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Latest blog posts

August 2022 Round-Up

­­­­3 Word Lists for August This month's English vocabulary lists were words ending in ‘ory’, compound words, and 10 Words for … HOT. Have you tried our Summer Spelling game?   New Term Admin To help you get ready for the new school year, we shared blog posts on how to add new students to your account and how to remove old ones. Are you making the most of these eight Spellzone features?   Commonly Confused Words: Sea vs. See We returned to our Commonly Confused Words series this month with these two words – do you know when to use each one?   Word for Wednesday: Condiments A&nbs...

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Word for Wednesday: Chutney

Our Word for Wednesday theme for August is condiments. A condiment is added to food to enhance its flavour. The word has been used in English since the mid-fifteenth century and comes from the Latin ‘condire’ meaning ‘to pickle’. Over August we’ve looked at the words mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and sriracha. Our final condiment for the month is chutney. Chutney is a spicy condiment of Indian origin that has been eaten since 500 BCE. It is made from fruits or vegetables cooked in vinegar, spices, and sugar. Unlike pickles – known in India as ‘achar’ – chutneys are often freshly prepared. C...

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Word for Wednesday: Sriracha

Our Word for Wednesday theme for August is condiments. A condiment is added to food to enhance its flavour. The word has been used in English since the mid-fifteenth century and comes from the Latin ‘condire’ meaning ‘to pickle’. Over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at the condiments mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise. This week’s word is sriracha. Sriracha is a spicy red sauce made from red chilli peppers and garlic that is popular in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. In Thailand, sriracha is often used for dipping and is especially eaten with omelette and seafood. In Vietnam, it is commonly eaten with pho, fried noodles, ...

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Word for Wednesday: Mayonnaise

Our Word for Wednesday theme for August is condiments. A condiment is added to food to enhance its flavour. The word has been used in English since the mid-fifteenth century and comes from the Latin ‘condire’ meaning ‘to pickle’. So far we’ve looked at the words mustard and ketchup. Today’s word is mayonnaise. Mayonnaise – also often called by its nickname mayo – is a thick creamy sauce made with egg yolks, oil, and either vinegar or lemon juice. This French word (which dates to 1806) has been used in English since 1815. It is probably a corruption of ‘mahonnaise’ and likely got its name fro...

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Word for Wednesday: Ketchup

Our Word for Wednesday theme for August is condiments. A condiment is added to food to enhance its flavour. The word has been used in English since the mid-fifteenth century and comes from the Latin ‘condire’ meaning ‘to pickle’. Last week, we looked at the word mustard and today’s condiment is ketchup. Ketchup is a red sauce made from tomatoes and vinegar. It is often used as a relish in burgers or eaten with chips (or French fries if you speak American English!). This condiment was first known in English as 'catchup' and later as 'catsup' (the latter of which is still sometimes used in American Engish)....

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Word for Wednesday: Mustard

Our Word for Wednesday theme for August is condiments. A condiment is added to food to enhance its flavour. The word has been used in English since the mid-fifteenth century and comes from the Latin ‘condire’ meaning ‘to pickle’. As Saturday August 5th marks National Mustard Day – a celebration of all things mustard that started in Wisconsin in 1991 – we couldn’t resist choosing the spicy condiment for our first word of the week. Mustard is a pungent yellow or brown paste made from ground mustard seeds. It has a strong hot taste and is often eaten with meat. Though mustard was likely eaten by ancient civilisations, the word firs...

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