Phrase of the day: Nae bother
I have just come back from Scotland, where I was giving the keynote talk at the City of Glasgow College’s
Read more.13th June 2019
Chunk of the day: go through a rough patch
According to some recent research I read, the number of divorces in the UK last year was highest among men
Read more.29th January 2019
Word of the day: nippy
After an Indian summer – a period of warm weather in autumn, a time when it’s usually pretty cold –
Read more.3rd December 2018
Phrase of the day: When I win the lottery
Almost everyone who has learned English in class has probably had that lesson where you study second conditionals. In a
Read more.12th November 2018
Word of the day: schlep
In a recent post on the word pogrom, we looked at language connected to the dark human tendency to blame
Read more.6th November 2018
Word of the day: pogrom
Recently, in a break from the norm, the Guardian newspaper here ran a whole series of features on the capital
Read more.22nd October 2018
Word of the day: march
A march is when a large group of people walk down the streets protesting against something – or in support
Read more.3rd October 2018
Word of the day: the all-clear
As anyone who has ever watched a loved one fight against it will know, cancer is a truly horrible disease.
Read more.2nd October 2018
Chunk of the day: dark horse
A week or so ago, I gave a talk at a conference for English language teachers in Liestal, in the
Read more.23rd September 2018
Phrase of the day: not bat an eyelid
One of the things that our students often comment on when they come to London is the fact that they
Read more.15th September 2018