English words

In 2004 I moved from the Netherlands to the United States, and it’s been great to experience a new culture from up close. I like to keep track of new English words and expressions that I learn over time. Some of these words were completely new to me and for others I wasn’t very sure about their precise meaning.
Word Description When foundsort icon
cartwheel

ha, a translation of “handslag”

01/11/2012
a dead ringer

a dead ringer for somebody/something - someone or something that looks exactly like someone or something else

01/05/2012
zany

ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish.

12/15/2011
rodeo drive

Famous street in Beverley Hills, CA with high end fashion shopping.

12/14/2011
efficacious

having the power to produce a desired effect

“Effective,” and “effectual” are synonyms of “efficacious,” but each of these words has a slightly different connotation. “Efficacious” suggests possession of a special quality or virtue that makes it possible to achieve a result (“a detergent that is efficacious in removing grease”). “Effective” stresses the power to produce or the actual production of a particular effect (“an effective rebuttal”), while “effectual” suggests the accomplishment of a desired result, especially as viewed after the fact (“measures taken to reduce underage drinking have proved effectual”).

11/09/2011
murder of crows

The collective noun for crows is… murder.

a murder of crows

http://www.rinkworks.com/words/collective.shtml

10/07/2011
wheelhouse

In baseball jargon: The sweet spot of a baseball player’s strike zone where the most power and strength can be utilized.

If a pitch is right in your wheelhouse it is right where you want it, in the spot where you have the best chance of hitting it well.

09/30/2011
mulligan

A do-over.

Surprising that I haven’t come across this word before.

09/12/2011
approbation

official approval

08/06/2011
Robert's Rules of Order

Robert’s Rules of Order (RONR) is the short title of a book containing rules of order intended to be adopted as a parliamentary authority for use by a deliberative assembly written by Brig. Gen. Henry Martyn Robert. (Wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert%27s_Rules_of_Order

07/13/2011
moxibustion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxibustion

12/26/2010
sandbagging

Deceiving someone by pretending to be weak.

11/18/2010
crushing it

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=crushing%20it

Being in severe shape, looking good, being better than others, looking hot, feeling positive, having more than others, having relations with other attractive people, generally serving well

09/29/2010
As easy as falling off a log

as easy as pie / a piece of cake, no sweat

http://www.omniglot.com/language/idioms/easy.php

05/03/2010
spring chicken

new kid on the block

03/25/2010
doing donuts

car on ice

02/02/2010
drive shaft

A drive shaft is a mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drive train that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement between them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_shaft

01/28/2010
desiccated

To dry (for example coconut)

08/24/2009
samovar

A samovar (Russian: самовар, pronounced [səmɐˈvar] ( listen); literally “self-boiler”) is a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samovar

07/28/2009
jalopy

Jalopy is an old, decrepit, unreliable and often nonfunctional car which has limited mechanical abilities and is often in an unmaintained and often in a rusty or dented shape. A jalopy is not a well kept antique car, but a car which is mostly rundown or beaten up.

07/25/2009
sod 07/06/2009
pinch an inch

Indicates whether or not a person has a lot of body fat.

http://www.weight-loss-i.com/weight-control/body-fat-test-pinch-inch.htm

07/02/2009
thresher

A thresher, or threshing machine, is an antique machine that was used to thresh grain. Modern day variant: combine.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshing_machine

06/28/2009
smock

Shirt or under dress.

06/28/2009
scuttlebutt

Scuttlebutt means water fountain or, in Navy slang, a rumour or gossip.

The term is identical to the iconic colloquial concept of a water cooler in an office setting, that at regular times becomes the locus of congregation and casual discussion. Water for immediate consumption on a sailing ship was conventionally stored in a scuttled butt: a butt (cask or small barrel) which had been scuttled by making a hole in it so the water could be withdrawn. Since sailors exchanged gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water, scuttlebutt became Navy slang for gossip or rumors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuttlebutt

06/06/2009

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