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I worked for many years on Cambridge University Press’s range of ELT dictionaries and now work with Liz Walter on dictionary and non-dictionary titles. My other interests include fashion, cooking, child-rearing, BBC Radio 4 and the quirks and peculiarities of the English language. You can follow me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Katewoodford2">@Katewoodford2</a></div> </header> <article id="post-20432" class="post-20432 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-idioms category-idioms-and-phrases-in-newspapers category-the-english-language tag-english tag-idioms tag-idioms-and-phrases-in-newspapers tag-improve-your-english tag-vocabulary"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-newspaper-idioms/" title="A safe pair of hands (Newspaper idioms)"><img width="900" height="520" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?fit=900%2C520&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="A duckling rests in a pair of cupped hands" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?w=2121&ssl=1 2121w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=300%2C173&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=1024%2C592&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=768%2C444&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=1536%2C888&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=2048%2C1184&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=900%2C520&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=1280%2C740&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="20529" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-newspaper-idioms/midsection-of-person-holding-duckling/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?fit=2121%2C1226&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2121,1226" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"Midsection Of Person Holding Duckling","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"Ujvarosi Geza Balint","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Midsection Of Person Holding Duckling","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="A safe pairs of hands" 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/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?fit=300%2C173&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?fit=640%2C370&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-newspaper-idioms/" rel="bookmark">A safe pair of hands (Newspaper idioms)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-newspaper-idioms/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-11-13T12:00:37+00:00">November 13, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-10-10T11:30:54+01:00">October 10, 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/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></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-newspaper-idioms/#comments">10 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-20432-1" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/A-safe-pair-of-hands_Kate_13.11.24.mp3?_=1" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/A-safe-pair-of-hands_Kate_13.11.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/A-safe-pair-of-hands_Kate_13.11.24.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20529" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20529" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20529" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-newspaper-idioms/midsection-of-person-holding-duckling/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?fit=2121%2C1226&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2121,1226" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"Midsection Of Person Holding Duckling","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"Ujvarosi Geza Balint","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Midsection Of Person Holding Duckling","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="A safe pairs of hands" 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/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?fit=300%2C173&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?fit=640%2C370&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20529" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260-300x173.jpg?resize=300%2C173&ssl=1" alt="A duckling rests in a pair of cupped hands" width="300" height="173" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=300%2C173&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=1024%2C592&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=768%2C444&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=1536%2C888&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=2048%2C1184&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=900%2C520&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?resize=1280%2C740&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Safe-pair-of-hands_2163791452-e1728309439260.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20529" class="wp-caption-text">EyeEm Mobile GmbH / iStock / Getty Images Plus</figcaption></figure> <p>by <a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></p> <p>Today’s post is <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/category/idioms-and-phrases-in-newspapers/">the latest in my ‘Idioms and phrases in newspapers’ series</a>, which provides you with a regular supply of common, contemporary English idioms and expressions. The phrases in this post are taken from a range of national newspapers published on the same day.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-newspaper-idioms/#more-20432" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“A safe pair of hands (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-20432" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-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-20432" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-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/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-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%20A%20safe%20pair%20of%20hands%20%28Newspaper%20idioms%29&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2024%2F11%2F13%2Fa-safe-pair-of-hands-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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Latin name: Carassius auratus. Goldfish were one of the first species of fish to be kept in captivity. They have been bred in China since the 11th century, and selective breeding there and in Japan has developed many ornamental varieties.","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"Gandee Vasan","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Goldfish Leaping","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Making the most of it (how to talk about opportunities)" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Gandee Vasan / Stone</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?fit=300%2C234&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?fit=640%2C500&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/30/making-the-most-of-it-how-we-talk-about-using-opportunities/" rel="bookmark">Making the most of it (How we talk about using opportunities)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/30/making-the-most-of-it-how-we-talk-about-using-opportunities/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-10-30T12:00:37+00:00">October 30, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-10-04T14:57:19+01:00">October 4, 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/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/2024/10/30/making-the-most-of-it-how-we-talk-about-using-opportunities/#comments">10 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-20410-2" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making_the_most_of_it_Kate_06.11.24.mp3?