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In a recent post, I looked at phrases containing the word ‘day’, most of which relate in some way to time. Today, I’m considering frequent idioms that feature the word ‘day’. In many of these, the original meaning of ‘day’ isn’t quite as obvious. Continue reading “At the end of the day (Phrases with ‘day’, Part 2)”
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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)”
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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)”
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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”
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Today’s post is the latest in my ‘Idioms and phrases in newspapers’ series, which I write in order to provide you with a regular supply of contemporary, frequently used English idioms and phrases. The expressions all come from a range of national newspapers that were published on the same day. Continue reading “Calling it quits and pitting your wits! (Idioms and phrases in newspapers)”
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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)”
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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”
by Liz Walter
My last post was about phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs connected to sadness and happiness. This post will look at some other emotions.
Let’s start with anger. If someone suddenly becomes angry, we can say that they flare up. Blow up is similar and often describes an even angrier outburst. We use the preposition at if that anger is directed at a particular person: Continue reading “Flaring up or bubbling over? Phrasal verbs to express emotions, part 2.”
by Liz Walter
Phrasal verbs are a very important part of English (even if students hate them!) and I have written several posts explaining useful ones. I realised recently that there is a surprisingly large number of phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs relating to emotions. Today I am going to concentrate on happiness and sadness. My next post will cover some other emotions, and a final post will present a selection of phrasal verbs for talking more generally about emotions. Continue reading “Weighed down or perking up? Phrasal verbs to express emotions, part 1”
Last month, we looked at idioms featuring words for sweet items of food. Changing the order in which we usually eat food, (savoury, then sweet), we’re now focusing on idioms that feature words for savoury (UK)/savory (US) food. Continue reading “Couch potatoes and peas in a pod: more food idioms”