Category: definitions

Feb 15

Ten better ways to say: tired

Keep awake long enough to consider these options. (The sixth was completely new to me.) bleary prostrate nodding tapped out enervated logy (or loggy) bushed drowsy torpid bone-weary

Jan 24

port·man·teau 1: a large suitcase. 2: …

If the weather has you huddled indoors today, have a quick look at Mental Floss: 10 Words You Might Not Know are Portmanteaux

Nov 23

The return of pictograms

A fascinating look at the history and use of emoji, by Adam Sterbergh for New York Magazine: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/emojis-rapid-evolution.html    

Oct 30

Ten better ways to say: scary

Happy Halloween! I hope you experience (and survive) something suitably spine-chilling. nightmarish ghastly frightful formidable unnerving horrendous horrifying hair-rising eerie perturbing Revisit ten better ways to say: afraid to plan your response!  

Jun 12

A quick review of basics: write more professionally

Most of us will graciously overlook a rare spelling or typing mistake. But be warned: if your messages to clients or colleagues are frequently littered with these basic errors, you’re likely harming your professional image. From Daily Muse, Inc: 16 Spelling Mistakes You Need to Stop Making — Now

May 19

The whole nine yards

From BBC Magazine: “Lexicographer Jonathon Green selects the slang words and expressions that encapsulate the age in which they were coined.”

Feb 14

Ten better ways to say: sweet

Whether it’s cake, a rose garden, a sonata, or the girl next door one of these should fit: syrupy cloying saccharine honeyed toothsome nectarous delightsome endearing dulcet redolent

Jan 09

Old words imbedded in our idioms

An interesting list (at least to fans of English) from Mental Floss of old words that linger in our language by merit of inclusion in idioms.  See if you know the word meanings within these expressions: http://mentalfloss.com/article/51150/12-old-words-survived-getting-fossilized-idioms

Nov 18

Ten better way to say: afraid

Petrified Blood runs cold Shaken Aghast Blanched (with terror) Scared stiff Unnerved Alarmed Taken aback Spooked    

Sep 07

Ten better ways to say: yummy

Now that the summer heat has faded, I have more energy to concoct things in the kitchen. I hope a few of my efforts will be worthy of these adjectives. 1. scrumptious 2. delectable 3. toothsome 4. ambrosial 5. mouthwatering 6. tantalizing 7. divine 8. fit for a king 9. to die for 10. choice …

Continue reading