Have you tried out our October spelling lists? This month, we explored how to spell l sound after the letter m, shared 10 alternatives for the word talk, and prepared for Halloween with these scary words. We also brought back our seasonal game Spooky Spelling – are you brave enough to play? Is it a which or a witch? What do the words evil, scream, banshee, zombie, and spooky have in common? Why does Frankenstein need a capital letter? We celebrated spooky season by sharing 10 writing tips for Halloween. When you are writing, it is important to choose the words you use to begin a sentence carefully. You can...
Are you ready for Halloween? Make sure you don't make these 10 mistakes this spooky season: Don’t muddle up the words witch and which! Our spelling game Which Witch is great for practice! Heard a scary sound? It’s a probably a creak, not a creek! As Frankenstein is a name, it needs capital letters. Make sure you don’t confuse forget the apostrophe if you’re writing about Frankenstein’s monster. Don’t get caught out by silent letters – watch out for the sneaky ‘h’ in the words ghost and ghoul . Describing somethin...
It’s time for our spelling lists for October. Did you know that you can adapt any Spellzone word list to suit your lesson plan? The l sound after m This month’s spelling pattern explores how to spell an l sound when it falls after the letter m. Learn more about this sound and whether to use the letters al or el in Word endings: -le, and exceptions e.g. -al, -el, -ol. Halloween From pranks and pumpkins to spiders and shadows, spooky season upon us! How many of these Halloween words can you spell? Check back later this month for our Spooky Spelling game and in the meantime here are more spooky spelling lists t...
This month's English vocabulary lists were ‘ble’ as a suffix, Key Stage 3: Science, and 10 Words for … SURPISED. Have you tried our new Monkey Business game? We added two new blog posts to our Commonly Confused Words series. Do you know the difference between creak and creek? What about which and witch? Our Word for Wednesday theme for October was Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Ev...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for October is Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Eve of the All Saints’. ‘Hallow’ means ‘holy person’ or ‘saint’. Over October, we’ve looked at the words witch, banshee, and zombie. Our final word for the month is ghoul. A figure of Arabic folklore, the ghoul is a demonic being or evil spirit that robs graves and feasts on human flesh. In some stories, ghouls...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for October is Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Eve of the All Saints’. ‘Hallow’ means ‘holy person’ or ‘saint’. So far, we’ve looked at the words witch and banshee. Today’s word of the week is zombie. A zombie, a figure of Haitian folklore, is a dead body that has been reanimated by supernatural spirits or forces. Today, the zombie exists in popula...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for October is Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Eve of the All Saints’. ‘Hallow’ means ‘holy person’ or ‘saint’. Last week, we looked at the word witch and today’s word is banshee. A banshee is a female spirit from Irish folklore whose wailing, screeching, or keening foretells impending death. The word banshee has been used in English since 1711 and is a phonetic s...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for October is Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Eve of the All Saints’. ‘Hallow’ means ‘holy person’ or ‘saint’. Our first word for the month is witch. A witch is a (usually female) being who practises sorcery or magic known as witchcraft. In medieval and early modern Europe, witches were thought to have supernatural powers from communing with the devil and other evil be...
Words ending in 'ble' Our spelling pattern for October is words ending in ‘ble’. Practise this spelling pattern in Unit 26. Trick-or-Treat With October comes the countdown to Halloween! One of the most fun Halloween traditions is trick-or-treating. This is when children dress up in costumes and visit houses in the neighbourhood. Those who answer their doors are given the option of giving the children treat (like candy or an apple) or facing a trick. If you want to learn about costumes and candy, this is the list for you. Scary Words The English language is full of weird and wonderful w...
