Heartland English School – Word of the Day

Theme: Expressions with “water”.

Expression: Water down [common in passive: “be watered down”]

Meaning: To make something weaker or less effective.

Examples:

[literal example]: “Don’t go to that pub! I heard that they water down their liquor.”

[figurative example]: “I liked the book much better than the movie. I felt like the movie really watered down a lot of the major storylines.”

Theme: Expressions with “water”.

Expression: Tread water

Meaning: used to suggest that someone/something is actively doing things, but not  making any progress.

Examples:

“Not having received a promotion in years, Susan felt like she was just treading water in her career.”

“The stock prices continued to tread water for a second straight week.”

Theme: Expressions with “water”.

Expression: A fish out of water [used with “to be” or “to be like” or “to feel like”]

Meaning: used to describe someone who is in a very uncomfortable and unfamiliar situation.

Examples:

“I felt like a fish out of water at my new school. I didn’t know anybody, and I had no idea where to go!”

“Everyone else at the party knew each other really well, and Mary was like a fish out of water.“

Theme: Expressions with “water”.

Expression: Test the waters

Meaning: to informally try to test or gauge whether something is a good idea before you commit to it.

Examples:

“A company internship can help you test the waters and find out if the job is something you want to do long term.”

“Before launching their new product, the company decided to test the waters by releasing a small free version first, to see if people liked it.”

Theme: Things your body does

Word: hiccup (v) (n)

Meaning: when air seems to get caught in your throat and the muscles contract, cutting off your vocal cords and causing the ‘hic’ sound

Ex: “I can’t stop hiccupping!”

“It’s ok, when you get the hiccups, you should hold your breath until they go away, or try drinking a lot of water without stopping.”

Theme: Things your body does

Word: crack (verb) (noun)

Meaning: when your bones shift and joints move, they sometimes make a sound like this

Ex. A good chiropractor doesn’t have to crack a lot of joints to make you feel better. (v)

Ex. Did that crack just come from your knuckles?! (n)

Theme: things your body does

Word: gargle (verb) (noun)

Meaning: to rinse your mouth and throat by holding liquid in it and pushing air out

Ex. Some people gargle with mouthwash before bed, or in the morning. (v)

A gargle of salt water is a good way to get rid of a sore throat. (n)

Theme : things your body does

Word: a raspberry (n) blow a raspberry (v)

Meaning: when you put your lips together and blow air out

Ex. Children always laugh when adults blow raspberries.

If you dislike something, a raspberry is a VERY informal way of sharing your opinion.

Theme : things your body does

Word: collywobbles (n)

Meaning: stomach pain or discomfort, especially because of nervousness or hunger

Ex. He suffered an attack of collywobbles after he missed his dinner.

Theme: English words stolen from French

Word: fiancé / fiancée (n.)

Meaning: a man (fiancé) or woman (fiancée) who is engaged to marry someone

Examples:

• My fiancée and I have a lot of stress right now. Wedding planning is difficult!
• I didn’t know Jill was engaged! Who is her fiancé?