What does it mean to 'move the needle'?
In US politics, 'to move the needle' is to significantly change the opinion polls in the direction of your candidate.
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Where does the word robot come from?
The word Robot means to work slavishly'. It is a rare example of a Czech word ('robota') being incorporated into English.
Why 'Maundy' Thursday?
The earliest citation of maunde to describe the Thursday before Easter in Middle English dates to the mid-15C.
Where does the word Halloween come from?
Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash Halloween or All-Hallows-Eve takes place on the night of 31 October in anticipation of All-Hallows-Day (1st November) . It has emerged from a combination of Christian and pagan traditions. Etymology Hallow is the old English word for saint. Halloween is a Scottish variation dating back to the 1700s. The 'een' suffix is a contraction of 'evening'. 'Hallowed evening' or 'holy evening' was later understood to mean eve or 'night before' as with Christmas Eve All Hallows Day is now called All-Saints-Day in the Catholic calendar. It commemorates Christian martyrs All Souls Day follows on 2 November. On All Souls Day Catholics pray for the 'souls of the (faithful) departed'. Photo by Tony J on Unsplash Halloween FAQ - brief history of Halloween customs - free 3 min read Halloween often features in Victorian ghost stories. Read and/or listen to E. Nesbit’s ‘Man-Made-in...
Five popular phrases associated with the Titanic?
Wallace Hartley, leader of the band that played on Few events have captured the public imagination like the sinking of the Titanic on the night of the 14th April 1912. Five phrases associated with the disaster are still in common use.
Why did English become the 'global language'?
English is the world's leading lingua franca or second language (see L2 speakers in the table below). According to David Crystal, this has nothing to do with its inherent qualities. Other linguists disagree: Read More Download English Language FAQ Teaching Pack only £1.99
What is an octothorpe?
In the 1960s engineers at Bell Labs were designing the first touch keyboard telephones.
What are phrasal verbs? Is there an easy way to learn them?
phrasal verb noun [ C ] / ˌfreɪ.z ə lˈvɜːb / / -ˈvɝːb / a phrase that consists of a verb with a preposition or adverb or both, the meaning of which is different from the meaning of its separate parts: 'Look after', 'work out' and 'make up for' are all phrasal verbs. Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus A phrasal verb is a verb with two parts; the verb and a preposition. The preposition changes the meaning of the verb - to turn on a light is different from to turn a corner. Is there an easy way to learn phrasal verbs? Not if 'easy' means without practice. Phrasal verbs are tricky for English language learners because there are no universal rules. They are the inner secrets of the language; available only to those with the curiosity and patience to discover them. There are, however, a few useful guidelines that can help - see here : Use offer code CQDWKF0 to download English FAQ Teach...
Best way to teach a language? Guide to ELT methods
An interesting a overview of the different approaches here: With thanks to the excellent Slideshare 100 English Language FAQ Teaching Pack - only£0.99/$1.50 Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching How To Teach English (with DVD) How to Teach English Language Learners
What is the most beautiful word in the English language?
What makes a word beautiful? The marriage of form, function and sound? The meaning? The etymology? Anyway, here is my list. OK - Alan Metcalf makes a strong case for what he calls 'America's greatest word'. He argues that OK encapsulates the American spirit of tolerance, enterprise, and practicality. Love - the word that features in the title of 12 Beatles songs ( All You Need Is- /Can’t Buy Me -/And I - You ). And 113 US Number One singles. Yes - Joyce describes this as the feminine word and has Molly Bloom end Ulysses with a resounding tribute to it: 'yes and his heart was going like mad, and yes I said yes I will Yes. " Bewitched - beautiful sound, beautiful Rodgers & Hart song, magical idea. Would also enter ‘bothered’ and ‘bewildered but with only five Twilight - vampire fans are banned from voting. Iridescent ( ir-i-DES-ent) - ‘brilliant, lustrous, colourful’ - what more could you ask from a word? Serendipity - the beauty of chance/fate Au...
What is a debt default?
To default on a debt is to stop repaying it. A sovereign debt default is when a country cannot make an agreed repayment on money it owes - as happened to Argentina in the early 1990s, for example. An early sign of a possible default is when the credit rating agencies downgrade the credit rating of the country concerned to 'junk bond status' - see here for a brief description (with audio) of what this means. What is a debt default? (mp3) What happens when a country defaults? Usually the national currency falls in value and this helps to make the goods of country concerned more affordable. International institutions like the IMF also arrange repayment plans or write offs/markdowns of debt. Why would a Greek default be such a big deal? It's a small country! 1. Because it owes massive amounts to some of the biggest European banks. They will lose money or 'have a hair cut' as financial traders put it. 2. Greece cannot devalue i...
Which language has the most a) native speakers b) 2nd language speakers?
The discussions on how to save the euro were, bizarrely conducted in English, though there were not a Briton in sight . The Sunday Times 14/02/10 Listen! More on this & related topics below. (English language level: Upper Intermediate CEF (B2) According to David Graddol's extensive survey for the British Council, the number of non-native or second language speakers of English now outnumbers those of primary or native speakers. At the same time there is an ever increasing need for speakers of different languages to communicate with each other: international tourism is growing, but the proportion of encounters involving a native English speaker is declining (1.9). There were around 763 million international travellers in 2004, but nearly 75% of visits involved visitors from a non-English-speaking country travelling to a non-English-speaking destination. This demonstrates the ... growing role for global English. (free) Inte...
Is English an 'easy' language to learn?
Not according to millions of student of English as a foreign language! But English does have some 'user friendly features as an OUP lexicographer explains in this short extract from a BBC interview Easy English (ESL)
Why do we say Iraq War but not Afghanistan War?
Not another debate over the rights and wrongs of those wars but a peculiar linguistic quirk pointed out by Jay Nordlinger My colleague and I were talking about this, too: We say “Iraq War”; but “Afghan War.” Those are unequal. We would never say “Iraqi War” or “Afghanistan War.” Strange. We refer to the “Korean War.” But we would never say “Vietnamese War.” We say “Vietnam War” — and not “Korea War.” It is curious. My theory is that we instinctively reach for the adjective but collectively abandon this rule for multi-syllable countries. So 'Korean' but not 'Vietnamese'. Not very scientific but when did that stop me ....