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by Liz Walter
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times: don’t exaggerate!” So goes the old joke. In general, we disapprove of people who exaggerate, that is, make something seem more extreme than it really is. Today’s post looks at some of the many ways we have of describing this behaviour.
Continue reading “Laying it on thick: talking about exaggeration”
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From time to time, we all complain, whether it’s about the poor quality of service in a restaurant, a noisy neighbour, or rain that won’t stop. (Some people – and I certainly know one or two – never stop complaining!) This post will provide you with a range of interesting alternatives to ‘complain’ and ‘complaint’ and will explain the differences between them.
Continue reading “Stop whining! (Words for ‘complain’ and ‘complaint’)”
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This is the second of my two-part post on useful idioms and phrases that feature the word ‘eye’. Part 1 focused mainly on expressions that said something about the act of looking and seeing. Today’s post features ‘eye’ phrases on a range of themes.
Continue reading “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach (Idioms with ‘eye’, Part 2)”
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by Liz Walter
Today’s post and my next one look at words and phrases for talking about how much things cost – a common topic of conversation! This first one looks at words for things with high prices.
Continue reading “It costs a fortune: talking about high prices”
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My last post (on fruit idioms) featured the rather sweet expression the apple of someone’s eye. This made me think of other useful idioms and phrases that include the noun ‘eye’. It turns out there are a great many, so this post will be in two parts.
Continue reading “For your eyes only! (Idioms with ‘eye’, Part 1)”
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by Liz Walter
Most of us know someone who often gets into trouble because they don’t stop to consider the consequences of their behaviour. This post is about ways of describing these people and their actions.
Continue reading “Reckless and impulsive: words for acting without enough thought”
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As I research the language for these posts, I’m often surprised by the number of words and phrases in English for the same basic concept. This week’s subject – the language of limiting things – is no exception.
Continue reading “Curbing and capping (The language of limiting things)”
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by Liz Walter
We often have to talk about the age of people and things, but this is an area where learners often make errors. This post will explain how to talk about age and how to avoid common errors. Continue reading “A young man of twenty: talking about age”
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One of several things we do on this blog is look at the various ways we say the same – or a similar – thing. As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life! Today’s post will provide you with a range of ways to say ‘gradually’, including phrases and single words.
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by Liz Walter
Today’s post looks at phrases for talking about what the future holds. In particular, it will cover vocabulary relating to how much – if at all – we can control what happens to us.
Continue reading “It’s written in the stars: talking about things that might happen in the future”