_=2" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making_the_most_of_it_Kate_06.11.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making_the_most_of_it_Kate_06.11.24.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20424" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20424" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20424" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/30/making-the-most-of-it-how-we-talk-about-using-opportunities/goldfish-leaping/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?fit=1732%2C1353&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1732,1353" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"Goldfish leaping from small bowl to large bowl to a new beginning. Latin name: Carassius auratus. Goldfish were one of the first species of fish to be kept in captivity. They have been bred in China since the 11th century, and selective breeding there and in Japan has developed many ornamental varieties.","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"Gandee Vasan","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Goldfish Leaping","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Making the most of it (how to talk about opportunities)" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Gandee Vasan / Stone</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?fit=300%2C234&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?fit=640%2C500&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20424" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486-300x234.jpg?resize=300%2C234&ssl=1" alt="Goldfish leaping from small bowl to large bowl to a new beginning" width="300" height="234" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?resize=300%2C234&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?resize=1024%2C800&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?resize=768%2C600&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?resize=1536%2C1200&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?resize=900%2C703&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?resize=1280%2C1000&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Making-the-most-of-it_121989283-e1726520389486.jpg?w=1732&ssl=1 1732w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20424" class="wp-caption-text">Gandee Vasan / Stone</figcaption></figure> <p> </p> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>Today’s post has a very positive feel to it as I’m looking at the language around responding to opportunities.</p> <p>Starting with a useful collocation, we say that we <strong>take </strong>an <strong>opportunity</strong>, meaning that we use a chance to do something.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/30/making-the-most-of-it-how-we-talk-about-using-opportunities/#more-20410" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Making the most of it (How we talk about using opportunities)”</span> <span 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(Idioms with ‘book’)"><img width="900" height="600" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="Two sleeping passengers leaning on either shoulder of another passenger who is trying to read a book" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?w=4992&ssl=1 4992w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="20244" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/23/cooking-or-hitting-the-books-idioms-with-book/woman-sat-on-plane-two-men-asleep-on-her-shoulders/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?fit=4992%2C3328&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4992,3328" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1208361526","copyright":"Peter Cade","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Woman sat on plane two men asleep on her shoulders","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Woman sat on plane two men asleep on her shoulders" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Peter Cade / Stone </p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.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/2024/10/23/cooking-or-hitting-the-books-idioms-with-book/" rel="bookmark">Cooking or hitting the books? (Idioms with ‘book’)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/23/cooking-or-hitting-the-books-idioms-with-book/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-10-23T12:00:16+01:00">October 23, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-10-24T10:28:43+01:00">October 24, 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/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/23/cooking-or-hitting-the-books-idioms-with-book/#comments">16 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-20059-3" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-the-books_Kate_23.10.24.mp3?_=3" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-the-books_Kate_23.10.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-the-books_Kate_23.10.24.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20244" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20244" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20244" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/23/cooking-or-hitting-the-books-idioms-with-book/woman-sat-on-plane-two-men-asleep-on-her-shoulders/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?fit=4992%2C3328&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4992,3328" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1208361526","copyright":"Peter Cade","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Woman sat on plane two men asleep on her shoulders","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Woman sat on plane two men asleep on her shoulders" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Peter Cade / Stone </p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20244" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1" alt="Two sleeping passengers leaning on either shoulder of another passenger who is trying to read a book" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooking-or-hitting-books_82193302.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20244" class="wp-caption-text">Peter Cade / Stone</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>Books play a hugely significant role in all our lives, so it’s probably no surprise that there are a lot of English idioms that include the word ‘book’. In this post, I’ve selected what I consider to be the most useful and current ones and look at how they are used.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/23/cooking-or-hitting-the-books-idioms-with-book/#more-20059" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Cooking or hitting the books? 