Blue Monday noun [C]
/ˌbluː.ˈmʌn.deɪ/ the third Monday in January, said to be the most depressing day of the year
Arnall devised a literal mathematical formula to arrive at the Blue Monday theory. It factors in weather, debt and time since Christmas, timing of New Year’s resolutions, low motivational levels, and the urgent feeling that you need to take action. It also reflects that Monday is regarded as the worst day of the week with many dreading the prospect of returning to work. [www.mnn.com, 15 January 2019]
We tell each other things all the time, whether it’s our news, some important information or just interesting facts. This week we’re focusing on the language that we use to describe giving information.
Starting with a really useful phrasal verb, if you pass on a message or a piece of news that someone has told you, you tell it to someone else:
Remember to pass on my message to Ted.
No one passed the news on to me.
The verb relay means the same: He heard the announcement and immediately relayed the news to his colleagues.
Sometimes we pass on information to lots of people. The verb spread is often used for this. It frequently comes before the nouns gossip andrumour:
I hope you’re not spreading gossip, Alice!
He’d apparently been spreading rumours about her around the school.
‘Spread’ is also used intransitively to describe the way that information quickly becomes known by lots of people: So why does fake news spread so quickly?
The verb circulateis also used in this way: News of her retirement quickly circulated around the office.
Another verb meaning ‘to tell information to a lot of people’ is broadcast. People use it especially about information that they would prefer to be private: I’d rather my news wasn’t broadcast to the entire office!
The more formal verb disseminate is also used, but without the negative meaning: One of the organization’s aims is to disseminate information about the disease.
Other words mean ‘to give secret information’, for example reveal, divulge and (formal) disclose:
He wouldn’t reveal what was written in the letter.
When asked, she refused to divulge her salary.
They made an agreement not to disclose any details.
An informal phrasal verb with this meaning is let on. If you let on, you tell others about something secret: Please don’t let on that I told you she’s leaving!
Another phrasal verb is blurt out. If you blurt out a secret fact, you say it suddenly and without thinking, usually because you’re nervous or excited: I was supposed to be keeping it secret and then I just blurted it out!
There are two nice idioms for giving secret information. If you let the cat out of the bagor spill the beans, you tell people something that should have been secret:
I wasn’t going to tell anyone about my plans but Anita let the cat out of the bag.
So who spilled the beans about Daniel’s promotion?
green screennoun [C]
/ˈgriːn.ˌskriːn/ a large steel grid densely covered with ivy thought to act as a barrier to air pollution
Schools are being pressured into buying expensive ‘green screens’ to shield children from air pollution despite concerns that they are not the best solution and may make little overall difference to health … More than a dozen schools in London, Manchester and Leeds have already installed green screens and at least 30 more have applied to the Greater London Authority for grants of up to £35,000 to buy them after they were recommended by air quality audits. [The Times, 27 October 2018]
precipitation whiplashnoun [U] UK /prɪˌsɪp.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən.ˈwɪp.læʃ/ US /priːˌsɪp.əˈteɪ.ʃən.ˈwɪp.læʃ/ a period of very dry weather followed by a period of very wet weather, thought to be caused by the effects of climate change
Abrupt transitions in California from a parched winter to a soggy one … will become more common if greenhouse gases continue to increase, according to a study published Monday in Nature Climate Change. This “precipitation whiplash” has implications for both wildfire and flood risk. [www.wunderground.com, 23 April 2018]
climate gentrificationnoun [U] UK /ˈklaɪ.mət.ˌdʒen.trɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ US /ˈklaɪ.mət.ˌdʒen.trə.fəˈkeɪ.ʃən/ the process by which a place that is thought to be less at risk of the effects of climate change turns from a poor area to a richer one
The study finds considerable evidence of climate gentrification, and for the elevation hypothesis in particular. Properties at high elevations have experienced rising values, while those at lower elevations have declined in value. In fact, elevation had a positive effect on price appreciation in more than three-quarters of the properties and 24 of the 25 separate jurisdictions the authors examined. [www.huffingtonpost.com, 11 July 2018]
anxiety consumerismnoun [U] UK /æŋˈzaɪ.ə.ti.kənˈsjuː.mə.rɪ.zəm/ US /æŋˈzaɪ.ə.t̬i.kənˈsuː.mɚ.ɪ.zəm/ the situation in a society where a large number of products designed to ease anxiety are available to buy
Have you heard of the latest trend hitting the retail industry? It’s called anxiety consumerism … The past few years have seen a jump in sales for products such as adult coloring books and essential oils and diffusers. And more recently, for products like fidget spinners and weighted blankets – this time with marketing aimed more towards the younger group suffering from this mental health condition. [www.buzzback.com, 27 September 2018]
magic point of salenoun [C]
/ˈmædʒ.ɪk.pɔɪnt.əv.ˈseɪl/ a shop or e-commerce site where customers can use new technologies such as augmented reality to browse and test products before they buy them
In 2018, consumers expect to summon retail experiences as they would a genie from a lamp, called forth from a smartphone, personal assistant, smart speaker, or even from the physical environment itself. That means summoning an on-demand magic point of sale that allows them to engage with your brand, browse products, test and purchase in innovative new ways. [www.trendwatching.com, August 2018]
care commercenoun [U] UK /keəʳ.ˈkɒm.ɜːs/ US /ker.ˈkɑː.mɝːs/ the services offered by companies that allow the products they sell to last longer
Stores will help consumers to preserve their purchases, known as care commerce … Brands are beginning to capitalise on this trend. Nike has installed sneaker dry-cleaning and engraving services in its Moscow flagship and French luxury brand Hermès has popped up around the globe with … laundrettes offering a free dry cleaning and dyeing service for owners of its iconic silk scarves. [www.thedrum.com, 21 December 2017]
It is common to ask young people about their hopes and plans for the future. This post looks at some words and phrases you can use to respond to such questions.
