What’s the difference between café and coffee?

This week we are looking at two words which are sometimes confused: café and coffee. café A café is a place where you can buy drinks and simple meals or snacks. In Britain, cafés often don’t sell alcoholic drinks. Café is sometimes spelled cafe. Is there an internet café near here? They’ve opened a cafe in the main square. coffee Coffee is… Read More

Brummie and proud of it: 15 bostin words

With the Commonwealth Games taking place there between 28th July and 8th August, the UK’s second city finds itself in the glare of the international spotlight, a place where it has never felt very comfortable. Brummies, as the city’s inhabitants are commonly… Read More

Let the games begin: Tracking the etymology of the Commonwealth Games

It’s a year of sport ahead! We’re kicking off with the Commonwealth Games, an annual multi-sport international competition held every four years. This year, the event will be held in Birmingham, and it has grown from 11 countries and 400 athletes to over 4,600 people across 72 nations and territories… Read More

Brush up! 5 archaeological gems

Whether your first introduction to the world of archaeology was the classroom or Jurassic Park, the ability to study the past remains a fascinating endeavour for academics and hobbyists in the present. Archaeology is the study of societies and peoples of the past through examining the… Read More

What’s the difference between pants and shorts?

This week we are looking at some words that are used differently in British and American English: pants and shorts. pants In British English, pants are a piece of clothing that people wear as underwear under their other clothes. Pants have two holes to… Read More

French word of the week: cher

This series of weekly blogs takes a closer look at words from our French dictionaries. The word we're focusing on this week is the French adjective 'cher'. Read More
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