This week's word is a very useful noun which can be used to make other compound nouns. A case is a container or box for storing things in. You can mix it with other nouns to make a wide variety of cases.
A suitcase is a type of bag that you fill with clothes when you go on holiday. A briefcase is a type of bag that you keep work papers and documents in. A pencil case is where you store your stationery when you go to school. A bookcase is a piece of furniture with shelves where you keep books. A pillowcase is a fabric cover for the pillows (almohadas) on your bed. A glasses case is a small box for storing spectacles. A guitar case is the box you keep your guitar in.
This week's word can be a verb and a noun. As a verb it means to write or draw something quickly or carelessly. As a noun it refers to the product of writing or drawing quickly or carelessly.
My son has scribbled all over my new wallpaper! Thank goodness those pens have washable ink!
I hope you can read my scribble! I wrote it in a rush this morning.
This week's word is a noun that is used to describe the sudden period of anger that a young child shows when they don't get what they want. It is most common in young children but some famous sportsmen have also been known to throw the odd tantrum. The American tennis-player John McEnroe was famous for his tennis tantrums. In fact, he appears in the film Anger Management with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler poking fun at his reputation! Youtube has some funny videos of McEnroe at his angry best.
The noun collocates with the verbs 'have' and 'throw'.
James threw a tantrum in the supermarket because I wouldn't buy him any sweets.
As I am writing this, my baby boy is having a tantrum on my lap because he wants to type and I won't let him.
This week's word is an noun which I have taken from a news report from the BBC Learning English website. The word can be used in two ways. It can be used to refer to trees that are grown so that their wood can be used specifically for building material and it can be used to refer directly to the wood that is used for building. In American English this would be referred to as lumber and the person who chops down the trees to get the wood for building is called a lumberjack.
These trees are being grown for timber. This is a timber forest.
This week's word of the week was one of the solutions from a crossword I was doing - (those of you who know me will be aware that I'm partial to a good cryptic crossword). The word is an adjective which is used to describe how you feel when you are slightly hungry and would like a little something to eat. 'Rather' and 'a bit' are often placed before this adjective.
This word of the week is related to last week's word in the way that it is used to refer to a person when you cannot remember or you do not know their name. In informal English -whatsisname or what's-his-name is used for men and whatsername or what's-her-name is used for women.
Have you invited Paul Whatisname to the party?
Give the file to whatsername - the new woman in Accounts.
This week's word of the week is a noun. I absolutely love this word because it comes in handy when you can't remember the name of something and it sounds funny! It is especially used in informal spoken English when the name of an object has been forgotten.
I need one of those thingamabobs to tie my hair back with.
Have you got one of those thingamabobs to make melon balls?
You can also say thingamajig and it means exactly the same thing!
This week's word is a noun which is used to describe a device that is very useful for a particular job or purpose.
Have you seen this handy little gadget? - It's for separating egg yolks from egg whites.
My dad loves gadgets, he has allsorts of little toys for all kinds of jobs!
You could check out the Gadget Shop online to find out what gadgets are on offer! There is a whole range of goods from a self-stirring mug to a robotic dinosaur!
This week's word is a verb which means to delay doing something because it is boring or unpleasant or because you really don't feel like doing it. There is no direct translation in Spanish where the dictionary just says 'to leave something until later'. Although it also means that you do lots of other things, just not the productive thing that you are supposed to be doing!
I know I've got to write the essay at some point, I'm just procrastinating!
There is a funny article in Tony Buzan's book on becoming a better learner 'Use your head' which perfectly demonstrates the true meaning of procrastination. You can read it here > > > >
Since the Academy Awards took place last night, I thought this Monday's word of the week should be related to the world of glamour and fame. Showbiz is a noun used in slang English for show business. Show business refers to the entertainment business.
In his Oscar acceptance speech last night, Jeff Bridges thanked his parents for introducing him to the world of showbiz.
The charity dinner was attended by a host of showbiz personalities.
I love reading trashy magazines and catching up on all the showbiz gossip!
This week's word is an inseparable phrasal verb which has a number of meanings.
First of all, you can use this phrasal verb to mean learn or discuss the latest news. When you haven't seen somebody for a while you can go for a drink with them and catch upon the latest gossip and find out what they have been doing since you last saw them.
Secondly, you can use this phrasal verb to mean reach the same quality or standard as someone else. When you miss a lot of English classes, for example, you may find it hard to catch upwith the rest of the class.
Finally, you can use this phrasal verb to mean do something which you haven't had time to do earlier. Sometimes people have to stay late at the office to catch upon some reports because they haven't had time to do them during the day for whatever reason.
