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format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-conversation category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-english-language tag-vocabulary tag-weather"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/" title="Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us)"><img width="900" height="600" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="A teenage boy bundled up against the cold in a snowy landscape" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?w=2120&ssl=1 2120w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=1280%2C854&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="21058" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/portrait-of-a-teenage-boy-who-is-very-cold-during-the-blizzard-on-a-winter-day/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?fit=2120%2C1414&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2120,1414" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.2","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R5","caption":"Teenage boy outdoors during the blizzard. The boy is pretending to be cold.\r\nShot with Canon R5.","created_timestamp":"1642676348","copyright":"","focal_length":"50","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.0008","title":"Portrait of a teenage boy who is very cold during the blizzard on a winter day","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us)" data-image-description="<p>Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us), from About Words, by Kate Woodford</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Imgorthand / E+</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/" rel="bookmark">Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-02-12T12:00:26+00:00">February 12, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2025-01-22T19:10:47+00:00">January 22, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/katewoodford/">Kate Woodford</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/conversation/" rel="category tag">Conversation</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/#comments">19 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p>  <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-21011-1" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025.mp3?_=1" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_21058" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-21058" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="21058" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/portrait-of-a-teenage-boy-who-is-very-cold-during-the-blizzard-on-a-winter-day/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?fit=2120%2C1414&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2120,1414" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.2","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R5","caption":"Teenage boy outdoors during the blizzard. The boy is pretending to be cold.\r\nShot with Canon R5.","created_timestamp":"1642676348","copyright":"","focal_length":"50","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.0008","title":"Portrait of a teenage boy who is very cold during the blizzard on a winter day","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us)" data-image-description="<p>Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us), from About Words, by Kate Woodford</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Imgorthand / E+</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-21058" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1" alt="A teenage boy bundled up against the cold in a snowy landscape" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=1280%2C854&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-21058" class="wp-caption-text">Imgorthand / E+</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>It’s the second week of February and here in Cambridge, the weather feels <strong><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/arctic#cald4-2">arctic</a></strong>! As I type this, my fingers <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/be-as-cold-as-ice?q=as+cold+as+ice"><strong>are as cold as ice</strong></a>. Time to get that electric heater from the spare room! In a way though, it’s appropriate, as today’s post is about how we describe the effect that the weather has on us.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/#more-21011" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Chilled to the bone or roasting? 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data-src='https://widgets.wp.com/likes/?ver=14.4-a.7#blog_id=18458032&post_id=21011&origin=dictionaryblog.cambridge.org&obj_id=18458032-21011-67bddf5724fc8' data-name='like-post-frame-18458032-21011-67bddf5724fc8' data-title='Like or Reblog'><h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3><div class='likes-widget-placeholder post-likes-widget-placeholder' style='height: 55px;'><span class='button'><span>Like</span></span> <span class="loading">Loading...</span></div><span class='sd-text-color'></span><a class='sd-link-color'></a></div> </div> </div> </article> <article id="post-20853" class="post-20853 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-english-language tag-phrases tag-reckless tag-vocabulary"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/05/reckless-and-impulsive-acting-without-enough-thought/" title="Reckless and impulsive: words for acting without enough thought"><img width="900" height="579" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?fit=900%2C579&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="Person painting themselves into a corner of the room" decoding="async" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?w=1990&ssl=1 1990w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=300%2C193&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=1024%2C659&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=768%2C494&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=1536%2C988&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=900%2C579&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=1280%2C823&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="20934" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/05/reckless-and-impulsive-acting-without-enough-thought/man-painted-into-corner/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?fit=1990%2C1280&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1990,1280" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Man Painted into Corner","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Rash, reckless and impulsive: talking about not being careful" data-image-description="<p>Rash, reckless and impulsive: talking about not being careful, from About Words, by Liz Walter</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Peter Cade / Stone</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?fit=300%2C193&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?fit=640%2C412&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/05/reckless-and-impulsive-acting-without-enough-thought/" rel="bookmark">Reckless and impulsive: words for acting without enough thought</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/05/reckless-and-impulsive-acting-without-enough-thought/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-02-05T12:00:08+00:00">February 5, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2025-01-03T15:24:36+00:00">January 3, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/lizwalter2/">Liz Walter</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/05/reckless-and-impulsive-acting-without-enough-thought/#comments">4 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20853-2" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Reckless_Liz_05.02.2025.mp3?_=2" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Reckless_Liz_05.02.2025.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Reckless_Liz_05.02.2025.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20934" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20934" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20934" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/05/reckless-and-impulsive-acting-without-enough-thought/man-painted-into-corner/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?fit=1990%2C1280&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1990,1280" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Man Painted into Corner","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Rash, reckless and impulsive: talking about not being careful" data-image-description="<p>Rash, reckless and impulsive: talking about not being careful, from About Words, by Liz Walter</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Peter Cade / Stone</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?fit=300%2C193&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?fit=640%2C412&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20934" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790-300x193.jpg?resize=300%2C193&ssl=1" alt="Person painting themselves into a corner of the room" width="300" height="193" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=300%2C193&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=1024%2C659&ssl=1 1024w, 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class="wp-caption-text">Peter Cade / Stone</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong>Liz Walter</strong></p> <p>Most of us know someone who often gets into trouble because they don’t stop to consider the consequences of their behaviour. 