 2020]
anti-fit adjective
UK /ˈæn.ti.fɪt/ US /ˈæn.t̬i.fɪt/
Anti-fit clothes are deliberately designed to fit the wearer’s body very loosely
Anti-fit clothing isn’t partywear. So, keep the vibe cool and comfortable even when it comes to shoes or accessories,” says Bollywood costume designer Rick Roy, who has worked with actors like Vidya Balan and Sonam Kapoor.
[hindustantimes.com, 15 February 2020]
Zoomwear noun [U]
UK /ˈzuːm.weəʳ/ US /ˈzuːm.wer/
a style of dressing that involves wearing clothes suitable for the office above the waist and casual clothing below the waist
Zoom Shirts are really the first and last word in Zoomwear. Zoom Jackets, I quickly discovered from looking around large Zoom calls in the early pandemic weeks, are vestimenta non grata. Zoom Ties look even more ridiculous. Everyone knows you have your laptop set up on the dining room table, with dishes just out of sight.
[New York Times, 29 June 2020]
Our blog posts about idioms are some of the most popular ones for our readers. Recently, we’ve posted two about idioms that use names for colours – the first one was Seeing red and green with envy, followed by Black sheep and white lies.
One of our readers commented on the second post: she wondered whether any of the expressions to do with the colours black and white were racist in origin. We replied, “Your instinct to examine the language is a good one, since there are so many words and phrases that have been used in the past which we now see are offensive. It’s also true that the words black and white can simply be used as names for colours, and they are widely used that way in many idioms. We don’t provide word origins on our website, but any words or phrases that are offensive have the label offensive. And we update the website frequently, so as the language changes, we also change the advice we give about using it.”
After that response, some people asked questions about other idioms that may be racist. Because we take very seriously our responsibility to help people use English accurately and effectively, we think it’s important to say more about this topic. You may want to look back at the Black sheep and white lies post because we will mention some of the idioms from that post here.
Continue reading “Are idioms that use ‘black’ and ‘white’ offensive?”
virtual being noun [C]
UK /ˌvɜː.tʃu.əl.ˈbiː.ɪŋ/ US /ˌvɝː.tʃu.əl.ˈbiː.ɪŋ/
a computer program that takes the physical form of a human being and uses artificial intelligence to behave in a way that mimics a real person
According to Samsung, Neon is a “computationally created virtual being” which acts and looks like a “real human,” with the ability to “show emotions and intelligence.” Okay. Samsung is vehement in a press release that Neon is not a virtual assistant, helper app, or bot, but rather some kind of artificially intelligent digital “being” which can interact with real people in an unrehearsed and spontaneous manner.
[inputmag.com, 6 January 2020]
myco-architecture noun [U]
UK /ˌmaɪ.kəʊ.ˈɑː.kɪ.tek.tʃəʳ/ US /ˌmaɪ.kəʊ.ˈɑːr.kə.tek.tʃɚ/
the art and practice of designing and making buildings out of fungus
NASA researchers are investigating the potential of mycelia – the nutrient-absorbing, underground threads that make up a fungus’s main bulk – to help construct outposts on the moon and Mars … With the right conditions, say the researchers, they can be coaxed into making new structures, ranging from a material similar to leather to the building blocks for a Mars habitat. The NASA researchers call it myco-architecture.
[earthsky.org, 22 January 2020]
Gigabit City noun [C]
UK /ˌgɪg.ə.bɪt.ˈsɪt.i/ US /ˌgɪg.ə.bɪt..ˈsɪt̬.i/
a city that uses fibre optic technology to provide everyone who lives or works there with extremely fast broadband
The Stirling Gigabit City project forms part of CityFibre’s £2.5bn Gigabit City investment programme to bring full fibre to five million homes and businesses by 2025. … Councillor Scott Farmer, Leader of Stirling Council, said: “We are proud Stirling is well on its way to becoming the nation’s first completed Gigabit City project and believe it is the start of a huge digital opportunity for businesses and residents in the area.”
[cityfibre.com, 24 September 2019]
by Liz Walter
It struck me recently that there are rather a lot of phrasal verbs connected with people behaving badly so I thought this might be a useful topic. In fact, there are so many of them that there will be two posts: this one on children’s behaviour and general bad behaviour and one on more serious wrongdoing such as violence, bullying and dishonesty.
flexi-schooling noun [U]
/ˈflek.si.ˌskuːl.ɪŋ/
the teaching of children partly at home, usually by their parents, and partly at school
After checking with the local authority, she was able to authorise flexi-schooling as long as her school still “oversaw” Esme’s education. Basically, we had to keep St John’s informed of Esme’s “day off” so they could check she was safe and learning.
[telegraph.co.uk, 21 May 2020]
microschool noun [C]
UK /ˈmaɪ.krəʊ.skuːl/ US /ˈmaɪ.kroʊ.skuːl/
a private school with a very small number of pupils in each class
The push toward smaller, less institutionalized learning environments may also be a boost for the burgeoning microschool movement. Microschools usually operate out of homes or local community organizations and typically have no more than a dozen K-12 students, of varying ages.
[forbes.com, 11 May 2020]
adversity score noun [C]
UK /ədˈvɜː.sə.ti.skɔːʳ/ US /ədˈvɝː.sə.t̬i.skɔːr/
a number of points assigned to a student applying to go to university or college representing their social and economic background, designed to show the university or college what difficulties the student has overcome
The College Board has continually tried to revamp the SAT, attempting last year to introduce an “adversity score” that would take into account factors like a student’s neighborhood environment. The organization later pulled the plug after backlash.
[marketplace.org, 22 May 2020]
This is the second of two posts that focus on idioms that contain a word for a colour. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at blue, green and red idioms. This week, we’re rather monochrome, looking mainly at idioms with ‘black’ and ‘white’ in them.
The phrase in black and white is sometimes used to mean ‘in writing’, usually in the context of proof: I could scarcely believe it was true, but there it was, in black and white.
Continue reading “Black sheep and white lies (Idioms with colours, part 2)”
digital nutrition noun [U]
UK /ˌdɪdʒ.ɪ.tᵊl.njuːˈtrɪʃ.ᵊn/ US /ˌdɪdʒ.ə.t̬əl.nuːˈtrɪʃ.ᵊn/
the process of making sure that using mobile phones, computers etc. is not harmful for your physical and mental health
Unplugging won’t solve the root problem. It’s like doing a juice cleanse – you deny yourself and then you’ll go back online and eat a burger … Instead, think of your digital nutrition the same way you think of regular nutrition: instead of worrying about calories or minutes, concentrate on the quality of what you’re consuming.
[www.telegraph.co.uk, 6 January 2020]
infodemic noun [C]
UK /ˌɪn.fəʊ.ˈdem.ɪk/ US /ˌɪn.foʊ.ˈdem.ɪk/
a very large amount of information that is published about a particular problem, some of which is untrue, therefore making it more difficult to find a solution
The 2019-nCoV outbreak and response has been accompanied by a massive ‘infodemic’ – an over-abundance of information – some accurate and some not – that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.
[who.int, 2 February 2020]
phygital adjective
UK /ˈfɪdʒ.ɪ.tᵊl/ US /ˈfɪdʒ.ə.t̬ᵊl/
using a combination of physical and digital elements to sell and market a product
In light of lockdown the idea of ‘phygital’ strategy is being turned on its head. It’s no longer about splicing a digital element into physical experiences. More challenging perhaps, it’s now about bringing real physical connection to digital experiences.
[newdigitalage.co, 29 April 2020]