groomsmaidnoun [C]
/ˈɡruːmz.meɪd/ a female friend of a man who is getting married who has special duties at the wedding
Actress Christina Hendricks has landed an odd job at her former Mad Men castmate Michael Gladis’ upcoming wedding – she’ll serve as a “groomsmaid”. The actress will dress like one of bride-to-be Beth Behrs’ bridesmaids, but take care of all the last-minute things Gladis needs. “I’m sort of there as one of the best men…,” she tells talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. [www.hollywood.com, 10 April 2018]
buddymoonnoun [C]
/ˈbʌd.i.muːn/ a honeymoon to which the married couple’s friends are invited
One honeymoon option becoming increasingly popular is the buddymoon, or a honeymoon where you bring your gang along for the ride. And while many brides are hesitant to take the most romantic trip of their lives … with their friends, others are embracing the trend and starting off their new life not only alongside their soulmate, but with the others in closest to them. [www.brides.com, 24 November 2017]
sten donoun [C]
/ˈsten.duː/ a party or other celebration for a man and woman who are going to get married, to which both the bride’s and groom’s friends are invited: a blend of ‘stag do’ and ‘hen do’
We are choosing to have a sten do, because our interests lie in similar activities, and we feel that the premise of traditional hen and stag dos is outdated. So many of our friends have reminded us that it’s our last night of freedom. We’re already committed to each other, and living with one another – what would we do on a hen or stag do that we wouldn’t normally do together? [Metro, 16 May 2018]
Do you know the phrase bad hair day? It refers to a day when your hair looks unattractive but is also used for a day when everything goes wrong. This connection between bad hair and failure suggests that, for many of us, hair is very important! Accordingly, we have lots of ways to describe it. If you’d like some interesting English expressions for hair, read on! Continue reading “Bad Hair Day (Words and phrases that describe hair)”→
hypebeastnoun [C]
/ˈhaɪp.biːst/ a young person who is obsessed with buying the latest expensive designer clothes
For those who do not understand this world, spending hundreds on a white T-shirt with a small logo on it might sound like a vain waste of money, but it is the hypebeasts that might be having the last laugh. Many savvy young teenagers are making a fortune online, often queuing in the rain for hours to buy items on the day they’re released in store … then immediately selling them on at a profit on eBay. [www.news.sky.com, 9 January 2018]
bundle buyingnoun [U]
/ˈbʌn.dəl.baɪ.ɪŋ/ a way of buying clothes where a number of garments that go well together are personally selected for the buyer and posted out to them
So, does this signal the end of personal style? Not at all. Think of bundle buying instead as saving time and streamlining your wardrobe – deal with the basics and you have more time to be creative. [Grazia, 13 February 2018]
Zozosuitnoun [C] UK /ˈzəʊ.zəʊ.suːt/ US /ˈzoʊ.zoʊ.suːt/ a close-fitting garment covered in sensors that takes precise measurements of the wearer’s body and can then be used to buy items of clothing custom-made to the correct size
In the first 10 hours after the Zozosuit launched in Japan in November 2017, roughly 230,000 orders were placed and since then there have been more than a million. The company says it expects to distribute up to 10 million suits by March 2019, not entirely unrealistic given that Zozosuit launches in the UK and 72 other countries and regions (including India, China, the US and Brazil) in the coming month. [www.telegraph.co.uk, 27 July 2018]