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data-src='https://widgets.wp.com/likes/?ver=14.4-a.7#blog_id=18458032&post_id=20853&origin=dictionaryblog.cambridge.org&obj_id=18458032-20853-67bddf5728cee' data-name='like-post-frame-18458032-20853-67bddf5728cee' data-title='Like or Reblog'><h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3><div class='likes-widget-placeholder post-likes-widget-placeholder' style='height: 55px;'><span class='button'><span>Like</span></span> <span class="loading">Loading...</span></div><span class='sd-text-color'></span><a class='sd-link-color'></a></div> </div> </div> </article> <article id="post-20953" class="post-20953 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-idioms-and-phrases-in-newspapers category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-english-language tag-idioms tag-newspapers tag-vocabulary"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/" title="Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Newspaper idioms)"><img width="900" height="598" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?fit=900%2C598&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="A couple in wedding attire walking on a country road" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?w=3300&ssl=1 3300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=1024%2C680&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=768%2C510&ssl=1 768w, 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data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?fit=3300%2C2192&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3300,2192" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2","credit":"Getty Images\/iStockphoto","camera":"NIKON D90","caption":"Wedding couple","created_timestamp":"1313409034","copyright":"Zelenenka","focal_length":"85","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.00025","title":"Wedding couple","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Idioms in newspapers)" data-image-description="<p>Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Idioms from newspapers), About Words, by Kate Woodford, 29.01.2025</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Zelenenka / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/" rel="bookmark">Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Newspaper idioms)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-01-29T12:00:46+00:00">January 29, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2025-01-06T14:55:58+00:00">January 6, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/katewoodford/">Kate Woodford</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/idioms-and-phrases-in-newspapers/" rel="category tag">Idioms and phrases in newspapers</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/#comments">5 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20953-3" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched-newspaper_Kate_29.01.2025.mp3?_=3" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched-newspaper_Kate_29.01.2025.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched-newspaper_Kate_29.01.2025.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20980" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20980" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20980" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/wedding-couple/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?fit=3300%2C2192&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3300,2192" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2","credit":"Getty Images\/iStockphoto","camera":"NIKON D90","caption":"Wedding couple","created_timestamp":"1313409034","copyright":"Zelenenka","focal_length":"85","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.00025","title":"Wedding couple","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Idioms in newspapers)" data-image-description="<p>Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Idioms from newspapers), About Words, by Kate Woodford, 29.01.2025</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Zelenenka / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20980" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1" alt="A couple in wedding attire walking on a country road" width="300" height="199" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=1024%2C680&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=768%2C510&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=1536%2C1020&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=2048%2C1360&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=900%2C598&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=1280%2C850&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20980" class="wp-caption-text">Zelenenka / iStock / Getty Images Plus</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>Regular visitors to the Cambridge Dictionary blog will be familiar with my newspaper idioms posts in which I present idioms and phrases from a range of national newspapers published on the same day. This post is the latest in this series.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/#more-20953" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Newspaper idioms)”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-20953" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-twitter-20953" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/?share=twitter" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-reddit"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-reddit sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/?share=reddit" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Reddit" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-email"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-email sd-button share-icon no-text" href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Getting%20hitched%20and%20biting%20your%20tongue%20%28Newspaper%20idioms%29&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2025%2F01%2F29%2Fgetting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms%2F&share=email" target="_blank" title="Click to email a link to a friend" data-email-share-error-title="Do you have email set up?" data-email-share-error-text="If you're having problems sharing via email, you might not have email set up for your browser. 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src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?fit=900%2C596&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="A very large soft-serve ice cream cone showing different flavours and colours" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?w=2127&ssl=1 2127w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?resize=1024%2C678&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?resize=768%2C509&ssl=1 768w, 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data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?fit=2127%2C1409&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2127,1409" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"5.6","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"NIKON D5100","caption":"Rainbow Soft cream at Otaru Town in Hokkaido.","created_timestamp":"1538745087","copyright":"","focal_length":"38","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.0013333333333333","title":"Rainbow Soft cream at Otaru Town in Hokkaido.","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Surfeits and gluts (Ways to say ‘too much’)" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Wanchai Kenanan / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/22/surfeits-and-gluts-ways-to-say-too-much/" rel="bookmark">Surfeits and gluts (Ways to say ‘too much’)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/22/surfeits-and-gluts-ways-to-say-too-much/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-01-22T12:00:41+00:00">January 22, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2025-01-02T16:37:59+00:00">January 2, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/katewoodford/">Kate Woodford</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/22/surfeits-and-gluts-ways-to-say-too-much/#comments">9 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20909-4" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.2025.mp3?