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Having a ‘whoop’ of a time thinking about ‘whoops a daisy’!

Have you seen the movie ‘Notting Hill’? Have you seen the scene where Hugh Grant keeps saying ‘whoops a daisy!’?

 

‘Whoops a daisy!’ is an expression of surprise or dismay, as shown by Hugh Grant when he fails to climb over the garden wall. The modern-day equivalent is thought to probably be ‘Doh!’ The term has been shortened to “whoops” and some people think it may be related to the expression “to whoop,” as in giving “whoops of joy.”
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With regards to the historical background of “whoop” as a verb, it relates to a falconer who whoops his hawks and dates back to the early 1400s.  If you cried ‘whoop’ during a hunt this would indicate to your fellow hunters that your quarry, your target animal, or game, was dead.
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Whoop also appears in slang, for example ‘to whoop it up’  which means to have a jolly good time, or to ‘live it up’. “Making whoopee” arose in the US around 1927. Plus, something not so pleasant, for us Brits the term “whoopsie” is apparently a child’s word for excrement. So for anyone who mixes American and British English you must be careful to be clear between making whoopie, and making whoopsie! Things could go really wrong!
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Finally, yes people really do say this! Well… I do, and so does Hugh Grant!
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Click

This cartoon is based on the double meaning of click.
click_idiom
A click is a short, sharp sound.
“The door closed with a click.”
“Turn the handle until you hear a click.”In informal English, click is used to describe what happens when you suddenly understand or remember something.
“When she started talking about Boston, it suddenly clicked where I had met her before.”
“I had to read the report a couple of times before it clicked.”A seat belt fastens around someone travelling in a vehicle or aircraft and holds them in their seat if there is an accident.

more helpful vocabulary from …
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Word of the Day

Do you use a site that gives you a’ word of the day’? It is a great way to increase your vocabulary! You can subscribe and get a new word emailed to you daily from Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary. The popular ESL site, Many Things also offers a slang word of the day > http://www.manythings.org/daily/

 

Here are some tips from

Woodward English for learning the ‘word of the day’…

7-tips-learn-english-every-day

 

LINDA’S PROFILE

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But… synonyms and antonyms…

When I was young my father banned me from saying ‘yeah but…’ when he was trying to reason with me and say no. Although this was a very frustrating situation it did teach me to find other ways to say ‘but’…
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However / although / on the other hand / yet / alternatively / except / nevertheless.…
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So, I would suggest that if you want a fun way to amplify your vocabulary, ban yourself from using a word for a while and see if you can find other ways to say what you want to say. It is best perhaps an exercise used to try to replace those words that you use often.
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You can also use it to look at opposites, plus all those new alternative words will themselves have their own synonyms and antonyms.
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Give it go! It might be fun!
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Extra tip: Never start a sentence with ‘but’! It’s bad grammar.
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Learning the eBay “Lingo”

Do you have trouble sometimes understanding when people talk about eBay? Don’t worry, some of the jargon is really obscure, and you can’t be expected to understand it until someone’s told you what it means. Here’s a little list of some of the most useful lingo to know, but you don’t need to memorise it – even the most common jargon is only used relatively rarely.

Words
Bid: telling eBay’s system the maximum price you are prepared to pay for an item.
Dutch: an auction where more than one of an item is available.
Feedback: positive or negative comments left about other users on eBay.
Mint: in perfect condition.
Non-paying bidder: a bidder who wins an auction but does not then go on to buy the item.
PayPal: an electronic payment method accepted by most sellers.
Rare: used and abused on eBay, now entirely meaningless.
Reserve: the minimum price the seller will accept for the item.
Shill bid: a fake bid placed by a seller trying to drive up their auction’s price.
Snail Mail: the post, which is obviously very slow compared to email.
Sniping: bidding at the last second to win the item before anyone else can outbid you.

http://www.ego4u.com/en/business-english/infos/ebay-slang

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More on Remembering New Vocabulary

One of the biggest problems many language learners  have is remembering and retaining new vocabulary. Students often talk to me about keeping notebooks and lists of new vocabulary they come across and yet  finding it very difficult to remember or to use these new words or expressions. If this is a problem you’re having then this link may be very helpful for you. As always, with language acquisition, the more you can personalise it, make it relevant to you, the more you can relate things to your life and your interests the easier it will be to remember and to use them.  http://www.strategiesinlanguagelearning.com/improve-your-language-learning/