This week's word of the week was inspired by my morning walk to the local supermarket. It wasn't really raining so I didn't take my umbrella with me. The drops that were falling from the sky were only light and I didn't get very wet. When the rain is light like this you can say informally that it is spitting.It is the informal equivalent of the verb drizzle, which was a word of the week a couple of years back.
The verb spit has another, not so pleasant meaning. In fact it describes a terribly bad habit which I have had the misfortune to witness all too often in Madrid. It describes the action of forcing out the contents of the mouth - especially saliva.
Some teenagers have the horrible habit of spitting in the street.
I hate it when people spit their sunflower seed shells on the floor!
He spat out his meal in disgust - he had never tasted anything so awful!
This week's word came to me while thinking of all things romance related. However, the word in itself is really the opposite of romantic! It is a noun that is used to describe a man who often has temporary sexual relationships with a lot of women and who is always trying to get women to sleep with him. Essentially, a womaniser (spelt womanizer in American English) is a man who uses and takes advantage of women.
One of the most famous womanisers in history is of course is the 18th century Italian writer, Casanova. In fact, his name has become synonymous with 'womaniser' and you can say 'John is a real casanova' and mean that he has had a lot of sexual partners and is therefore a womaniser!
Perhaps you have heard the word in one of Britney Spears' latest offerings since she has a song entitled 'Womanizer'. Maybe you are not a fan of hers but the video is pretty cool and gives you a good idea of what a womaniser is! Check it out here and practise your English listening skills!
This week's word is an adjective (pronounced /ˈbɒð.əd/). If you say that you are bothered about something then you are saying that it is important to you or that it worries you. If you say that you are notbothered about something then you are saying that you don't care about it and it isn't important to you.
I'm not bothered about what other people think of me - I think it is more important to be myself and not put on a show.
What do you want for dinner, James? I'm not bothered - whatever's easiest.
(You need to be careful with the intonation of this phrase if you use it to answer a question because you can come across as being rude.)
This expression became something of a catchphrase for British comedienne, Catherine Tate, who uses it often in her sketches of Lauren, a rude high-school student from London. You can check out some of these sketches on Youtube, but you will need a high level of English to understand the accents and humour in the clips. Here is one for you to watch - I highly recommend the videos of Lauren in French class, Chemistry class and English class too!
This word also appears in the expression 'can't be bothered'. Here the meaning is that you don't feel like doing something because you are too tired, too lazy or just not in the right mood to do it.
I can't be bothered to cook dinner tonight - shall we order a Chinese?
This week's word is a noun which will come in handy for those of you who are doing a Cambridge exam this year. Your teachers will often tell you about the importance of not repeating common words such as good and bad, advantages and disadvantages, important, etc. You get more marks if you try to vary the language you use in your writing and speaking.
This week's word is a synonym for 'disadvantage' and is used to refer to the negative part of a given situation.
The main drawback of living with someone is having to share a bathroom.
Young people should be educated in school about the drawbacks of smoking.
For the opposite of 'drawback' and a synonym for 'advantage' you can use 'benefit'.
The discovery of oil brought many benefits to the town.
One of the many benefits of living in Madrid is having easy access to theatres and cinemas.
This week's word is a noun which is used to describe a person who lives in an empty building without permission. The building, house, or flat which is illegally occupied is called a squat.
A group of young squatters have refused to leave a 17th-century Parisian mansion they have occupied for more than two months.
(You can read the related news article for the above example here >>>>>)
There is an internationally recognised symbol for squatters, which you can see here on the right, and according to one author there are over one billion squatters worldwide - which would mean one in every seven people illegally occupy land or buildings!
I came across this week's word while reading an article on the BBC website about the terrible earthquake which devastated Haiti last week. It is a noun and it is used to refer to the bits of broken stone and bricks which are left after a building has fallen down or been destroyed.
The fire reduced the house to rubble.
A woman was found alive under the rubble of the supermarket.
You can read the article I was looking at by following this link > > >
The first word of the week of 2010 is weather related and pretty useful for what is occuring around Europe at the moment. The word is a noun which describes a severe snow storm with strong winds.
Here is an example from this week's news stories:
"...police and mountain rescuers trekked for an hour through driving snow to reach five experienced walkers stranded in blizzard conditions..."
"Jill, in the Wirral, said her 12-year-old daughter was left stranded six miles from her house in a blizzard when her school closed early."
The word can also be used metaphorically to mean a large amount of something.
"2010 will see a blizzard of television innovations" (meaning lots of new innovations in television)
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Good info here. Long time reader, first time poster....keep it up please!
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