_=4" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.2025.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.2025.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20962" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20962" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20962" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/22/surfeits-and-gluts-ways-to-say-too-much/rainbow-soft-cream-at-otaru-town-in-hokkaido/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?fit=2127%2C1409&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2127,1409" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"5.6","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"NIKON D5100","caption":"Rainbow Soft cream at Otaru Town in Hokkaido.","created_timestamp":"1538745087","copyright":"","focal_length":"38","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.0013333333333333","title":"Rainbow Soft cream at Otaru Town in Hokkaido.","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Surfeits and gluts (Ways to say ‘too much’)" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Wanchai Kenanan / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?fit=640%2C424&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20962" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1" alt="A very large soft-serve ice cream cone showing different flavours and colours" width="300" height="199" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1 300w, 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https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Surfeits-and-gluts_Kate_22.01.25_2101249332.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20962" class="wp-caption-text">Wanchai Kenanan / iStock / Getty Images Plus</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>‘Nothing succeeds like excess’, said Oscar Wilde, the famous Irish writer, presumably having a bit of fun with the old proverb, ‘Nothing succeeds like success.’ I mention this because today’s post is all about excess – that is, an amount or level of something that is too much.</p> <div class="mceTemp"> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/22/surfeits-and-gluts-ways-to-say-too-much/#more-20909" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Surfeits and gluts (Ways to say ‘too much’)”</span> <span 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together","created_timestamp":"1556209014","copyright":"t.tomsickova@seznam.cz","focal_length":"168","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.000625","title":"Grandmother and children in a beautiful blooming spring park","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Toddlers, tweens and pensioners: more words for talking about age" data-image-description="<p>Toddlers, tweens and pensioners: more words for talking about age, from About Words, by Liz Walter</p> " data-image-caption="<p>tatyana_tomsickova / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?fit=300%2C171&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?fit=640%2C364&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/15/toddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age/" rel="bookmark">Toddlers, tweens and pensioners: more words for talking about age</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/15/toddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-01-15T12:00:14+00:00">January 15, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2025-01-03T15:15:39+00:00">January 3, 2025</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/lizwalter2/">Liz Walter</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/15/toddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age/#comments">9 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20793-5" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.2025.mp3?_=5" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.2025.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.2025.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20930" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20930" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20930" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/15/toddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age/grandmother-and-children-in-a-beautiful-blooming-spring-park/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?fit=1870%2C1064&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1870,1064" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS 5D Mark III","caption":"Grandmother and children in a beautiful blooming spring park, playing together","created_timestamp":"1556209014","copyright":"t.tomsickova@seznam.cz","focal_length":"168","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.000625","title":"Grandmother and children in a beautiful blooming spring park","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Toddlers, tweens and pensioners: more words for talking about age" data-image-description="<p>Toddlers, tweens and pensioners: more words for talking about age, from About Words, by Liz Walter</p> " data-image-caption="<p>tatyana_tomsickova / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?fit=300%2C171&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?fit=640%2C364&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20930" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975-300x171.jpg?resize=300%2C171&ssl=1" alt="A grandmother posing with her three young grandchildren" width="300" height="171" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?resize=300%2C171&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?resize=1024%2C583&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?resize=768%2C437&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?resize=1536%2C874&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?resize=900%2C512&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?resize=1280%2C728&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Toddlers-tweens_Liz_15.01.25_1202733008-e1734624167975.jpg?w=1870&ssl=1 1870w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20930" class="wp-caption-text">tatyana_tomsickova / iStock / Getty Images Plus</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong>Liz Walter</strong></p> <p>In my last post, I looked at how to say someone’s age using the number of years they have been alive. Today’s post covers some other ways of talking about how old a person is, particularly looking at different life stages.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/15/toddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age/#more-20793" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Toddlers, tweens and pensioners: more words for talking about age”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-20793" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/15/toddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-twitter-20793" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/15/toddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age/?share=twitter" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-reddit"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-reddit sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/15/toddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age/?share=reddit" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Reddit" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-email"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-email sd-button share-icon no-text" href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Toddlers%2C%20tweens%20and%20pensioners%3A%20more%20words%20for%20talking%20about%20age&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2025%2F01%2F15%2Ftoddlers-tweens-and-pensioners-more-words-for-talking-about-age%2F&share=email" target="_blank" title="Click to email a link to a friend" data-email-share-error-title="Do you have email set up?" data-email-share-error-text="If you're having problems sharing via email, you might not have email set up for your browser. 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data-src='https://widgets.wp.com/likes/?ver=14.4-a.7#blog_id=18458032&post_id=20793&origin=dictionaryblog.cambridge.org&obj_id=18458032-20793-67bddf573125c' data-name='like-post-frame-18458032-20793-67bddf573125c' data-title='Like or Reblog'><h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3><div class='likes-widget-placeholder post-likes-widget-placeholder' style='height: 55px;'><span class='button'><span>Like</span></span> <span class="loading">Loading...