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src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?fit=900%2C602&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="A young adult student in a class poring over a book" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?w=4740&ssl=1 4740w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=300%2C201&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=1024%2C685&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=768%2C514&ssl=1 768w, 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data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/09/skimming-through-and-writing-up-studying-phrasal-verbs/black-female-student-reading-from-a-book-during-a-class-at-the-university/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?fit=4740%2C3170&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4740,3170" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R3","caption":"Female African American university student learning in lecture hall.","created_timestamp":"1687021731","copyright":"photo by drazen zigic","focal_length":"40","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.004","title":"Black female student reading from a book during a class at the university.","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Black female student reading from a book during a class at the university." data-image-description="<p>Skimming through and writing up (Studying phrasal verbs)</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Drazen Zigic / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?fit=300%2C201&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?fit=640%2C428&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/09/skimming-through-and-writing-up-studying-phrasal-verbs/" rel="bookmark">Skimming through and writing up (Studying phrasal verbs)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/09/skimming-through-and-writing-up-studying-phrasal-verbs/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-10-09T12:00:42+01:00">October 9, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-10-04T14:55:31+01:00">October 4, 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/learning/" rel="category tag">Learning</a>, <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></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/09/skimming-through-and-writing-up-studying-phrasal-verbs/#comments">20 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-19958-4" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_Kate_09.10.24.mp3?_=4" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_Kate_09.10.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_Kate_09.10.24.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20240" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20240" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20240" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/09/skimming-through-and-writing-up-studying-phrasal-verbs/black-female-student-reading-from-a-book-during-a-class-at-the-university/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?fit=4740%2C3170&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4740,3170" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R3","caption":"Female African American university student learning in lecture hall.","created_timestamp":"1687021731","copyright":"photo by drazen zigic","focal_length":"40","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.004","title":"Black female student reading from a book during a class at the university.","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Black female student reading from a book during a class at the university." data-image-description="<p>Skimming through and writing up (Studying phrasal verbs)</p> " data-image-caption="<p>Drazen Zigic / iStock / Getty Images Plus</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?fit=300%2C201&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?fit=640%2C428&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20240" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520-300x201.jpg?resize=300%2C201&ssl=1" alt="A young adult student in a class poring over a book" width="300" height="201" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=300%2C201&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=1024%2C685&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=768%2C514&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=1536%2C1027&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=2048%2C1370&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=900%2C602&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?resize=1280%2C856&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Skimming-through_1614145719-e1724688826520.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20240" class="wp-caption-text">Drazen Zigic / iStock / Getty Images Plus</figcaption></figure> <p> </p> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>Today’s post looks at phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs relating to studying, learning, and taking exams.</p> <p>Let’s start with some useful verbs for reading.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/09/skimming-through-and-writing-up-studying-phrasal-verbs/#more-19958" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Skimming through and writing up (Studying phrasal verbs)”</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-19958" class="share-facebook 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(Words and expressions that mean ‘difficult to understand’)"><img width="900" height="727" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?fit=900%2C727&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="A man looking at a financial statement with a look of confusion" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?w=6239&ssl=1 6239w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=300%2C242&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=1024%2C827&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=768%2C620&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=1536%2C1240&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=2048%2C1654&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=900%2C727&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=1280%2C1034&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="20188" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/25/its-as-clear-as-mud-difficult-to-understand/man-checking-personal-finances-at-home/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?fit=6239%2C5038&ssl=1" data-orig-size="6239,5038" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.4","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R5","caption":"Man checking personal finances at home, while sitting at a table.","created_timestamp":"1680119291","copyright":"","focal_length":"50","iso":"800","shutter_speed":"0.005","title":"Man Checking Personal Finances at Home","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="It’s as clear as mud! (difficult to understand)" data-image-description="<p>1497188096</p> " data-image-caption="<p>urbazon / E+</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?fit=300%2C242&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?fit=640%2C517&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/25/its-as-clear-as-mud-difficult-to-understand/" rel="bookmark">It’s as clear as mud! (Words and expressions that mean ‘difficult to understand’)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/25/its-as-clear-as-mud-difficult-to-understand/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-09-25T12:00:47+01:00">September 25, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-09-03T19:57:43+01:00">September 3, 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/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/25/its-as-clear-as-mud-difficult-to-understand/#comments">24 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-20053-5" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Its_as_clear_as_mud_Kate_25.09.24.mp3?