Oct 13, 2023 Chunks, Phrase of the day Everyday English drawn from Greek mythology A while back, I wrote a blog post about words and expressions that come from literature, but have passed into everyday use. Today, inspired by a recent conversation with my daughter, who’s currently obsessed with Greek mythology, I wanted to dig a bit deeper into the way the ideas from old myths and stories become […]
Jan 18, 2023 Chunks, Phrase of the day Literary figures in everyday speech In one of my recent classes, we were discussing the way in which the use of social media inside authoritarian countries like Russia, China and Iran is almost always monitored, and how posting something that’s deemed to be subversive or in opposition to the state can land you in hot water. Share an anti-government meme […]
May 28, 2021 Chunks, Phrase of the day Phrase of the day: How the other half lives May has been a truly miserable month with the rain bucketing down day after day, the wind howling like it was the middle of March and temperatures more akin to November than the onset of summer. When will it all end? I had been hoping that one silver lining of cancelling our 2021 summer school […]
Mar 29, 2021 Chunks, Phrase of the day Phrase of the day: What’s the damage? Last month, I had to take my car in to the garage to get the annual MOT done. An MOT is basically a check you have to have done every year to ensure your car is still roadworthy – it’s safe enough to be on the roads. I always get mine done in the same […]
Nov 11, 2020 Chunks, Phrase of the day What’s in a name? Almost as soon as I started teaching, I realised that there were plenty of countries out there that took names a bit more seriously than we do here in England. When meeting new classes, I’d often be told things like “I’m Haruko. My name means spring child“, or “My name’s Hakim, which means wise in […]
