New Words in English

The English language is constantly changing – and new words are being coined (invented/created) all the time! Some of the new English words come from cultural trends, others are combinations of two existing words, and others are new meanings for old words.

New words in English are usually added to the dictionary after they become commonly/frequently used. How many of these new English words do you know?

aha moment

The instant when the solution to a problem becomes clear, or when you suddenly realize or understand something that you didn’t understand before

bridezilla

A combination of “bride” + “Godzilla” (a monster from a horror movie) – this word is used to describe a woman who behaves very badly during the process of planning her wedding; she is extremely demanding and difficult to work with

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bromance

A combination of “bro” + “romance” – this word refers to a non-sexual friendship between two men

bucket list

A list of things that you haven’t done before, but that you want to do before you die. This expression became popular after the 2007 film “The Bucket List” about two men who travel to have as many adventures as they can before they “kick the bucket” (an idiom meaning “to die”).

cloud computing

Storing computer data on servers that can be accessed through the internet (not just on only one computer). You can also describe data as being located “in the cloud,” meaning on a server that can be accessed by multiple computers.

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cougar

A middle-aged woman looking for a romantic relationship with a younger man

crowdfunding

Providing funds (money) for a project by a large number of people who each contribute a small amount. This idea has become popular with sites such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and others.

cyberbullying / cyberstalking

“Cyberbullying” is using electronic communication to hurt or intimidate someone – for example, publicly destroying their reputation. “Cyberstalking” is using electronic communication to monitor and harass someone persistently – for example, if a guy continues to send his ex-girlfriend hundreds of messages and comments, even though she doesn’t want any contact.

facepalm

Hitting your face with your hand as an expression of embarrassment, frustration, disbelief, or disgust. This expression is typically used on the internet.

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f-bomb

A polite way to refer to the word “fuck” without actually saying the word. For example, you could say that a politician accidentally dropped an f-bomb during an interview.

frenemy

A person who pretends to be a friend, but is really an enemy

game changer

A newly introduced element that changes an existing situation/activity in an important way – in a similar way to how putting in a new player can change a sports game and affect the result.

helicopter parent

A parent who is too involved in the life of his/her child – like a helicopter hovers above an area, the parent is constantly “hovering” above their child to make sure everything is OK.

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mash-up

Something created by combining elements from two or more sources – such as a song created by digitally combining two different songs

newbie

Someone who is new and inexperienced in an area or activity

sexting

A combination of sex + texting = sending sexual messages or images by text message

sick

A slang word for good, excellent, awesome

spin

Intentionally presenting news or information in a way that affects (or tries to manipulate) the viewer’s/readers opinion

staycation

A combination of stay + vacation = a vacation that you spend at home or in your local area (you don’t travel, so you save money)

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Source: http://www.espressoenglish.net

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20 different ways to use the English word MIND

The English word “mind” refers to the center of your thoughts, memory, and imagination. In this lesson, you’ll learn 20 common English phrases using the word “mind.”

To talk about making a decision, you can use the phrase “make up my mind” – for example, “I can’t make up my mind about which movie to see tonight.” A variation on this phrase is “my mind is made up” – this means you have already made your choice and implies that you are not open to changing your decision.

If you do change a decision that you made previously, use the phrase “change my mind.” For example, “I’d been planning to travel this weekend, but I changed my mind because it’s been a really stressful week – so I’m going to stay home and relax.”

Speaking of stress, if you have a lot of thoughts, concerns, and worries in your head, you can say “I have a lot on my mind.” When this happens, it’s good to do an activity that is fun, different, or relaxing to help “take your mind off” your problems. For example, “I’m going to the gym – exercising will help take my mind off the final exams coming up.”

When you see or hear something that relieves or eliminates one of your worries, you can say it“takes a load off my mind.” For example, if you are traveling and your luggage doesn’t arrive at your destination, you would begin worrying that your luggage had been lost. But if the airline later calls you and says they’ve found your luggage and will deliver it to your hotel, you could say, “I’m glad to hear that – it takes a load off my mind.” – because it has relieved your worries about losing your luggage.

Another way to talk about relief of worries is “put my mind at ease” – for example, “I was worried about starting a new job without any previous experience, but my boss told me I would receive training during my first week – that put my mind at ease.”

A more continuous state of tranquility is called “peace of mind.” This phrase is used when something helps you NOT to have worries. For example, “Having car insurance gives me peace of mind, because I know the costs will be covered if I get in an accident.”

Two expressions you can use to describe people are “open-minded” and “close-minded” – an open-minded person is receptive to new and different ideas, and a close-minded person is the opposite – a person who doesn’t want to accept or consider new ideas, and who is intolerant of different beliefs and opinions.

You can also say a person has “a one-track mind” if they tend to think about or focus on one subject all the time: “All Daniel ever talks about is sports – he’s really got a one-track mind.”

A person who “speaks their mind” is someone who says exactly what they think, without changing their words to please others. Some people consider “speaking your mind” a good thing because it is honest and direct; other people consider “speaking your mind” a bad thing because it doesn’t consider how your words might offend or upset other people.

To “give someone a piece of your mind” means to tell them angrily that you disapprove of something they are doing, or have done. For example, “I’m sick and tired of our neighbors playing loud music at 3 AM. I’m going to give them a piece of my mind.”

An informal way to say that someone is crazy and irrational is to describe them as being “out of their mind.” For example, “You turned down a job with a $100,000/year salary?! You’re out of your mind!”

If you forget something, you can say it “slipped your mind.” For example: “Oh no, I had a dentist appointment this morning, but it completely slipped my mind!” Another situation is when your “mind goes blank” – this is when you forget EVERYTHING and can’t form a single thought. “I was so nervous during my presentation; as soon as I started, my mind went blank.”

All of the phrases you’ve learned so far use the word “mind” as a noun – but it can also be a verb, meaning to pay attention to or to care about. If you want to check if an action is OK with another person, you can ask, “Do you mind if…?” for example, “Do you mind if I open the window?” means “Is it OK with you if I open the window?”

To answer this question and say it’s OK, the response would be “No, I don’t mind.” Again, remember that the phrase “I don’t mind” means “It’s OK with me.”

If a person is being “nosy” – that means interfering in your life or wanting to know very personal details – you can tell him or her “Mind your own business!” – this is a slightly rude way to say “Stop being so interested in my situation. Pay attention to your own life instead.”

Finally, a very common expression in English is “never mind” – this means “don’t worry about it” or “it’s not an important issue.” For example, if you’re trying to arrange a time to meet with your co-worker, but your schedules are in conflict, you could say “Never mind – I’ll just e-mail you the information.” This means “Forget about the meeting, it’s not important – I’ll e-mail you the information instead.”

Source: http://www.espressoenglish.net

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