3 Word Lists for October For October’s, spelling pattern word list, we looked at words ending in 'itor'. Practise this weak vowel ending here. Since Halloween is this month, we also chose two spooky spelling lists. Learn how to spell words for scary creatures here and how to spell body horror words here. Find more spooky spelling lists here. Word for Wednesday: Halloween To continue our celebration of spooky season, we also chose Halloween for October’s Word for Wednesday theme. Follow the links to learn more about the words: pumpkin, monster, skeleton, and trick-or-treat. Which ...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for October is Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Eve of the All Saints’. ‘Hallow’ means ‘holy person’ or ‘saint’. Over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at the words pumpkin, monster, and skeleton. For our final Halloween-themed post of the month, we’ve chosen trick-or-treat. Trick-or-treating is a Halloween tradition in which costumed children visit ne...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for October is Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Eve of the All Saints’. ‘Hallow’ means ‘holy person’ or ‘saint’. So far we’ve looked at the words pumpkin and monster. Today’s word is skeleton. A skeleton is the hard structure of bones and cartilages that provides a frame for the body. Animated skeletons have been used to personify death since the Middle Ag...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for October is Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Eve of the All Saints’. ‘Hallow’ means ‘holy person’ or ‘saint’. Last week, we looked at the word pumpkin. Today’s word is monster. A monster is a frightening imaginary creature that is usually depicted with various animal and human parts. The word is also used to describe a cruel or evil person. Monster c...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for October is Halloween. The word Halloween likely dates to the seventeenth century but was popularised in the Burns poem ‘Halloween’ which was written in 1785. It is a Scottish abbreviation of ‘Allhallow-even’ which means ‘Eve of the All Saints’. ‘Hallow’ means ‘holy person’ or ‘saint’. Our first Halloween-themed word of the month is pumpkin. A pumpkin is a round orange Autumn squash that has become associated with Halloween due to the time of year it matures. Pumpkins are used in both sweet and savoury dishes. Since 2003, when Starbucks first introduced the drink,...
Did you know there are over a million word lists on Spellzone? Every word list can be used in a variety of online and offline activities – learn more about them here. Here are 3 Word Lists for October: Words ending in 'itor' In this month’s spelling pattern word list, you can practise words ending in 'itor'. After the letters 'it', many words use 'or' to spell the weak vowel ending. Learn about 'itor' word endings in Unit 25 and practise spelling them in this word list. Witches, Ghosts, and Monsters October means Halloween and Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without a...
Happy Halloween to all our subscribers! This month we’ve been looking at all things spooky and scary in our Word for Wednesday blog posts. Have you ever seen a ghost? How about a were-hyena? Where does the word vampire come from? Who was Victor Frankenstein? We also stayed on theme in our 10 Words blog post where we shared alternatives for the word scary. Whether your Halloween plans are alarming, chilling, or eerie, we’ve got the right word for you. Maybe it’s because we’ve got handwashing on the brain, but this month we decided to base our Idioms blog post on hands. From lending a hand to having your hands tied, there are plenty of idioms to learn in ...
It’s time for our last Word for Wednesday post in October! This month’s blog posts have been themed around all things spooky and scary. So far, we’ve looked at the origins of the words ghost, werewolf, and vampire. Today’s word is technically the name of a character from a book. Frankenstein was written in 1818 by English author Mary Shelley. The story is about a scientist called Victor Frankenstein who, in an unusual experiment, creates a monstrous living creature out of old body parts. Here is how the creature is described in the book: “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautifu...
It’s ten days until Halloween and our October Word for Wednesday theme is all things spooky and scary. Have you had a chance to try out our Spooky Spelling game? Click here for five spooky spelling lists to play the game with. So far this month we’ve looked at the words ghost and werewolf. Today’s scary word is vampire! From Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Twilight, there’s no doubt that the vampiric figure is popular when it comes to scary stories. The word is used to describe a corpse that rises at night to drink the blood of the living. Folk tales about vampires exist all over the world and details from how to create a vampire to how ...
Not long until Halloween! Here are 10 different ways to say something is scary: bloodcurdling – extremely alarming The banshee gave a bloodcurdling shriek. chilling – terror provoking There was a chilling scream and then silence returned to the graveyard. creepy – causing the sensation that there are things crawling on your skin We heard creepy music coming from the basement, but when we checked there was no one there. eerie – suggestive of the supernatural, strange and frightening An eerie silence descended over the house. frightening – causing t...
