By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
There are lots of strange ideas surrounding the word ‘however’. Some teachers tell their students they shouldn’t begin a new sentence with the word ‘but’, and should substitute the word ‘however’ instead.
However (as it were), this misses the fact that ‘but’ and ‘however’ are different classes of words, with ‘but’ being a conjunction and ‘however’ being an adverb.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
What’s the technical term for talking about yourself in the third person? Or using the royal ‘we’ when you aren’t a king or queen? Words, of course, are the tools of the writer’s trade. But what are some good words, perhaps even some unusual but wonderfully descriptive words, which mean ‘pretentious’ or ‘pompous’?
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Words, of course, are the tools of the writer’s trade. But what are some good words, perhaps even some unusual but wonderfully descriptive words, which mean ‘stupid’ or ‘foolish’ or ‘gullible’? Here are some of the best, most useful, as well as some of the most unusual synonyms for ‘stupid’ and ‘stupidity’ (and for foolish people).
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The English language possesses more than a few good words that mean ‘lazy’ or ‘a lazy person’. Below, as well as some of the more common synonyms for ‘lazy’ or ‘laziness’, we’ve trawled the old dictionaries and thesauri to find some of the best little-known synonyms for the word ‘lazy’ and its variations. (Being lazy is very different from feeling tired, and tiredness has its own synonyms.)
Some interesting synonyms for ‘drunk’, plus other useful words relating to drinking
There are few words that have more colourful synonyms than ‘drunk’, ‘intoxicated’, ‘soused’, ‘pickled’ – whatever you choose to call a state of alcohol-induced inebriation. Writers have often drawn on these synonyms for intoxication, and have even added or popularised some of their own. For instance, the great comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, as we revealed in our post on 10 great words he coined, invented one or two. But this is our list of some of the more unusual and descriptive terms for states of drunkenness. So grab a glass of your favourite tipple and imbibe these fine words.