_=5" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Its_as_clear_as_mud_Kate_25.09.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Its_as_clear_as_mud_Kate_25.09.24.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20188" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20188" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20188" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/25/its-as-clear-as-mud-difficult-to-understand/man-checking-personal-finances-at-home/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?fit=6239%2C5038&ssl=1" data-orig-size="6239,5038" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.4","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"Canon EOS R5","caption":"Man checking personal finances at home, while sitting at a table.","created_timestamp":"1680119291","copyright":"","focal_length":"50","iso":"800","shutter_speed":"0.005","title":"Man Checking Personal Finances at Home","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="It’s as clear as mud! (difficult to understand)" data-image-description="<p>1497188096</p> " data-image-caption="<p>urbazon / E+</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?fit=300%2C242&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?fit=640%2C517&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20188" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391-300x242.jpg?resize=300%2C242&ssl=1" alt="A man looking at a financial statement with a look of confusion" width="300" height="242" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=300%2C242&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=1024%2C827&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=768%2C620&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=1536%2C1240&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=2048%2C1654&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=900%2C727&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?resize=1280%2C1034&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/As-clear-as-mud-e1723817611391.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20188" class="wp-caption-text">urbazon / E+</figcaption></figure> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>I recently heard a journalist complaining that she didn’t understand the government’s position on a particular issue. It was, she said, <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/as-clear-as-mud"><strong>as clear as mud</strong></a>, meaning, of course, that it was not at all clear! This humorous idiom made me think about the various ways in which we say that something is difficult or impossible to understand. Today’s post, including both single words and idioms, is the result.</p> <p> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/25/its-as-clear-as-mud-difficult-to-understand/#more-20053" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“It’s as clear as mud! 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data-name='like-post-frame-18458032-20053-674353b6d1a05' 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-19864" class="post-19864 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-english-language tag-vocabulary"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/" title="Treasure troves and endless supplies (Words and phrases meaning ‘source’)"><img width="900" height="675" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?fit=900%2C675&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="A market stall overflowing with antique lamps, glassware, and trinkets" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?w=5184&ssl=1 5184w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=900%2C675&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=1280%2C960&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="20398" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/istanbul-grand-bazaar-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?fit=5184%2C3888&ssl=1" data-orig-size="5184,3888" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"DSC-HX60V","caption":"A typical store decoration of the Grand Bazaar: dishes, glasses and glass balls.","created_timestamp":"1432306664","copyright":"olivier vancayzeele","focal_length":"4.3","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"Istanbul Grand Bazaar","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Treasure troves and endless supplies" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Colors Hunter – Chasseur de Couleurs / Moment Open</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1" /></a> <div class="entry-wrapper"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/" rel="bookmark">Treasure troves and endless supplies (Words and phrases meaning ‘source’)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-09-11T12:00:47+01:00">September 11, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-09-11T15:25:25+01:00">September 11, 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/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/#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-19864-6" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies.mp3?_=6" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies.mp3</a></audio> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_20398" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20398" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="20398" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/istanbul-grand-bazaar-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?fit=5184%2C3888&ssl=1" data-orig-size="5184,3888" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"DSC-HX60V","caption":"A typical store decoration of the Grand Bazaar: dishes, glasses and glass balls.","created_timestamp":"1432306664","copyright":"olivier vancayzeele","focal_length":"4.3","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"Istanbul Grand Bazaar","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Treasure troves and endless supplies" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Colors Hunter – Chasseur de Couleurs / Moment Open</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-20398" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1" alt="A market stall overflowing with antique lamps, glassware, and trinkets" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=900%2C675&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?resize=1280%2C960&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Treasure-troves_562581377.