Heartland English School – Word of the Day

Theme: First Week of Fall

Word:  pumpkin spice (used to describe a noun)

Meaning: pumpkin spice (cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg) with pumpkin flavour/puree, used to give something flavour 

Examples:

• In Fall, Monica orders pumpkin spice lattes daily.
• I want to get my sister a pumpkin spice candle for her birthday next month.

Theme: First Week of Fall

Word:  foliage (n.)

Meaning: a group of leaves 

Examples:

• The foliage at this time of year is breath-taking.
• Some delicious fruits and vegetables have poisonous foliage

Theme: First Week of Fall

Word:  harvest (n., v.)

Meaning: -to pick/gather crops (v.)

               -crops that have been gathered (n.)

               -the time of year to gather crops (n.)

Examples:

• This weekend I plan to harvest my carrots, corn, and potatoes.
• Olivia’s harvest has been really good so far this year.
• The beginning of the harvest period changes slightly every year.

Theme: First week of Fall

Word:  rake (n., v.)

Meaning: a long handled-tool used outside to collect leaves

Examples:

• Last night I raked my lawn.
• It’s a good idea to buy a good quality rake to make cleaning up easier.

Theme: First week of fall

Word:  crop (n.)

Meaning: a plant (typically grains, fruit or vegetables) often grown in large amounts

Examples:

• William’s crops were destroyed by the poor weather.
• I planted a lot of vegetables in spring. Last weekend I gathered the crops.

Theme: Alliterative Syllables

Word:  Riff-raff (n.)

Pronunciation:  /rifraf/

Meaning: people with a bad reputation or of a low social class

Examples:

• She says that charging high prices will keep the riff-raff out of the store.
• We don’t want any riff-raff to move into the area.

Theme: Alliterative Syllables

Word:  Dillydally (int. v.)

Pronunciation:  /dɪl.iˌdæl.i/

Meaning:  to waste time, especially by being slow, or by not being able to make a decision

Examples:

• Don’t dillydally on the way to the store
• If you dillydally any longer, we will miss our plane!

Theme: Alliterative Syllables

Word:  Topsy-Turvy (adj., n.)

Pronunciation:  /tɑːp.sitɝː.vi/

Meaning:  upside down or in a state of confusion

Examples:

• Things are so topsy-turvy at work these days.
• Most of the toys in the child’s room were sitting topsy-turvy after he had played with them.

Theme: Alliterative Syllables

Word:  Jibber-Jabber (v.,n.)

Pronunciation:  /jibərˌjabər/

Meaning:  talk in a rapid and excited way that is difficult to understand.

Examples:

• While my mom was jibber-jabbering to the rest of the family, I quietly went to get some food.
• I answered some questions with quite a bit too much jibber-jabber.

Theme: Alliterative Syllables

Word:  knickknack, knick-knack (n.)

Pronunciation:  /nɪkˌnæk/

Meaning:  a small, decorative object, esp. in a house

Examples:

• They had various knick-knacks on the top of the bookcase.
• The shelves were covered with useless knickknacks.