Tag Archives: vocabulary
10 English Words Borrowed from Indigenous Americans Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 2, 2018
A surprising number of words in our English vocabulary can be traced back to the indigenous tribes of the Americas. These are the inhabitants of North and South America before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Close to 85% of all English words are originally derived from just three other language sources. According to surveys cited…
How to Insult Someone in English Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 11, 2018
We have a saying in English, “Don’t get mad, get even.” It means that if someone has upset you, or wronged you in any way, you shouldn’t get angry with them. Instead, you should do something that will make them even more upset at you. We have a word for that, too: one-upmanship. It is…
Top 10 English Blogs of 2017 Posted by Gary Locke on Dec 28, 2017
2017 was a busy year for us at the English Language Blog. We covered a wide range of topics from studies of literary figures like Agatha Christie and Henry David Thoreau to the vocabulary of spies and how to properly write about time. Still, what we always like to know is what you wanted…
Further vs. Farther in English Posted by Gary Locke on Dec 1, 2017
You can go further in life if you know the difference between further and farther. We cover many confusing elements of English vocabulary in this blog, and for good reason – there are a lot of them! One of the most commonly mixed-up pairs of words is farther and further. They are both adverbs relative…
The (English) Language of Spies Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 19, 2017
They walk among us. If you spend enough time at an international airport, I guarantee that one will pass right in front of you. They hack, they listen, they watch from the shadows, they examine records, they find and exploit secrets, and they have been around for centuries. They are spies. In the most simplistic…
Feeling Groovy! Posted by Gary Locke on Sep 28, 2017
When people politely ask me how I am, I frequently answer, “I’m groovy!” The most common response is, “I haven’t heard that word in a while.” It also brings a smile to their lips. Which, of course, is why I say it. People know what I mean, even if the word has essentially gone out…
Writing About Time in English Posted by Gary Locke on Sep 7, 2017
I’m sure that you know how to tell time, but do you know all the ways that time can be written out on a page? What’s the preferred method? And what does GMT, and a.m. and p.m. mean, anyway? Many years ago, I was a radio announcer. At least twice every hour that I was…