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20398" class="wp-caption-text">Colors Hunter – Chasseur de Couleurs / Moment Open</figcaption></figure> <p> </p> <p>by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></strong></p> <p>This week, I’m looking at the language we use to refer to <strong><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/source#cald4-1">sources</a></strong> – that is, the places, things, or people that provide or produce a particular thing. (That ‘thing’ can be a physical object or something abstract, such as knowledge or an idea.) As usual, I’m including both single words and phrases in the post. <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/#more-19864" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Treasure troves and endless supplies (Words and phrases meaning ‘source’)”</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-19864" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/?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-19864" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/?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/2024/09/11/treasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source/?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%20Treasure%20troves%20and%20endless%20supplies%20%28Words%20and%20phrases%20meaning%20%E2%80%98source%E2%80%99%29&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2024%2F09%2F11%2Ftreasure-troves-and-endless-supplies-words-and-phrases-meaning-source%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=14.1-a.3#blog_id=18458032&post_id=19864&origin=dictionaryblog.cambridge.org&obj_id=18458032-19864-674353b6d59fb&n=1' data-name='like-post-frame-18458032-19864-674353b6d59fb' 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-19526" class="post-19526 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-appearances tag-english-language tag-fakes tag-improve-your-english"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/" title="Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)"><img width="900" height="600" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="half of a US dollar bill, with a person's hand filling in the missing half with a simple chalk drawing - illustrating the concept of fakes and forgeries" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?w=5700&ssl=1 5700w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="19541" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/counterfeiting-money/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?fit=5700%2C3800&ssl=1" data-orig-size="5700,3800" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images\/Image Source","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Counterfeiting money","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Counterfeiting money" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Image Source / Getty Images</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.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/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/" rel="bookmark">Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-06-12T12:00:25+01:00">June 12, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-07-29T14:25:33+01:00">July 29, 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/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/#comments">21 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Listen to the author reading this blog post.</span></em></p> <p><audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-19526-7" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Fakes-and-forgeries.mp3?_=7" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Fakes-and-forgeries.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Fakes-and-forgeries.mp3</a></audio></p> <p><figure id="attachment_19541" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19541" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="19541" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/counterfeiting-money/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?fit=5700%2C3800&ssl=1" data-orig-size="5700,3800" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images\/Image Source","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Counterfeiting money","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Counterfeiting money" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Image Source / Getty Images</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-19541" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1" alt="half of a US dollar bill, with a person's hand filling in the missing half with a simple chalk drawing - illustrating the concept of fakes and forgeries" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/forgery_orig.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-19541" class="wp-caption-text">Image Source / Getty Images</figcaption></figure></p> <p>by <a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></p> <p>I recently published a blog post on the language that we use to describe the way things <em>seem </em>to be (<a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/">Keeping Up Appearances</a>). Today, I’m looking at a related subject – words that describe things that are definitely <em>not</em> what they seem to be. <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/#more-19526" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)”</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-19526" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/?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-19526" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/?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/2024/06/12/fakes-and-forgeries/?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%20Fakes%20and%20forgeries%20%28Things%20that%20are%20not%20what%20they%20seem%20to%20be%29&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2024%2F06%2F12%2Ffakes-and-forgeries%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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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-19473" class="post-19473 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-the-english-language category-vocabulary tag-appearances tag-english-language tag-improve-your-english"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/" title="Keeping up appearances (Talking about how things seem)"><img width="900" height="600" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="portrait of a woman wearing glasses who is holding up a simple pen drawing of a smiling mouth so that it covers the bottom half of her face - illustrating the concept of misleading appearances and talking about how things seem" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?w=4096&ssl=1 4096w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="19479" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/keeping_up_appearances/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?fit=4096%2C2730&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4096,2730" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1482703025","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="keeping_up_appearances" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>nemke / E+ / Getty Images</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.