</span></div><span class='sd-text-color'></span><a class='sd-link-color'></a></div> </div> </div> </article> <article id="post-20808" class="post-20808 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-english-language tag-limiting-things tag-phrases tag-vocabulary"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/" title="Curbing and capping (The language of limiting things)"><img width="900" height="547" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?fit=900%2C547&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="electronic speed sign showing speed to passing driver" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?w=2976&ssl=1 2976w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=300%2C182&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=1024%2C623&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=768%2C467&ssl=1 768w, 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data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/vehicle-activated-speed-sign-showing-speed-to-driver/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?fit=2976%2C1810&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2976,1810" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"5.6","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS 2000D","caption":"Vehicle activated speed sign showing speed to driver, sign showing speeding driver, 32 MPH Slow Down, blurred cars","created_timestamp":"1696168856","copyright":"Corner Photoghaphy Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved","focal_length":"45","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.0125","title":"Vehicle activated speed sign showing speed to driver","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Curbing and capping" data-image-description="<p>Curbing and capping (The language of limiting things), from About Words, by Kate Woodford</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Christopher Snape / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?fit=300%2C182&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?fit=640%2C389&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/" rel="bookmark">Curbing and capping (The language of limiting things)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-01-08T12:00:21+00:00">January 8, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-12-12T17:48:45+00:00">December 12, 2024</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/katewoodford/">Kate Woodford</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/#comments">7 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20808-6" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_Kate_08.01.2025.mp3?_=6" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_Kate_08.01.2025.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_Kate_08.01.2025.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20897" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20897" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20897" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/vehicle-activated-speed-sign-showing-speed-to-driver/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?fit=2976%2C1810&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2976,1810" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"5.6","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS 2000D","caption":"Vehicle activated speed sign showing speed to driver, sign showing speeding driver, 32 MPH Slow Down, blurred cars","created_timestamp":"1696168856","copyright":"Corner Photoghaphy Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved","focal_length":"45","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.0125","title":"Vehicle activated speed sign showing speed to driver","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Curbing and capping" data-image-description="<p>Curbing and capping (The language of limiting things), from About Words, by Kate Woodford</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Christopher Snape / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?fit=300%2C182&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?fit=640%2C389&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20897" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856-300x182.jpg?resize=300%2C182&ssl=1" alt="electronic speed sign showing speed to passing driver" width="300" height="182" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=300%2C182&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=1024%2C623&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=768%2C467&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=1536%2C934&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=2048%2C1246&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=900%2C547&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?resize=1280%2C778&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curbing-and-capping_1915551733-e1733861744856.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20897" class="wp-caption-text">Christopher Snape / iStock / Getty Images Plus</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>As I research the language for these posts, I’m often surprised by the number of words and phrases in English for the same basic concept. This week’s subject – the language of limiting things – is no exception.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/#more-20808" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Curbing and capping (The language of limiting things)”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-20808" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-twitter-20808" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/?share=twitter" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-reddit"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-reddit sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/08/curbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things/?share=reddit" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Reddit" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-email"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-email sd-button share-icon no-text" href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Curbing%20and%20capping%20%28The%20language%20of%20limiting%20things%29&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2025%2F01%2F08%2Fcurbing-and-capping-the-language-of-limiting-things%2F&share=email" target="_blank" title="Click to email a link to a friend" data-email-share-error-title="Do you have email set up?" data-email-share-error-text="If you're having problems sharing via email, you might not have email set up for your browser. 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education concepts","created_timestamp":"1694159251","copyright":"","focal_length":"24","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.00625","title":"Happy graduate taking a selfie with his mother on his graduation day","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="A young man of 20: talking about age" data-image-description="<p>A young man of 20: talking about age, from About Words, by Liz Walter</p> " data-image-caption="<p>andresr / E+</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/01/a-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age/" rel="bookmark">A young man of twenty: talking about age</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/01/a-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2025-01-01T12:00:50+00:00">January 1, 2025</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-12-10T17:34:57+00:00">December 10, 2024</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/lizwalter2/">Liz Walter</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/common-errors/" rel="category tag">Common errors</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/01/a-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age/#comments">7 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20653-7" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-twenty_Liz_01.01.25.mp3?_=7" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-twenty_Liz_01.01.25.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-twenty_Liz_01.01.25.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20863" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20863" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20863" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/01/a-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age/happy-graduate-taking-a-selfie-with-his-mother-on-his-graduation-day/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?fit=2121%2C1414&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2121,1414" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.8","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"ILCE-7RM4","caption":"Happy Latin American graduate taking a selfie with his mother on his graduation day - education concepts","created_timestamp":"1694159251","copyright":"","focal_length":"24","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.00625","title":"Happy graduate taking a selfie with his mother on his graduation day","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="A young man of 20: talking about age" data-image-description="<p>A young man of 20: talking about age, from About Words, by Liz Walter</p> " data-image-caption="<p>andresr / E+</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20863" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1" alt="a young adult man in graduation attire with his mother who is holding his diploma" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/A-young-man-of-20_1726207657.