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I need English for work

Knowing English and having the vocabulary learned from a textbook is very important at some work places.  But what about the things that the textbooks don’t teach you?  Have you heard a phrase that totally confuses you and then you lose your train of thought and all of the sudden are totally lost?  Usually when this happens when the person that you are speaking with uses an idiom that you are not familiar with.  Native speakers can even be confused by idioms!  Especially when speaking with people from a different area.

someone’s TRAIN OF THOUGHT

Fig. someone’s pattern of thinking or sequence of ideas; what one was just thinking about.

If native speakers can be confused by these, how can an English learner even start to take on idioms?

TAKE ON

Phrasal verb a:  to begin to perform or deal with  b:  to contend with as an opponent

You MUST surround yourself with everyday English as much as possible. (click on this link, you won’t regret it)

You can follow the steps found in the link above and focus on your industry.  That is the best way to improve your business English and let’s not forget the power of Google!  If you work in a hotel, google ‘hotel idioms’.

Try this quiz and see how you do >

Business English Idioms: Idioms Test

 

I am always available to answer any questions you have about idioms 🙂   Comment on this blog post and I will reply!  

 

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Surround Yourself with English

I have been teaching online since 2010 and I have probably said ‘surround yourself with English’ over 1,000 times!  I guess it is my catchphrase

You MUST surround yourself with everyday English as much as possible.  The first time that you hear or read a word/idiom/phrase that you don’t know, write it down and look it up or better yet, ask someone (sometimes the dictionary can confuse you with idioms or phrasal verbs).  When you take the time to do a little research, the word/idiom/phrase is more likely to stick in your mind.  Then the next time you come across it, it will become reinforced and more of a part of your active vocabulary.   The more you hear or see something the more likely you are to remember it, right?  And that, my friends,  is why you need to listen and read English whenever you can!

The next step is to be able to actively use the word/idiom/phrase in your daily interactions.  This is where difficulties can arise.  Anyone can LEARN a word/idiom/phrase by using a book or the internet, but it is much more difficult to get that word/idiom/phrase into your active vocabulary and be able to easily use it yourself.  This is where PRACTICE comes in.  PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! (another catchphrase of mine).  Once you learn the word, you need to use it!

Speaking with a native speaker is an excellent way to practice, but that may not be possible for everyone.  I am always posting on facebook, twitter, pinterest and tumblr to help students surround themselves with English as much as possible.  I hope that you will take advantage of it and spend a little time everyday to improve your English.

#EngVocab

catchphrase (noun) a word or expression that is used repeatedly and conveniently to represent or characterize a person, group, idea, or point of view

come across (phrasal verb) to find or encounter, especially by chance

 

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Cooking with an English recipe

Now that September is well underway, school has begun and so have regular English classes.
Today is a cold, wet, rainy day and my student of 9 years old is coming over. I've had to rethink my lesson for the day because we can't go outside so I thought we would make cookies or a cake. Here is a really great recipe that's not too difficult to understand.
Chocolate fridge cake
This is a no bake cake that keeps fresh in the fridge for two weeks or more (if it lasts that long)!
You will need:
250 grams digestive biscuits
150 grams of plain or dark chocolate
150 grams of milk chocolate
100 grams of unsalted butter
150 grams of golden syrup
100 grams of dried apricots, chopped
75 grams of raisins
60 grams of pecans or other nuts (optional)
1. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash them into pieces with a rolling pin.
2. Melt both kids of chocolate, the butter, and the golden syrup in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (bain marie), Stir well.
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the broken biscuits, apricots, raisins, and nuts.
4. Line a 20cm (8in) shallow, square shaped tin with clingfilm. Spoon the mix into the tin and level it by pressing down with a potato masher.
5. Set the cake in the fridge for 1 -2 hours. Then turn it out and peel off the clingfilm.
6. Enjoy!
Here comes Autumn!!!!!
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Remembering New Vocabulary

Here is a really excellent blog on language acquisition. This post makes some very useful suggestions about how to remember new vocabulary…..it’s all about context!!!! Have a look at this: http://www.lingholic.com/how-to-remember-words-when-learning-a-language/

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