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/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/" rel="bookmark">Keeping up appearances (Talking about how things seem)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-05-29T12:00:44+01:00">May 29, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-05-21T10:41:26+01:00">May 21, 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/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/#comments">16 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post:</em></p> <p><audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-19473-8" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Keeping_up_appearances_Kate_29.05.24.mp3?_=8" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Keeping_up_appearances_Kate_29.05.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Keeping_up_appearances_Kate_29.05.24.mp3</a></audio></p> <p><figure id="attachment_19479" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19479" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="19479" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/keeping_up_appearances/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?fit=4096%2C2730&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4096,2730" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1482703025","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="keeping_up_appearances" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>nemke / E+ / Getty Images</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class="wp-image-19479 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1" alt="portrait of a woman wearing glasses who is holding up a simple pen drawing of a smiling mouth so that it covers the bottom half of her face - illustrating the concept of misleading appearances and talking about how things seem" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/keeping_up_appearances.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-19479" class="wp-caption-text">nemke / E+ / Getty Images</figcaption></figure></p> <p>by <a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></p> <p>There’s an English saying <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover?q=judge+a+book"><strong>You can’t judge a book by its cover</strong></a>, meaning that you cannot know what someone or something is really like by considering <em>only </em>appearance. However, we all make assessments based on how someone or something <em>seems</em> <em>to be </em>(even if we then find out that our initial judgment was wrong). This week, I’m looking at the language in this area, covering both single words and phrases. <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/#more-19473" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Keeping up appearances (Talking about how things seem)”</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-19473" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/?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-19473" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/?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/2024/05/29/talking-about-how-things-seem/?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%20Keeping%20up%20appearances%20%28Talking%20about%20how%20things%20seem%29&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2024%2F05%2F29%2Ftalking-about-how-things-seem%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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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-19435" class="post-19435 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-idioms category-the-english-language tag-differences tag-english-language tag-idioms tag-improve-your-english tag-phrases"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/22/talking-about-differences-part-2/" title="Apples and oranges (Talking about differences, Part 2)"><img width="900" height="600" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="close-up photograph of a person holding an orange in one hand and a green apple in the other, illustrating the idiom "like apples and oranges", used to talk about differences" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?w=4096&ssl=1 4096w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="19449" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/22/talking-about-differences-part-2/difference/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?fit=4096%2C2731&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4096,2731" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1157165233","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="difference" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>vkbhat / E+ / Getty Images</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.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/2024/05/22/talking-about-differences-part-2/" rel="bookmark">Apples and oranges (Talking about differences, Part 2)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/22/talking-about-differences-part-2/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-05-22T12:00:45+01:00">May 22, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-05-17T15:54:11+01:00">May 17, 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/the-english-language/" rel="category tag">the English language</a></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/22/talking-about-differences-part-2/#comments">26 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post:</em></p> <p><audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-19435-9" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Apples_and_oranges_Kate_12.06.24.mp3?_=9" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Apples_and_oranges_Kate_12.06.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Apples_and_oranges_Kate_12.06.24.mp3</a></audio></p> <p><figure id="attachment_19449" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19449" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="19449" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/22/talking-about-differences-part-2/difference/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?fit=4096%2C2731&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4096,2731" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1157165233","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="difference" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>vkbhat / E+ / Getty Images</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-19449" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1" alt="close-up photograph of a person holding an orange in one hand and a green apple in the other, illustrating the idiom "like apples and oranges", used to talk about differences" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/difference.