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20863" class="wp-caption-text">andresr / E+</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong>Liz Walter</strong></p> <p>We often have to talk about the age of people and things, but this is an area where learners often make errors. This post will explain how to talk about age and how to avoid common errors. <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/01/a-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age/#more-20653" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“A young man of twenty: talking about age”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-20653" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/01/a-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-twitter-20653" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/01/a-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age/?share=twitter" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-reddit"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-reddit sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/01/a-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age/?share=reddit" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Reddit" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-email"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-email sd-button share-icon no-text" href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20A%20young%20man%20of%20twenty%3A%20talking%20about%20age&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2025%2F01%2F01%2Fa-young-man-of-twenty-talking-about-age%2F&share=email" target="_blank" title="Click to email a link to a friend" data-email-share-error-title="Do you have email set up?" data-email-share-error-text="If you're having problems sharing via email, you might not have email set up for your browser. 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src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?fit=900%2C696&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="a couple seen from behind as they hold hands and look at the stars in the night sky" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?w=1828&ssl=1 1828w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=300%2C232&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=1024%2C792&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=768%2C594&ssl=1 768w, 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data-image-meta="{"aperture":"4","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"NIKON D750","caption":"Photo taken in , Thailand","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"24","iso":"4000","shutter_speed":"30","title":"Silhouette Couple Standing Against Star Field In Sky At Night","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="It’s written in the stars: talking about what might happen in the future" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>EyeEm Mobile GmbH / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?fit=300%2C232&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?fit=640%2C495&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/" rel="bookmark">It’s written in the stars: talking about things that might happen in the future</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-12-18T12:00:01+00:00">December 18, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-12-05T16:46:28+00:00">December 5, 2024</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/lizwalter2/">Liz Walter</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/idioms/" rel="category tag">Idioms</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/#comments">4 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20563-8" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Its-written-in-the-stars_Liz_18.12.24.mp3?_=8" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Its-written-in-the-stars_Liz_18.12.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Its-written-in-the-stars_Liz_18.12.24.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20759" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20759" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20759" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/silhouette-couple-standing-against-star-field-in-sky-at-night/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?fit=1828%2C1414&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1828,1414" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"4","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"NIKON D750","caption":"Photo taken in , Thailand","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"24","iso":"4000","shutter_speed":"30","title":"Silhouette Couple Standing Against Star Field In Sky At Night","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="It’s written in the stars: talking about what might happen in the future" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>EyeEm Mobile GmbH / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?fit=300%2C232&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?fit=640%2C495&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20759" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538-300x232.jpg?resize=300%2C232&ssl=1" alt="a couple seen from behind as they hold hands and look at the stars in the night sky" width="300" height="232" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=300%2C232&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=1024%2C792&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=768%2C594&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=1536%2C1188&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=900%2C696&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=1280%2C990&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?w=1828&ssl=1 1828w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20759" class="wp-caption-text">EyeEm Mobile GmbH / iStock / Getty Images Plus</figcaption></figure> <p> </p> <p>by <strong>Liz Walter</strong></p> <p>Today’s post looks at phrases for talking about what the future holds. In particular, it will cover vocabulary relating to how much – if at all – we can control what happens to us.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/#more-20563" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“It’s written in the stars: talking about things that might happen in the future”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-20563" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-twitter-20563" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/?share=twitter" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-reddit"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-reddit sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/?share=reddit" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Reddit" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-email"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-email sd-button share-icon no-text" href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20It%E2%80%99s%20written%20in%20the%20stars%3A%20talking%20about%20things%20that%20might%20happen%20in%20the%20future&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2024%2F12%2F18%2Fits-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future%2F&share=email" target="_blank" title="Click to email a link to a friend" data-email-share-error-title="Do you have email set up?" data-email-share-error-text="If you're having problems sharing via email, you might not have email set up for your browser. You may need to create a new email yourself." data-email-share-nonce="91ea64380b" data-email-share-track-url="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/?share=email"><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-print"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-print sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/" target="_blank" title="Click to print" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to print (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-linkedin"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-linkedin-20563" class="share-linkedin sd-button share-icon no-text" 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data-src='https://widgets.wp.com/likes/?ver=14.4-a.7#blog_id=18458032&post_id=20563&origin=dictionaryblog.cambridge.org&obj_id=18458032-20563-67bddf57395b3' data-name='like-post-frame-18458032-20563-67bddf57395b3' data-title='Like or Reblog'><h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3><div class='likes-widget-placeholder post-likes-widget-placeholder' style='height: 55px;'><span class='button'><span>Like</span></span> <span class="loading">Loading...