Confusing words: poisonous or venomous?
I would like to buy a hamburger
Ter uma pronúncia impecável em inglês era um pré-requisito importante no aprendizado do idioma. Era, não é mais. 1. O inglês deixou de ser um segundo idioma e se tornou um instrumento de comunicação global. 2. Já não há mais um único idioma inglês, há vários. 3. Num mundo globalizado, não há porque esconder a… Read More
Sonder
The Origin of “om nom nom nom”
1. Om nom An onomatopoeical adjective based on the sound emitted when something is “oh so tasty” (either through hunger or flavorological value) that one gnaws through it without regard to cleanliness or etiquette. This sort of ravenous eating will often result in an “om nom nom nom” noise being emitted from the eater. Arthur:… Read More
Same verb, different meaning: take off
A multi-word verb is a verb that has more than one word. We usually think of them as a main verb followed by one or two particles. The particle could be an adverb or a preposition. I never messed around at school, I was a good student. (to mess around = to behave badly) Multi-word… Read More
Confusing words: Envy and Jealousy
“Jealousy is when you worry someone will take what you have. Envy is wanting what somenone else has.” – Homer Simpson It’s no fun to feel envy or jealousy because both make you feel inadequate. Envy is when you want what someone else has, but jealousy is when you’re worried someone’s trying to take what you have. If you want your neighbor’s new… Read More
What’s in a Pun?
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect.These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic, homographic, metonymic, or metaphorical language. A pun differs from a… Read More
Confusing words: Lose and Loose
A lot of people are mixing up lose and loose. In particular, a lot of people are writing loose when they really mean lose. Here are the definitions of the two words from my Penguin dictionary: loose [lOOs] adj not fastened or pre-packed; not tied up or confined; able to move freely; not tight, not… Read More
Words of Wisdom
Languages change, usually very slowly, sometimes very rapidly. There are many reasons a language might change. One obvious reason is interaction with other languages. We find that the language of the elite often shows the influence of constant interaction with the majority, while the majority language imports vocabulary and speaking styles from the elite language.… Read More
Abbreviations: Commercial English
birdgei.com 