Ten US political terms to baffle Brits

(Updated from 7 US political terms to baffle the Brits, published on 7th November 2020) The United States will inaugurate a new president on January 20th when Joe Biden will be sworn in as the forty-sixth person to hold the office. While observers in Europe… Read More

Word exploration: vaccines, vaccinations and jabs

In what the PM has described as a ‘final sprint’, the new year got off to a flying start with a COVID-19 vaccination rollout underway across the UK. In early January, Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh were vaccinated. The Palace decided… Read More

From filk to derp: discover the latest words added to the Collins Dictionary

Why do we need to keep adding new words to the English language? Can’t we just make do with the ones we have already? These are reasonable questions, but the fact is that new words do keep entering the language. To illustrate why this happens, let’s look at a cross-section… Read More

New hope for the New Year

New Year’s Eve is traditionally when we fix our gaze firmly forward in hope, having cast a backward glance at the year just ended. Which, despite the negatives, saw a healthy increase in good-neighbourliness and kindness as demonstrated, for instance, by caremongering. I feel hopeful that… Read More

Spanish word of the week: chimenea

This week’s Spanish word of the week is  la chimenea NOUN chimney; fireplace Una chimenea can mean either a chimney or a fireplace. The context will generally show which meaning is intended: Sale humo por la chimenea. There’s smoke coming out of the chimney. una hermosa perspectiva de tejados… Read More

Food for thought this Christmas

I don’t know about you, but I’m already salivating at the prospect of Christmas food. The first pangs start early in December with the nostalgia rush I get upon spotting dinky net bags of mixed nuts for sale. Perhaps folk are deterred by the faff of cracking them open to… Read More

Eight Gaelic words from the Collins English Dictionary

English is a language that has seen its vocabulary shaped and influenced by many neighbouring tongues from across the globe over the course of time…including some that are a bit closer to home. There are several native Celtic languages spoken in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man that have… Read More

International Volunteer Day

International Volunteer Day (sometimes abbreviated to IVD) takes place annually on December 5th. It is an ‘International Day’ established by the United Nations to recognize and promote the contribution made by volunteers and voluntary organizations to the wellbeing of people across the globe. And, as it… Read More

11 words and phrases from Nottingham

Eh up, me duck! Here are a few words and phrases you might hear in Nottingham and the surrounding areas: 1. Eh up! Eh up is a friendly way of greeting someone: Eh up, Sam. Where are you off to? 2. cob A cob is a… Read More