Halloween is going to be different this year, but we’re still excited to celebrate all things spooky and scary in this month’s Word for Wednesday articles. Last week we looked at the word ghost and today’s word is werewolf. So what exactly is a werewolf? Sometimes referred to as a man-wolf or a lycanthrope, the werewolf suffers an affliction which forces it to change from a human to a wolf or wolf-like creature at the full moon. A human usually becomes contaminated after being bitten or scratched by another werewolf. The werewolf crops up in stories across Europe and evil shapeshifters appear in mythology from all over the world. Humans...
With Halloween at the end of the month, our Word for Wednesday theme for October is all things spooky and scary. The first word this month is ghost. A ghost is a spirit of a dead person that appears to the living, often as an image of what they looked like when they were alive. More recently the word has been used as a verb to describe the act of writing someone else’s work for them and, in an online dating context, the act of disappearing from a relationship by suddenly ending all communication. You can read about other words which have changed in meaning thanks to the internet and technology here. Ghost comes from the Old English ‘gast’ which meant ‘good or...
20 Idioms About Air Autumnal October, with its crisp chilly air, seemed like the perfect season to continue with our series of idioms about the four elements. From castles in the air, to airing your dirty laundry, to walking on air, this article translates a variety of idioms about air into plain English. If you’re interested in other idioms about the four elements, click here for idioms about fire and here for idioms about water. And – of course – keep your eyes for the final instalment: idioms about earth. 10 Word for…ANGRY In September we continued with our 10 Words blog feature by sharing alternatives to the word 'angry'. In these...
With one more day until Halloween, how could we resist choosing a scary Word for Wednesday? Today the word aghast might be used to describe someone who is struck with fear or dread. Here is the word used in some example sentences: He was aghast when he heard the news. The public were aghast to read about the horrific treatment of prisoners in the journalist’s exposé. Around 1300, the word 'agast’, meaning 'terrified' or 'suddenly filled with frightened amazement' started being used in English. It came from the Old English ‘gæsten’ meani...
Have you had a chance to play our new Spooky Spelling game? If not – make sure you have a go. The game is here for the spooky season only. In Spooky Spelling, you have to catch creepy spiders in order to spell words. Spelling games are great way to warm up at the start of a lesson, or to take a break with when you’re beginning to lose focus. They can be used with any of our thousands of spelling lists, or you can create your own spelling list of words you would like to practise. Once you have the words you want to learn, simply click on the football icon above the list and choose the game you want play, What’s better than a spooky s...
Whether we love or hate being scared, Halloween is here again. Here are 20 ways of expressing fear: afraid of your own shadow – nervous/timid/easily frightened For a long time after he was rescued, the cat was afraid of his own shadow. shaking like a leaf – to tremble with fear He was shaking like a leaf when he first stepped onto the stage, but by the end of the performance he was standing tall and smiling. quaking in your boots – trembling with fear The thought of watching a horror film left him quaking in his boots. heebie jeebies – a state of fear/discomfort/nervousness Moths gave her the heebie-jeebies. scared out of one’s wits – extremely frighte...
There’s no doubt that spelling is scary. But fear not – Spellzone is here to help. With Halloween just around the corner, we’ve noticed many of our users are looking at spellings related to the spooky celebration. The Halloween word list was created by one of our users – you can find it here or, if you’d prefer, you can create your own word list here. For some advice on how to get the most out of our word list feature, click here. If spooky spellings aren’t for you, find some of our other favourite word lists here. Once you’ve found the perfect spelling list for you, click on the ‘eye’ icon at the top of each list to take a ‘L...
From sandwiches to wellington boots to the Nobel Prize, many words take their names from people or fictional characters, and these people and characters are known as eponyms. Today, to celebrate Halloween, we’re looking at three scary stories that have influenced the English language. Frankenstein Mary Shelley published Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus in 1818 when she was just twenty years old. In the story, Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who has discovered a secret technique for creating life, tries to build a man. His creation ends up more like a monster and turns against him. According to the Oxford English dictionary, it was the writer Charles Lamb who ...