</span></div><span class='sd-text-color'></span><a class='sd-link-color'></a></div> </div> </div> </article> <article id="post-20646" class="post-20646 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-idioms category-synonyms category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-embarrassment tag-english-language tag-idioms tag-improve-your-english"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/11/cringeworthy-and-toe-curling-the-language-of-embarrassment/" title="Cringeworthy and toe-curling (The language of embarrassment)"><img width="900" height="665" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?fit=900%2C665&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="Two office workers in the office kitchen reacting with shock and embarrassment at something on one of their phones" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?w=1915&ssl=1 1915w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=300%2C222&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=1024%2C756&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=768%2C567&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=1536%2C1134&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=900%2C665&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=1280%2C945&ssl=1 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="20688" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/11/cringeworthy-and-toe-curling-the-language-of-embarrassment/supervisor-shocked-at-messages-on-co-workers-smart-phone/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?fit=1915%2C1414&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1915,1414" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images\/Design Pics RF","camera":"","caption":"Edmonton, Alberta, Canada","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Supervisor shocked at messages on co-worker's smart phone","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Cringeworthy and toe-curling (The language of embarrassment)" data-image-description="<p>Cringeworthy and toe-curling (The language of embarrassment), from About Words, by Kate Woodford</p> " data-image-caption="<p>LJM Photo / Design Pics</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?fit=300%2C222&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?fit=640%2C473&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/11/cringeworthy-and-toe-curling-the-language-of-embarrassment/" rel="bookmark">Cringeworthy and toe-curling (The language of embarrassment)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/11/cringeworthy-and-toe-curling-the-language-of-embarrassment/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-12-11T12:00:13+00:00">December 11, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-11-08T17:17:04+00:00">November 8, 2024</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/katewoodford/">Kate Woodford</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/idioms/" rel="category tag">Idioms</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/synonyms/" rel="category tag">Synonyms</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/11/cringeworthy-and-toe-curling-the-language-of-embarrassment/#comments">13 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20646-9" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy-and-toe-curling_Kate_11.12.24.mp3?_=9" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy-and-toe-curling_Kate_11.12.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy-and-toe-curling_Kate_11.12.24.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20688" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20688" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20688" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/11/cringeworthy-and-toe-curling-the-language-of-embarrassment/supervisor-shocked-at-messages-on-co-workers-smart-phone/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?fit=1915%2C1414&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1915,1414" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images\/Design Pics RF","camera":"","caption":"Edmonton, Alberta, Canada","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Supervisor shocked at messages on co-worker's smart phone","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Cringeworthy and toe-curling (The language of embarrassment)" data-image-description="<p>Cringeworthy and toe-curling (The language of embarrassment), from About Words, by Kate Woodford</p> " data-image-caption="<p>LJM Photo / Design Pics</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?fit=300%2C222&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?fit=640%2C473&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20688" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435-300x222.jpg?resize=300%2C222&ssl=1" alt="Two office workers in the office kitchen reacting with shock and embarrassment at something on one of their phones" width="300" height="222" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=300%2C222&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=1024%2C756&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=768%2C567&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=1536%2C1134&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=900%2C665&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?resize=1280%2C945&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cringeworthy_527526097-e1730928393435.jpg?w=1915&ssl=1 1915w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20688" class="wp-caption-text">LJM Photo / Design Pics</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>Today’s post deals with the language around a feeling that we all experience from time to time, embarrassment – that is, the feeling of being ashamed or shy in the company of others.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/11/cringeworthy-and-toe-curling-the-language-of-embarrassment/#more-20646" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Cringeworthy and toe-curling (The language of embarrassment)”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-20646" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/11/cringeworthy-and-toe-curling-the-language-of-embarrassment/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener 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data-src='https://widgets.wp.com/likes/?ver=14.4-a.7#blog_id=18458032&post_id=20646&origin=dictionaryblog.cambridge.org&obj_id=18458032-20646-67bddf573c582' data-name='like-post-frame-18458032-20646-67bddf573c582' data-title='Like or Reblog'><h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3><div class='likes-widget-placeholder post-likes-widget-placeholder' style='height: 55px;'><span class='button'><span>Like</span></span> <span class="loading">Loading...</span></div><span class='sd-text-color'></span><a class='sd-link-color'></a></div> </div> </div> </article> <article id="post-20476" class="post-20476 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-phrasal-verbs category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-english-language tag-improve-your-english tag-in-real-life tag-internet tag-irl tag-phrasal-verbs tag-the-virtual-world"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/" title="In real life or the virtual world: ways of being present"><img width="900" height="640" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?fit=900%2C640&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="A group of children looking up at the sky but wearing VR headsets" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?w=1954&ssl=1 1954w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=300%2C213&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=1024%2C728&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=768%2C546&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=1536%2C1093&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=900%2C640&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=1280%2C911&ssl=1 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="20681" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/group-of-children-wearing-virtual-reality-headsets/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?fit=1954%2C1390&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1954,1390" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"NIKON D810","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1499174496","copyright":"FLASHPOP","focal_length":"0","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.004","title":"Group of children wearing virtual reality headsets","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="In real life or the virtual world? Ways to be present" data-image-description="<p>In real life or the virtual world: ways to be present, from About Words, by Liz Walter</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Flashpop / DigitalVision </p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?fit=300%2C213&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?fit=640%2C455&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/" rel="bookmark">In real life or the virtual world: ways of being present</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-12-04T12:00:49+00:00">December 4, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-11-08T15:54:22+00:00">November 8, 2024</time></a></span><span class="byline"> By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/lizwalter2/">Liz Walter</a></span></span><span class="cat-links">In <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/phrasal-verbs/" rel="category tag">Phrasal verbs</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a>, <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/vocabulary/" rel="category tag">Vocabulary</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/#comments">7 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post.