Heartland English School – Word of the Day

Theme: Breaking Up

Expression: revenge body

Meaning: after you break up, you lose weight, go to the gym, and look fantastic.

Examples: After she broke up with him, he was motivated to go to the gym and get a revenge body, so he would look good and she would regret breaking up with him. You’re looking great–what a revenge body! Ha ha!

Theme: Breaking Up

Expression: let someone down easy

Meaning: tell someone you want to break up, but in a nice way; tell someone bad news in a nice way

Examples: He very kindly let her down easy during the breakup–he allowed her to tell everyone that she had broken up with him, and he gave her some very nice gifts. The professor didn’t tell the student he had failed in front of everyone in the class; she told him in private in order to let him down easy.

Theme: Breaking Up

Expression: fall apart

Meaning: a relationship ends; a business ends; a country is divided; a person has an emotional breakdown

Examples: Many relationships fell apart during the pandemic. A generation ago, Yugoslavia fell apart. When he told her he wanted to break up, she fell apart and started crying loudly.

Theme: Breaking Up

Expression: cheat on someone, cheat on something

Meaning: have an extra boyfriend or girlfriend in addition to your official love; break the rules in order to pass a test or write an essay

Examples: A guy I know cheated on his wife. A student cheated on the test by using Chat-GPT.

Theme: Breaking Up

Expression: on the rocks

Meaning: a relationship is in trouble; a couple is having problems; a business is having problems

Examples: Their marriage was on the rocks for a few years before their divorce. During the pandemic, many businesses were on the rocks.

Other Meaning: On the rocks can mean an alcoholic drink that is served on ice: “I’ll have scotch on the rocks, please,” is something you can tell a bartender.

Theme: Adjectives that start with an “S” and end in a “Y”

Word:  sassy (adj)

Pronunciation: /sæsi/

Meaning: lively, bold, and full of spirit / not afraid to challenge a higher authority

Examples:

• She is sassy, outspoken and very protective of her friends.
• Yolande has been described as assertive with a sassy attitude.

Theme: Adjectives that start with an “S” and end in a “Y”

Word:  scrappy (adj)

Pronunciation: /skræpi/

Meaning: having a strong, determined character, and willing to argue or fight for what you want

Examples:

• She is a scrappy little kid who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.
• Big companies are losing market share to scrappy smaller operators.

Theme: Adjectives that start with an “S” and end in a “Y”

Word:  surly (adj)

Pronunciation: /sɝli/

Meaning: often in a bad mood, unfriendly, and not polite

Examples:

• We were served by a very surly waiter.
• He gave me a surly look.

Theme: Adjectives that start with an “S” and end in a “Y”

Word:  soggy (adj)

Pronunciation: /sɒɡi/

Meaning: very wet and soft, when this is not what is wanted

Examples:

• If you wait too long, your cereal will get soggy.
• The ground was a bit soggy after the rainfall.

Theme: Adjectives that start with an “S” and end in a “Y”

Word:  sappy (adj)

Pronunciation: /sæpi/

Meaning: used to describe something that is extremely emotional in an embarrassing way

Examples:

• It’s a sappy movie – your husband will hate it.
• The letter I started writing to my friend started to get a bit sappy, so I threw it away and began a new letter.