The term ‘five senses’ is used to refer to the faculties of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Today we’re going to take a look at five idioms about each of the five senses and tell you what they mean. Sight: In the blink of an eye - in an instant Out of sight, out of mind – an expression used to suggest that one is likely to forget someone/something when they are/it is no longer present/visible The apple of someone’s eye – a person whom someone admires very much To see things eye to eye – to agree on things To turn a blind eye – to pretend not to notice Smell: To follow your nose – to follow your insti...
Last Friday was the first day of spring. All over the country, leaves are turning green, blossom is blooming, and flowers are pushing their way up out of the ground – it’s no wonder nature has inspired many an English expression! Here are twenty idioms about plants, flowers, and trees: “Oops-a-daisy!” – an expression of encouragement said to a child who has fallen/has hurt him or herself, an expression of mild annoyance used when something has gone wrong a late bloomer – someone who is slower than their peers to develop in a particular field a needle in a haystack – something that is difficult/impossible to find because...
In our previous posts about idioms, you might have noticed how we like to argue that these useful expressions add colour to the English language. By this, we mean that idioms often make the English language feel more alive – they add emotion and character to what we say. Idioms also often have very colourful (i.e. interesting!) origin stories. And then there the idioms about colour…today we’ll take a look at some of those. Scroll down! a grey area – a situation or area which is not clearly defined (i.e. not black and white). a white lie – a small (and supposedly harmless) lie. black and blue – badly bruised. black an...
Here at Spellzone, we love Halloween. Many words and phrases in the English language have gruesome origins, and October 31st seems like the perfect time to explore them! Last year we looked at three everyday-seeming idioms which have terrifying origin myths – ever wondered where the phrases ‘saved by the bell’, ‘rule of thumb’ or ‘bless you’ might have come from? You can find out here! This year, we’ve been looking at idioms and their definitions. Scroll down for figurative phrases about cats, witches, and ghosts…as well as a number of different ways of expressing just how scared you are! a Jekyll and Hyde – someone who...
With Halloween coming this Friday, this week’s post will be fittingly spooky. Here are five frightful (and less common) words to do with the supernatural… Spectre - A phantom or ghost perhaps a mental image of something menacing or scary. Eldritch - Weird, sinister and eerie. Famed Horror writer H.P Lovecraft wrote a series of short stories named the ‘Eldritch Tales’ which are worth a read for those looking for a fright. Macabre - To do with death or the quality of having a grim our ghastly atmosphere Grotesque – Very ugly or comically distorted, also refers to French gothic sculptures often mistaken for Gargoyles. Gnarled - A very fitting word, ...
Bless you! In English, we say ‘Bless You!’ after someone sneezes. It seems like a nice thought to bless someone with good health when they are coming down with something, doesn’t it? Indeed, the response to sneezing in other languages often translates to ‘Health’, such as ‘Gesundheit!’ in German, or ‘Salute!’ in Italian. One suggested origin of the phrase ‘Bless You!’, though, comes from an old belief that the soul could be ejected from someone’s body when they sneezed, leaving the body unprotected from the devil and other evil spirits. Another theory suggests that sneezing may have been thought of as the body’...
Those brave enough to venture from their homes over the next few nights can expect to encounter ghouls, zombies, specters and a whole host of other things macabre. This week’s word for Wednesday is Halloween, where did the word originate from and why do we practice such a bizarre tradition. Let’s begin with how the word came about… The celebration of Halloween in the Christian calendar itself marks the eve of All Saints Day, also known as ‘All Hallows’ – recognition and feast dedicated to saints known and unknown. Halloween is a Scottish contraction of ‘All Hallow’s’ and ‘Evening’, evening was often shortened to &...
You may think of Latin as a dead language, and though it is true that it is no longer spoken outside of classrooms, Latin is the root of many English words. Furthermore, many Latin phrases and expressions have survived and are often used interspersed with English. Let’s take a look at a few. Et cetera, often abbreviated to ‘etc.’, is perhaps one of the most commonly used Latin phrases in day-to-day conversations. The expression directly translates to ‘and the rest’ and we usually use it at the end of a list as a way of saying ‘and all the other things’ or ‘and so on’. Example sentence: The Spellzone course uses a range of spell...
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