Improve your vocab!

But which is more popular..?

Can we get some examples in the comments section?

It can be anonymous if you are shy.

Multi~ Vs Poly~

The other day a student asked me what the difference between the prefixes "multi-" and "poly-" was, and if they were interchangable. Well I knew they were synonymous (have the same meaning) but they are not intrchangeable and I didn't know why. Well I did some research and it turns out, multi- is derived from Latin & the words to which it is prefixed tend to be from Latin too. (as in multilinguist) poly- is from Greek & the words to which it is prefixed tend to be from Greek (as in polyglot, which is essentially the same as multilinguist). When the words were created, it seems that hybrid Greek-Latin forms were undesirable, though there are some examples like monolinguist (hybrid version) & monoglot (Greek version).

Vocab

AUTOCRATIC

au·to·crat·ic

adjective o-tə-kra-tik

 

1: of, relating to, or being an autocracy : absolute  

an autocratic government

2: characteristic of or resembling an autocrat : despotic  

an autocratic ruler

 

— au·to·crat·i·cal·ly adverb

Examples

1. democracy is supposed to protect the people against the rise of autocratic rulers
2. an autocratic Boy Scout leader who is under the delusion that he's still an army colonel

One in a blue moon

once in a blue moon

adv. phr

Very rarely; very seldom; almost never. 

"Coin collecting is interesting, 

but you find a valuable coin only once in a blue moon.

(coin collecting is interesting, 

but you find a valuable coin only very rarely.)

EIKEN 1st grade question

Helen's ability to create a  (       ) with new 

students makes her an outstanding teacher. 

After only a few lessons, they feel every relaxed.

1. stigma

2. mirage

3. rapport

4. spoof

Hit it off

hit it off

v. phr., informal 

To enjoy one another's company; 

be happy and comfortable in each others presence. 

"Tom and Fred hit it off well with each other. "

(Tom and Fred get along well together.) 

"Mary and Jane hit it off from the first."

(Mary and Jane liked each other when they first met.)

Loan words

Japanese borrows a lot of words from other languages, 

mostly English & Portuguese. 

English also borrows a lot of vocabulary. 

Here is a fun list of interesting English words 

that originally come from other languages.

Just click the picture above for the link.

Synonym

Get away with

get away with

v., informal

To do (something bad or wrong) 

without being caught or punished.

"Some students get away with 

not doing their homework."

(They leave their work undone 

without being caught or punished.)

Eye halve a spelling checker

Ubiquitous

ubiq·ui·tous

adjective

Definition of UBIQUITOUS

: existing or being everywhere at the same time  

: constantly encountered  

: widespread a ubiquitous fashion

— ubiq·ui·tous·ly adverb

— ubiq·ui·tous·ness noun

Examples of UBIQUITOUS

1. The company's advertisements are ubiquitous.
2. "by that time cell phones had become ubiquitous, and people had long ceased to be impressed by the sight of one"
3. Hot dogs are the ideal road trip food—inexpensive, portable, ubiquitous. —Paul Lucas, Saveur, June/July 2008

And if you're wondering who the old man at the top is,

that's the ubiquitous Bill Hunter. He was a famous 

Australian actor, and up until last year, when he died,

it was against the law to make a film in Australia

without him in it. 

Phobias

I don't remember why, 

but recently I was talking to some students about PHOBIAS, 

or irrational fears / anxiety disorders. 

Click the picture for a link to a list of phobias.

My favorites have to be,

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia – fear of long words

Anatidaephobia – the fictional fear that a duck is watching you.

and

Venustraphobia – fear of beautiful women (Which I have!)

:Phil

Word of the Week

 

 

Catch-22  

 

DEFINITION

noun

1: a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule;  

also : the circumstance or rule that denies a solution

2: an illogical, unreasonable, or senseless situation

 

EXAMPLES

Following her graduation from college, Kelsey struggled with the classic job-seeker's catch-22: how to acquire work experience in her chosen field without already having a job in that field.