</em></p> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-20476-10" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual-world_Liz_04.12.24.mp3?_=10" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual-world_Liz_04.12.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual-world_Liz_04.12.24.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20681" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20681" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20681" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/group-of-children-wearing-virtual-reality-headsets/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?fit=1954%2C1390&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1954,1390" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"NIKON D810","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1499174496","copyright":"FLASHPOP","focal_length":"0","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.004","title":"Group of children wearing virtual reality headsets","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="In real life or the virtual world? Ways to be present" data-image-description="<p>In real life or the virtual world: ways to be present, from About Words, by Liz Walter</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Flashpop / DigitalVision </p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?fit=300%2C213&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?fit=640%2C455&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20681" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318-300x213.jpg?resize=300%2C213&ssl=1" alt="A group of children looking up at the sky but wearing VR headsets" width="300" height="213" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=300%2C213&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=1024%2C728&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=768%2C546&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=1536%2C1093&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=900%2C640&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?resize=1280%2C911&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IRL-or-virtual_843840540-e1730919147318.jpg?w=1954&ssl=1 1954w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20681" class="wp-caption-text">Flashpop / DigitalVision</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong>Liz Walter</strong></p> <p>The covid pandemic and the continued rise of social media have both caused fundamental changes in the way we communicate and spend time with one another. Because of this, we often need to specify whether we are talking about being in the same physical place as someone or whether we are interacting <strong><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/online">online</a></strong>, for example to take part in work meetings, family chats or even romantic relationships. Today’s post looks at some words and phrases we use to make that distinction.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/#more-20476" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“In real life or the virtual world: ways of being present”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-20476" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-twitter"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-twitter-20476" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/?share=twitter" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-reddit"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-reddit sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/04/in-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present/?share=reddit" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Reddit" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li class="share-email"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="" class="share-email sd-button share-icon no-text" href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20In%20real%20life%20or%20the%20virtual%20world%3A%20ways%20of%20being%20present&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2024%2F12%2F04%2Fin-real-life-or-the-virtual-world-ways-of-being-present%2F&share=email" target="_blank" title="Click to email a link to a friend" data-email-share-error-title="Do you have email set up?" data-email-share-error-text="If you're having problems sharing via email, you might not have email set up for your browser. 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data-bump-view="tp"><img loading="lazy" width="200" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/noctourism.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=200%2C200" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/noctourism.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=200%2C200 1x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/noctourism.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=300%2C300 1.5x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/noctourism.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=400%2C400 2x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/noctourism.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=600%2C600 3x" alt="New words – 17 February 2025" data-pin-nopin="true"/></a></div><div class="widget-grid-view-image"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/" title="Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us)" class="bump-view" data-bump-view="tp"><img loading="lazy" width="200" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chilled-to-the-bone_Kate_12.02.2025_1369094087.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1 4x" alt="Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us)" data-pin-nopin="true"/></a></div><div class="widget-grid-view-image"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/" title="Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Newspaper idioms)" class="bump-view" data-bump-view="tp"><img loading="lazy" width="200" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Getting-hitched_Kate_29.01.2025_517554541.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1 4x" alt="Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Newspaper idioms)" data-pin-nopin="true"/></a></div><div class="widget-grid-view-image"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/05/reckless-and-impulsive-acting-without-enough-thought/" title="Reckless and impulsive: words for acting without enough thought" class="bump-view" data-bump-view="tp"><img loading="lazy" width="200" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Rash-reckless_a0048-000236a-e1734628709790.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1 4x" alt="Reckless and impulsive: words for acting without enough thought" data-pin-nopin="true"/></a></div><div class="widget-grid-view-image"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/12/18/its-written-in-the-stars-talking-about-what-might-happen-in-the-future/" title="It’s written in the stars: talking about things that might happen in the future" class="bump-view" data-bump-view="tp"><img loading="lazy" width="200" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-in-the-stars_2171679645-e1731616064538.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1 4x" alt="It’s written in the stars: talking about things that might happen in the future" data-pin-nopin="true"/></a></div><div class="widget-grid-view-image"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/10/new-words-10-february-2025/" title="New words – 10 February 2025" class="bump-view" data-bump-view="tp"><img loading="lazy" width="200" height="200" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/painsomnia2.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/painsomnia2.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/painsomnia2.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/painsomnia2.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/painsomnia2.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/painsomnia2.