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-19449" class="wp-caption-text">vkbhat / E+ / Getty Images</figcaption></figure></p> <p>by <a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></p> <p>This week, in the second of two <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/">‘Talking about differences’</a> posts, I’m looking at idioms and other phrases that are used for saying that things or people are different. <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/22/talking-about-differences-part-2/#more-19435" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Apples and oranges (Talking about differences, Part 2)”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent 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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-19321" class="post-19321 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-the-english-language"> <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/" title="Varied and diverse (Talking about differences, Part 1)"><img width="900" height="600" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1" class="attachment-lovecraft-post-image size-lovecraft-post-image wp-post-image" alt="a stylised, colourful illustration of a large, diverse crowd of people, illustrating the concept of diversity and talking about differences" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?w=4096&ssl=1 4096w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-attachment-id="19328" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/diverse/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?fit=4096%2C2730&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4096,2730" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="diverse" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>PeterPencil / DigitalVision Vectors / Getty Images</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.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/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/" rel="bookmark">Varied and diverse (Talking about differences, Part 1)</a></h1> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="posted-on">On <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-05-08T12:00:11+01:00">May 8, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-05-01T13:41:17+01:00">May 1, 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></span><span class="comments-link"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/#comments">17 Comments</a></span> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>Listen to the author reading this blog post:</em></p> <p><audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-19321-10" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Varied_and_diverse_Kate_08.05.24.mp3?_=10" /><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Varied_and_diverse_Kate_08.05.24.mp3">https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Varied_and_diverse_Kate_08.05.24.mp3</a></audio></p> <p><figure id="attachment_19328" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19328" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="19328" data-permalink="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/diverse/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?fit=4096%2C2730&ssl=1" data-orig-size="4096,2730" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="diverse" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>PeterPencil / DigitalVision Vectors / Getty Images</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-19328" src="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1" alt="a stylised, colourful illustration of a large, diverse crowd of people, illustrating the concept of diversity and talking about differences" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=900%2C600&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/diverse.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-19328" class="wp-caption-text">PeterPencil / DigitalVision Vectors / Getty Images</figcaption></figure></p> <p>by <a href="https://twitter.com/katewoodford2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kate Woodford</a></p> <p>My last two posts have focused on the language that we use to describe people and things that are <em>similar </em>or <em>the same</em>, covering <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/04/10/talking-about-similarities-part-1/">words such as<strong> identical</strong> and <strong>analogous</strong></a> and <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/04/24/talking-about-similarities-part-2/">expressions such as <strong>dead ringer</strong> and <strong>spitting image</strong></a>. In this post, I look at the language of <em>differences</em>, considering single words in this area. <a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/#more-19321" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Varied and diverse (Talking about differences, Part 1)”</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-19321" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/?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-19321" class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/?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/2024/05/08/talking-about-differences-part-1/?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%20Varied%20and%20diverse%20%28Talking%20about%20differences%2C%20Part%201%29&body=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2024%2F05%2F08%2Ftalking-about-differences-part-1%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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https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/upcycling_woty.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/upcycling_woty.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/upcycling_woty.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1 4x" alt="Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year 2019" data-pin-nopin="true"/></a></div><div class="widget-grid-view-image"><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2020/07/08/are-idioms-that-use-black-and-white-offensive/" title="Are idioms that use ‘black’ and ‘white’ offensive?" 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/2020/07/black-and-white-1.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-and-white-1.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-and-white-1.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-and-white-1.png?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-and-white-1.png?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https://i0.wp.com/dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/black-and-white-1.png?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1 4x" alt="Are idioms that use ‘black’ and ‘white’ offensive?" 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/2024/11/20/cambridge-dictionary-word-of-the-year-2024/" title="Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2024">Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2024</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/11/18/new-words-18-november-2024/" title="New words – 18 November 2024" aria-current="page">New words – 18 November 2024</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/2024/11/13/a-safe-pair-of-hands-newspaper-idioms/" title="A safe pair of hands (Newspaper idioms)">A safe pair of hands (Newspaper idioms)</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/30/making-the-most-of-it-how-we-talk-about-using-opportunities/" title="Making the most of it (How we talk about using opportunities)">Making the most of it (How we talk about using opportunities)</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/2024/11/06/nobody-blames-you-phrases-for-offering-reassurance/" title="Nobody blames you: phrases for offering reassurance">Nobody blames you: phrases for offering reassurance</a></li><li><a href="https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/10/16/wise-brainy-or-astute-words-for-describing-intelligent-people/" title="Wise, brainy, or astute: words for describing intelligent people">Wise, brainy, or astute: words for describing intelligent people</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 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