“Crave” or “crave for”?
Is it better to use “crave” or “crave for”? We would normally say “I crave an apple pie”, and not “I crave for an apple pie”. One definition of the verb “to crave” is...
Category: Usage
Thingamajig, whatchamacallit and hoojamaflip
We might use “thingamajig”, “whatchamacallit” or “hoojamaflip” when we don’t know – or have forgotten what something is called: Or even: To pronounce these words, try breaking them down into separate parts: There are...
Moonlighting
We use “moonlighting” when someone has another job as well as their main employment. Perhaps they do their main work during daytime on weekdays and do their second job in the evenings or at...
Sailing close to the wind
When we say that someone is sailing close to the wind, we mean that they are doing something that could go wrong. Perhaps it is someone you work with who is doing something that...
The difference between decrease and reduce
The difference between decrease and reduce. In some cases, “decrease” and “reduce” are synonyms. We use both words when we are talking about something getting smaller in some way. So, we can say: Both...
White elephant
“White elephant” is a common idiom or metaphor. You might hear someone describe something as a “bit of a white elephant” or say something like: “I have a white elephant on my hands”. If...
Which is correct: “learned” or “learnt”?
Which is correct: “learned” or “learnt”? Both! In British English, the verb “to learn” is irregular. The past participle is “learnt”. So, we might say: Similar irregular verbs include: In American English, many irregular...
Gerunds
Gerunds are very useful but can be a bit confusing at first. Two things you need to know about gerunds right from the start: Here are some examples: We can also use the infinitive...
More about holidays
More about holidays In an earlier post we looked at the meaning of “holiday” and some of the ways we use the word. This time we look at other uses of the word and...
Holidays
Holidays In British English “holiday” is the word we use to mean a period of time when someone doesn’t have to go to work or school. The equivalent word in American English is “vacation”....