"It is the conservationist's catch-22: what to do when one endangered species starts eating another. That is the problem facing environmentalists whose research shows that jaguars, themselves at risk of extinction, are increasingly preying on endangered turtle species." — From an article by Kevin Rawlinson in The Independent (London), May 8, 2012

 

DID YOU KNOW?

"Catch-22" originated as the title of a 1961 novel by Joseph Heller. (Heller had originally planned to title his novel Catch-18, but the publication of Leon Uris's Mila 18 persuaded him to change the number.) The novel's catch-22 was as follows: a combat pilot was crazy by definition (he would have to be crazy to fly combat missions) and since army regulations stipulated that insanity was justification for grounding, a pilot could avoid flight duty by simply asking, but if he asked, he was demonstrating his sanity (anyone who wanted to get out of combat must be sane) and had to keep flying. The label "catch-22" soon entered the language as the label for any irrational, circular and impossible situation.

From Merriam-Webster Online

Eh?

Click the picture above for an interesting 

list of words that are commonly confused.

Word of the Week

incorrigible
in-KOR-uh-juh-bul
 
DEFINITION
adjective
1: incapable of being 
    corrected, 
    amended, 
    or reformed

2: not manageable
   unruly

3: unalterable, 
   inveterate 


EXAMPLES
Neil was such an incorrigible slob that his parents eventually gave up nagging him about cleaning his room and simply told him to keep the door closed.

DID YOU KNOW?

"Incorrigible" has been part of English since the 14th century. Back then, it was used to describe people who were morally depraved, but now it is most often applied to people who merely have bad habits. Is there a "corrigible?" Yes, indeed, we've used "corrigible" in the sense of "capable of being set right; reparable" (as in "a corrigible defect" and "a corrigible sinner") since the 15th century. Both words are from Latin "corrigere," which means "to correct" and which is also the source of our word "correct."

From Merriam-Webster Online

Vocab

Try this vocabulary quiz!

It has many different levels!

Click the picture for the link.

A Mysterious & Suspenseful Crime Thriller

Some of the terms we use to describe movies 

are very similar and difficult to distinguish. 

The lines on this get a little unclear and different 

movie type people will have different opinions

OK so, easy ones first.

A "CRIME" movie
is obviously any movie about crime.

And a "MYSTERY" movie
is a movie with a mystery that needs solving.

Now it gets a little more confusing.

A "THRILLER"
is a movie in which the hero is in great danger.

And "SUSPENSE"
is a movie in which there is a big event that needs to be stopped.

Nowadays most films today fall into one or more
of these categories, and the nonsense that was
The Da Vinci Code could be classed as all of the above.

Word of the Week

 

^SACRIFICE

 

¹sac·ri·fice sækrəfaɪs/ noun

plural sac·ri·fic·es

the act of giving up something that you want to keep 

in order to get or do something else or to help someone [count] 

 

▪ The war required everyone to make sacrifices. 

 

▪ No sacrifice is too great when it comes to her children. 

 

 ▪ He made many personal sacrifices to provide help to the city's homeless people. 

 

 ▪ He made the final/supreme/ultimate sacrifice [=he died] for his country. [noncount]  

 

▪ The war required much sacrifice from everyone. 

 

▪ He provided help to the city's homeless people at great personal sacrifice (to himself).

 

 

²sacrifice verb

sacrifices; sacrificed; sacrific·ing

to give up (something that you want to keep) 

in order to get or do something else or to help someone [+ obj]  

 

▪ She's had to sacrifice a lot for her family.  

 

▪ He sacrificed his personal life in order to get ahead in his career. 

 

 ▪ I want to follow a diet that is healthful without sacrificing taste. 

 

 ▪ She was able to ask for their help without sacrificing her dignity. 

 

 ▪ They sacrificed their lives [=they died] for their country. [no obj] 

 

 ▪ She was willing to suffer, sacrifice, and work for success.

 

From Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary Online 

Don't touch my philtrum.

An interesting list of things 

most people didn't even know had names.
Click the pic for the link.

"Please stop, my brain is full."