English Language FAQ

Y oke (slang/noun) -  1. an unflattering reference to unspecified thing or person.  2. any   device,   unusual   object,   or   gadget:   where's   the   yoke   for   opening   tins? . Mystified by this title. I always understood yoke to be a word you used dismissively What the hell is that yoke for? One of my favourite Irish words. Monosyllabic, irreverent and triumphantly refusing to accept the official label given to somebody or something. All that is best (and perhaps worst) in the national character.

Twitter CEO: 'We suck at dealing with abuse ' An internet troll is someone who posts malign comments online. The intention is to insult or ridicule a group or individual.  Where does the word come from? The etymology is complex -  there are trails to an old French hunting term  troller  and a norse one describing a mythological monster.  Why did troll catch-on online? The Internet use of troll  probably derives from a slang term used by US naval pilots in the 1970s -  see here . So trolls just insult people for fun? Trolling can simply consist of crude abuse but some self-confessed trolls pride themselves on their cunning attacks on their victims. One strategy is to join a group under false pretences and then goad genuine members of the group with ridiculous, provocative or abusive comments.  Are they just an unpleasant nuisance? Sometimes trolling can have a sinister impact Jojo Moyes revealed in an article in the Daily Telegraph Trolling - posting inf

3.  Give out  in Ireland commonly means to scold or complain: You can give out to someone, or just give out. It’s often intensified in different ways, e.g.  He was  giving out stink to them . (phrasal verb) From Stan Carey's fun list How is it used? I heard this a lot - sometimes as a warning to drop a contentious subject 'Will you quit giving out about that now' - more often in amusement 'well he would never stop giving out about how much the loved the job - then one day he didn't turn up for work and that was the last we saw of him ....

The word Pragmatic has been researched more than any other in the near 200 year history of Merriam-Webster. dictionary. It is currently the 11th most searched for word.  Definitions:  prag•mat•ic   (prægˈmæt ɪk) adj. 1. concerned with practical considerations or consequences; having a practical point of view. 2. of or pertaining to philosophical pragmatism. 3. of or pertaining to pragmatics. 4. treating historical phenomena with special reference to their causes, antecedent conditions, and results. 5. of or pertaining to the affairs of a state or community. 6. Archaic. a. busy; active. b. officious; meddlesome. c. dogmatic; opinionated. n.7. pragmatic sanction + prag•mat′i•cal for for defs.1, 2, 5) Commonly understood to mean  - Doing what works best in the circumstances, acting according to practical considerations rather than abstract principle, to deal with the real world. Origin -  Classical Latin  pragmaticus , skilled in business or law ; from Cla

There are thousands of regular verbs ( paint, walk)  - and less than two hundred irregular verbs.  Yet it is those awkward irregulars which dominate in spoken in English ( see here ). English Language 100 FAQ Teaching Pack     -  only £1.99 using discount code  CQDWKF0 Grammar Girl has a slightly different take here - and talks about verbs becoming irregular in her most recent podcast. Use offer code CQDWKF0 to download English FAQ Teaching Pack  for only £1.99

Quantitative easing is when a government pumps 'new' money directly into the economy. It  does this is by buying assets - usually financial assets such as government and corporate bonds.  The financial institutions selling those assets (e.g banks) can then boost the economy by lending this new money to businesses. Why is QE unusual? The normal way a government stimulates economic growth is by a) reducing the cost of borrowing  b) lowering taxes, particularly on business investment. The problem in the current financial crisis has been that interest rates are already at historic lows. As a result some governments (notably the US and to a lesser extent the UK) have attempted to inject money directly into the economy.  The European  Central Bank has resisted QE until recently. Some would argue that this has been a factor in the weakness of the European economic recovery English Language 100 FAQ Teaching Pack   -  only £1.99 using discount code  CQDWKF0