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It’s been a while since we published a phrasal verb post on this blog, so we’re making amends with this round-up of phrasal verbs relating to a subject that most of us are interested in – eating. Continue reading “Tucking in and pigging out (Eating phrasal verbs)”
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by Liz Walter
We all make judgments every day about what to believe and what not to believe, so it’s not surprising that there are several nice phrases to express this process.
If you have something on good authority, you have been given information about it by someone you trust:
I have it on good authority that she’s considering selling the property. Continue reading “I feel it in my bones: phrases connected with believing or disbelieving”
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This week we’re putting on our best clothes and grabbing a box of chocolates for the host because we’re going to a party! Well, okay, we’re not actually going to a party, but we are looking at words that we use to refer to social occasions where people meet up to enjoy themselves. You might be surprised at how many words there are. Continue reading “Reunions and housewarmings (Words for different parties)”
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by Liz Walter
My last post looked at ways of responding to introductions and introducing other people. Today’s post gives some ideas about how to take the conversation further. We call this kind of chatting small talk but with luck it can lead to deeper and more interesting conversations! Continue reading “Have you come far? Chatting to someone you don’t know (2)”
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Readers of our About Words blog often ask us for posts on currently used English idioms. One way that we make sure we give you up-to-date idioms is by looking at expressions used in current newspapers. This week, the idioms come from a range of national newspapers that were published on 5 October 2023. Continue reading “The calm before the storm (Newspaper idioms)”
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by Liz Walter
Chatting to someone you don’t know can be difficult at any time, but it’s especially hard if you aren’t speaking in your first language. Back in 2017, my colleague Kate Woodford wrote a useful post about introducing yourself and giving a little information about yourself. This post and my next look at ways of continuing the conversation. Continue reading “Do you know many people here? Chatting to someone you don’t know (1)”
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Today I’m looking at words that mean ‘very or extremely large’. You’ll already know several words in this area – adjectives such as enormous, huge and massive – so I won’t focus on those. Instead, I’ll look at a set of adjectives that you might not know. Most have rather similar meanings. The differences are mainly found in the register of the words, that is, whether they are formal or informal. Continue reading “Vast, mahoosive and monstrous (Words meaning ‘very large’)”
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by Liz Walter
Today’s post looks at ways of talking about things that prevent or delay us doing things we want to do. Continue reading “A bump in the road: talking about things that prevent progress”
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I recently wrote a post on expressions that we use to convey that there is enough of something. Today I’m looking at the opposite – the way we talk about too little or too few of something. Continue reading “Scarce, scant and sparse (Ways of saying ‘not enough’)”
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by Liz Walter
Today’s post looks at ways of talking about the speed at which people, vehicles, or other things move. Many of the items in this post can also be used figuratively, for instance to describe the speed of change or progress. Continue reading “Flat out or at a snail’s pace? Talking about speed”