I read a lot in the news about Naomi Campbell. She seemed to be in all the newspapers after her recent appearance in court. She was connected with an interesting piece of vocabulary. The diamonds she was allegedly given as a present can be called ‘blood diamonds‘. ‘Blood diamonds‘ are diamonds that have been mined …
If you like a drink but don’t like paying tax, you might like this English word – ‘Moonshine‘ is an alcoholic drink made illegally at home. It is distilled and often contains more alcohol than hard liquor. Moonshine is most commonly associated with America during the 1920s and early 1930s but this article on the …
life’s a beach Meaning: life is good or easy Example: I won the lottery last week and now life’s a beach for me a beach bum Meaning: someone who spends a lot of time at the beach (usually negative) Example: He’s always surfing instead of doing his homework – what a beach bum! not the …
A marksman is an person who is good at shooting. In this article on the BBC News website, we can see the word in context. Marksmen are searching empty buildings, woods and fields in and around a town in north-east England in the hunt for suspected gunman Raoul Moat. Let’s hope they can arrest him …
I’ve got that Friday feeling. I’m looking forward to a great weekend and some really fun classes. Before the weekend starts, it’s time for a quiz. Remember to let me know how you got on using the comments section at the bottom. Have a great weekend! 39th English vocabulary quiz:
to be all ears Meaning: to be listening carefully / paying attention Example: Please explain why this product would be useful to me. I’m all ears. Many thanks to Brillo for today’s illustration.
music to your ears Meaning: to approve of something you hear Example: The news of his new job was music to his ears. wet behind the ears Meaning: young and inexperienced Example: The new staff cam straight from school and were still wet behind the ears. fall on deaf ears Meaning: when advice or information …
Over the last year, there has been lots of really interesting economics vocabulary in the news. For example, before the recent recession, most people probably wouldn’t have known what a sub-prime mortgage or credit crunch was. I spotted this headline on the Economist website this weekend: Double-dip drama A ‘double-dip’ is when a market falls …