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1 4x" alt="New words – 10 February 2025" data-pin-nopin="true"/></a></div></div> </aside><aside id="authors-2" class="widget widget_authors"><h1 class="widget-title">Authors</h1><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/aezrac/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/26f314c4585b5bdb9d749f149ee7f10b?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/26f314c4585b5bdb9d749f149ee7f10b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Ron Carter</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2011/12/14/a-few-words-on-corpus-linguistics-part-2/" title="A few words on corpus linguistics part 2">A few words on corpus linguistics part 2</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2011/12/12/a-few-words-on-corpus-linguistics/" title="A few words on corpus linguistics">A few words on corpus linguistics</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/cambridgewords/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aef1e4cb2fd31e8f50444ca18ada3b49?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aef1e4cb2fd31e8f50444ca18ada3b49?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Cambridge Words</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/24/new-words-24-february-2025/" title="New words – 24 February 2025">New words – 24 February 2025</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/17/new-words-17-february-2025/" title="New words – 17 February 2025">New words – 17 February 2025</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/colinjmcintosh/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50053df1e6dad3114823d445b2ffaa08?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50053df1e6dad3114823d445b2ffaa08?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>colinjmcintosh</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2016/08/02/a-life-beyond-fiction/" title="A life beyond fiction">A life beyond fiction</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2016/07/26/whats-in-a-name/" title="What’s in a name?">What’s in a name?</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/domcambridge/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0f327ac6616afccb2cad6596b5597928?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0f327ac6616afccb2cad6596b5597928?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Dom Glennon</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2014/11/26/countability-grammar-codes/" title="Countability – grammar codes">Countability – grammar codes</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2014/06/04/hairdryers-and-squeaky-bums-the-colourful-world-of-football-words/" title="Hairdryers and squeaky bums: the colourful world of football words">Hairdryers and squeaky bums: the colourful world of football words</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/drheikek/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ca0ebdcb2fdc28a6eeaf6b28ca63a6cb?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ca0ebdcb2fdc28a6eeaf6b28ca63a6cb?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Dr Heike Krüsemann</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2020/08/21/how-to-stay-motivated-during-the-pandemic-what-you-told-us-and-why-it-matters/" title="How to stay motivated during the pandemic: What you told us, and why it matters">How to stay motivated during the pandemic: What you told us, and why it matters</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/hughrawson/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b0b0435c3c567be5d0f6979e5d464be5?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b0b0435c3c567be5d0f6979e5d464be5?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>hughrawson</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2013/07/01/janus-words-two-faced-english/" title="Janus Words – Two-faced English">Janus Words – Two-faced English</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2013/06/24/yet-more-yiddish/" title="Yet More Yiddish">Yet More Yiddish</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/katewoodford/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bac5c241ed0266a1b470307bc436f58f?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bac5c241ed0266a1b470307bc436f58f?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Kate Woodford</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/12/chilled-to-the-bone-or-roasting-the-effect-that-the-weather-has-on-us/" title="Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us)">Chilled to the bone or roasting? (The effect that the weather has on us)</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/01/29/getting-hitched-and-biting-your-tongue-newspaper-idioms/" title="Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Newspaper idioms)">Getting hitched and biting your tongue (Newspaper idioms)</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/lizwalter2/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4a29a1e94375522c0920818e6d4c4249?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4a29a1e94375522c0920818e6d4c4249?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Liz Walter</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/19/we-was-hungry-understanding-non-standard-grammar-forms-1/" title="We was hungry: understanding non-standard grammar forms (1)">We was hungry: understanding non-standard grammar forms (1)</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2025/02/05/reckless-and-impulsive-acting-without-enough-thought/" title="Reckless and impulsive: words for acting without enough thought">Reckless and impulsive: words for acting without enough thought</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/patriciaferraz/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6cc62e6d9d2486f6f3e1d23e8ed1954c?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6cc62e6d9d2486f6f3e1d23e8ed1954c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Patricia Ferraz</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/07/24/idioms-in-the-guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie-society/" title="Putting a spanner in the works – Idioms in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society">Putting a spanner in the works – Idioms in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/07/17/idioms-in-the-thursday-murder-club/" title="In for a penny, in for a pound: Idioms in The Thursday Murder Club">In for a penny, in for a pound: Idioms in The Thursday Murder Club</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/pheacock/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4e3a803c8f45bbf76eeaa384a0210bd5?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4e3a803c8f45bbf76eeaa384a0210bd5?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Paul Heacock</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2013/06/12/asadfarewell/" title="A sad farewell">A sad farewell</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2012/12/18/the-words-of-2012/" title="The words of 2012">The words of 2012</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/racheledf/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/13391686972a7e5cb25e9c3e7c977088?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/13391686972a7e5cb25e9c3e7c977088?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>racheledf</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2012/01/13/what-can-we-learn-from-emails/" title="What can we learn from emails?">What can we learn from emails?</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/author/trevorbryden/"> <img alt='1' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c1bae3f8b5386d3c4e41bef30ba924e8?s=48&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c1bae3f8b5386d3c4e41bef30ba924e8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' loading='lazy' decoding='async'/> <strong>Trevor Bryden</strong></a><ul><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2012/04/17/mind-your-ps-and-qs/" title="Mind your p’s and q’s">Mind your p’s and q’s</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2012/02/27/what-makes-a-litter/" title="What makes a litter?">What makes a litter?</a></li></ul></li></ul></aside><aside id="twitter_timeline-3" class="widget widget_twitter_timeline"><h1 class="widget-title">Latest tweets</h1><a class="twitter-timeline" data-width="220" data-height="400" data-theme="light" data-border-color="#e8e8e8" data-lang="EN" data-partner="jetpack" data-chrome="noheader nofooter noborders transparent" href="https://twitter.com/@CambridgeWords" href="https://twitter.com/@CambridgeWords">My Tweets</a></aside><aside id="wpcom_social_media_icons_widget-2" class="widget widget_wpcom_social_media_icons_widget"><h1 class="widget-title">Follow us</h1><ul><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CUPCambridgeDictionary/" class="genericon genericon-facebook" target="_blank"><span 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