Language Lovers

The Collins English Dictionary, 12th edition

It’s word nerd Christmas, folks! Which is to say, the new Collins English Dictionary is almost here! Nearly three quarters of a million words (50,000 newly added) in one rather classy-looking volume – or as a Kindle ebook or iOS app, I am reliably informed while still being not… Read More

Hands up! Do You Remember Your School Playground Slang?

Teacher’s pet, or constantly bunking off due to schoolitis? Some words and phrases have survived generations of schoolchildren, and will always remind us of the classroom. Which of the below are you familiar with, and can you add any more words to our list? All-nighterTo… Read More

All the insider secrets to help you become Top Banana!

Since being created around founder Rena Nathanson’s family table, BANANAGRAMS has become one of the most popular word games in the world, selling over 6 million copies worldwide and becoming loved on flat surfaces everywhere! The pocket-sized Collins Little Book of BANANAGRAMS is specially designed to match the fast and… Read More

14 untranslatable emotions that English can’t convey

The British are well known for their reserved politeness and ‘stiff upper lip’, and are often seen as less likely to express emotion than other nationalities. It may come as no surprise then that when it comes to emotions, the English language sometimes leaves something to be desired. Read More

Devo Manc, investigoogle and factronise: Lucy Mangan takes on your new word submissions

Let us begin, before the last whispers of the winds of topicality depart, with AustinAllegro’s submission of “Devo Manc” – the name given to the notion of an independent Manchester. It’s a play, obviously, on the “Devo Max” that David Cameron is now quiveringly, quislingly offering to… Read More

Learn Game of Thrones’ weird words and curious constructed languages

Fans of the HBO TV series Game of Thrones will be well acquainted with its unique vocabulary and the various terms of the Valyrian, Braavosi and Dothraki languages. However, had you only ever read the novels in the series A Song of Ice and Fire, then your vocabulary would… Read More

iScotland v the rUK: trending words in September

There’s an elephant in the room, and we all know what it is. Many things happened in September 2014, but the biggest event in the UK has to be the Scottish Independence Referendum, or the “indyref” as it became known on Twitter and beyond. While… Read More

Golfing Slang! Tee off for the Ryder Cup with our Top Golfing Terms

Golf fan? Know the golf jargon? Make sure you know all these golfing terms before the Ryder Cup tees off! Golf as we know it is of Scottish origin, with the first known rules of the sport put down in writing in Edinburgh in 1744. Read More

Are you having a nice fakeation? Lucy Mangan takes on your new word submissions

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”, reckoned Blaise Pascal when he was composing his Pensees. Alas, he was doing so in the mid-seventeenth century and didn’t know the half of it. D’you know what a “fakeation” is Blaise, mon ami?… Read More