If you’re one of our regular readers you’ll be familiar with articles about idioms, but every now and then we like to share a recap for our new subscribers. Here are Spellzone we believe that one of the reasons English is such a difficult language to learn is because it’s full of idioms. Every few weeks we take a list of popular idioms and translate them for our second-language English speakers. An idiom is an expression which has a figurative meaning rather than a literal one. For example, when someone says ‘needle in a haystack’ they probably aren’t actually talking about a needle and a haystack, but about something that is as difficult to fi...
A salary is a regular payment made by an employer to an employee. Though a salary is usually paid in monthly instalments, it is referred to as an annual sum. Here is salary used in some example sentences: Her first job after university had a salary of £18000. She used a calculator to work out her take-home salary. Her pension contributions came straight out of her salary. She was looking for a salaried role. Salary dates to the late-thirteenth century and entered English via the Old French ‘salaire’. The word comes from the Latin ‘salarium’ which means ‘allowance’ or ‘stipend’ – ...
What does each word mean? Among other things the word capital can refer to a city or town that functions as the seat of government and administrative centre of a country or region, one of the types of alphabetic letters, wealth in the form of money or property, or a centre associated with some activity or product. Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word. Here is capital used in some example sentences: Spain’s capital city is Madrid. Sentences should begin with a capital letter. The return on invested capital was high. New York boasts a reputation for being the fashion capital of the United States of America. Click here to find the ...
What does each word mean? A hoard is a secret store of valuables or money. As a verb, the word refers to the act of gathering or saving supplies for future use. Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word. Here is hoard used in some example sentences: While cleaning out his late mother’s house, he found a hoard of old coins. Some animals hoard food for the winter. Click here to find the Spellzone study lists related to the word hoard. The word horde refers to a large group of moving people like a crowd or a nomadic community. Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word. Here is horde used in an example sent...
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...
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