Curiosities of the English Language

This is a blog for people who love the English language and love learning new vocab. I will periodically post words, expressions, idioms etc. that I find curious, interesting or funny .

Be welcome to ...
- suggest new vocab to be posted;
- comment on the posts;
- suggest explanations and exemplifications;
- make corrections.

Enjoy!

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I chose this animal to be the symbol of this blog and the first contribution because it is, in my opinion, the oddest animal ever. It is a mammal that lays eggs and has a beak and fins which are similar to a duck's. Curious, isn't it? It is also my favorite animal.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Conundrum

1. A paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilema.
2. A riddle in which a fanciful question is answered by a pun.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Meddle

/'medl/ v
1 to deliberately become involved in a situation that does not concern you, or that you do not understand: [+in/with]

I wish youwouldn't meddle in my affairs.

2 to touch something carelessly in a way that might break it: [+with]

The children are always meddling with the ornaments.

meddler

Longman dictionary

Monday, August 13, 2007

The pink slip

If you are handed the pink slip, it means your contract has been terminated. This expression dates back to 1915.

In the UK the equivalent of the pink slip is a P45.

Contribution of Ana Falcão and our boss!

I chose this animal to be the symbol of this blog and the first contribution because it is, in my opinion, the oddest animal ever. It is a mammal that lays eggs and has a beak and fins which are similar to a duck's. Curious, isn't it? It is also my favorite animal.

Did you know how to say "ornitorrinco" in English?