Tag Archives: English

Predicting the weather with Old Wives Tales

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

Most of us are familiar with Old Wives Tales, traditional pearls of wisdom from sources lost through the ages but seemingly tapping into an eternal truth that is only revealed to older married women whose only qualification is a lifetime … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, Life | Tagged English, Idioms, Life, Old Wives Tales, Red Sky At Night, Sayings, Straight from the Horse's Mouth, Weather | 1 Comment

Do Accents Hold You Back?

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

As George Bernhard Shaw commented, ‘It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.Hello madam, how do you do? or alternatively Aye up Hello madam, how do you do? or … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, Life, Opinion | Tagged Accentism, Accents, Discrimination, English, Jobs, Life, Prejudice, speaking, Workplace | 3 Comments

All About Cockneys & The 150 Top Cockney Rhyming Slang Phrases

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Stephen Liddell

Almost everyone knows what a Cockney is or at least they think they do. Famously they are the original Londoners known for their cheeky banter, no nonsense approach to life and perhaps being a bit rough. Actually a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cool Britannia, Life, London, Popular Culture, Travel, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Cockney, East End, English, Language, Life, London, Rhyming Slang | 9 Comments

Apricity – The Warmth of Winter Sun

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Stephen Liddell

It’s freezing cold outside this morning. At 8.30am the garden is still minus 10C or 10F, the garden is covered in frost and ice and a pale blue stretches across the horizon with a very weak and watery like pale … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Life | Tagged Apricity, Cosy, English, Foreign words with no equivalent in English, Frost, Language, Life, London, Sun, winter, Words | 3 Comments

Overusing the word ‘Like’

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Stephen Liddell

Last Sunday I had a trip on the Tube to old London town. It started off relatively quiet until after two stops, a young and seemingly well dressed and respectable lady sat down on the seat behind me. You could … Continue reading →

Posted in Funny & Humour, Life, Opinion | Tagged Chav, English, Funny, Language, Life, London, London Underground, Slang, The Tube | 17 Comments

Portmanteaus from Brangelina to Brexit

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Stephen Liddell

Admittedly there isn’t much of a journey to along the alphabet from Brangelina to Brexit but these two events, which seem to have defined the summer illustrate just how much we use Portmanteaus from the important things in life to … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Popular Culture, writing | Tagged Brangelina, Brexit, English, history, Language, Life, London, New York, Portmanteau, writing | 2 Comments

The Epic of Beowulf

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Stephen Liddell

Last week saw the premiere of a new ITV show in the vein of Game of Thrones, The Vikings and The Last Kingdom, Beowulf. Whilst less intense and made to appeal to a wider audience than the other shows, many … Continue reading →