Category English Language

What are some idioms related to weather?

It’s time to spruce up your language skills. Let’s learn a few idioms that are based on weather.

EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING

The idiom “every cloud has a silver lining” means that every sad or bad situation has a positive side to it. It means to be optimistic and hopeful that good can come out of a bad situation. Perhaps it originated from the fact that when clouds float in front of the sun, they will sometimes have a “silver lining” around their edges. The earliest record of the usage of a shorter version of the idiom, silver lining, was in a book titled Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle by John Milton in 1634.

LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES THE SAME PLACE TWICE

“Lightning never strikes the same place twice” means that if a bad thing has happened, it will not happen again. It is mostly used to comfort a person, saying that if someone has gone through an unfortunate circumstance, such a misfortune is not likely to happen again.

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Ever noticed that there is one surreal moment, where everything goes quiet before a storm? This is exactly what is meant by the idiom calm before the storm. It is a short period of quiet before the start of a difficult period. The saying was popular among ancient sailors whenever they observed that the weather was unnervingly calm before a storm. The phrase has been in use since the 1700s.

UNDER THE WEATHER

If you say that you are “under the weather, it means you aren’t feeling well or have some illness. It is also used when one has to convey that the person is overly exhausted. It has its roots in the nautical terminology. Back when a sailor fell ill or seasick, he would be sent below the decks under the weather rail. The phrase “under the weather rail” got shortened over time and turned to just “under the weather. The phrase began to be used in the mid-1800s.

CHASE RAINBOWS

Can you chase a rainbow? A rainbow is an optical phenomenon and is not a tangible thing. So you cannot chase a rainbow because it doesn’t exist in a specific spot in the sky. So if one is referred to as chasing a rainbow, it means that the person is trying to achieve the impossible or pursuing unrealistic goals. The term perhaps evolved from the story of getting a pot of gold if one were to dig at the end of the rainbow. But such a thing never exists and so the term started to be used on people with unrealistic dreams and were called “rainbow chasers”.

RAINING CATS AND DOGS

When you say that “it’s raining cats and dogs”, it means it is raining heavily outside. The expression is from the 17th Century but its origin is still uncertain. The reference perhaps comes from Norse mythology where cats were thought to have influence over storms. The modern version of “raining cats and dogs” is believed to be first recorded in Jonathan Swift’s “A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation.”

COME RAIN OR SHINE

When you use the idiom “come rain or shine,” you mean to say that something will be done regardless of whatever happens.

It is used to express certainty that an activity will happen irrespective of the weather or circumstance. According to sources, the earliest printed record dates back to 1699 by John Goad.

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Did you know that some of the words were contributed by the authors themselves and those words became popular among the masses?

Ever wondered how words are formed? Our language is ever-evolving. Every year, hundreds of words get added to our vocabulary. Did you know that some of the words were contributed by the authors themselves or that those words became popular among the masses? Some even found a place in the dictionaries. Let’s take a look at some of the authors who have offered us their repertoire of words which subsequently became famous.

PANDEMONIUM – BY JOHN MILTON

A word used to refer to chaos and uproar. “pandemonium” is a highly mainstream word. The word is created by poet and writer John Milton. It was in the poem “Paradise Lost that Milton referred to the capital of Hell as Pandemonium. And the word came into being! And that is not all. He is credited with introducing as many as 630 words to the English language. Did you know that the oft-used words such as “liturgical”, “debauchery”, “besottedly”, “unhealthily”, “padlock”, “dismissive”, “terrific”. “embellishing”, “fragrance”, “love-lorn” and “complacency” were created by the poet?

SERENDIPITY- BY HORACE WALPOLE

 Serendipity is one of the magical words in the English language. It refers to happy accidents, the fact of finding something interesting or valuable by chance. There is even a movie titled “Serendipity,” starring John Cusak. And we credit Horace Walpole for the word. He is said to have been inspired by a fairy tale called “The Three Princes of Serendip” and used the word and announced his coinage in one of his correspondence letters. He uses the word in a letter to his friend Horace Mann. Did you know that “serendip” was actually another name for Sri Lanka?

CHORTLE – BY LEWIS CARROLL

The man who wrote “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” gave us not just remarkable characters such as the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat or Alice but also new words. “Chortle” is one such word coined by the author. A word that means a kind of laugh which is a mix of a chuckle and snort, the word was used in the nonsense poem by the author Jabberwocky. “Galumphing” is another word from the poem that is also used in modern language that means “galloping in a triumphant manner. Another word invented by the author is “portmanteau word. The word portmanteau did exist already but the author created a portmanteau word which means a word made by joining two words. “Frabjous” is a word in the dictionary that has been coined by Carroll that means joyous. “Mimsy” is yet another word coined by him which means prim or underwhelming.

ALLIGATOR – BY SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare has been credited with having invented hundreds of words by scholars. Let’s take a look at some of the words he came up with. Did you know that the word “alligator first appeared in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet? It is the anglicised version of the Spanish words ‘el lagarto’. Some other words include “arch-villain”, “green-eyed”, “dauntless”, “besmirch”, “lackluster”, “dwindle” and so on.

TWEEN – BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN

Tolkien gifted us Middle Earth, a fantastical universe with wizards, elves, dragons, dark lords, trolls, dwarves, orts, and so on. The fictional land has a fictional language too, containing many new words. His fictional works “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” have many words coined by him. Did you know that ‘Hobbit’ was included in the Collins English Dictionary? It is defined as ‘one of an imaginary race of half-size people living in holes’. The word ‘orc’ was also made popular by him. Derived from the Italian word Orco, which means man-eating giant, the word orc was reimagined by him. ‘Tween’ is another word that we have borrowed from the author. The word is used to refer to a preteen, someone who is nearing teenage but who is not yet a teenager. The word was used by Tolkien to refer to the hobbit’s “irresponsible twenties”. ‘Mithril’ is yet another word. A fictional metal found in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Mithril is also a popular word.

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What is hedging in English language?

When we read the word hedge, the first thing we visualise is a neatly grown green fence around a garden. That’s a physical hedge. But there’s also a hedge in writing: the creation of word shrubbery to protect your words.

What is hedging?

Hedging is a way of writing. It is a language tool used to express opinions, make complaints and claims, and answer questions. This type of writing is used mainly in academic work- such as in describing a discovery. Scientists and lawyers often use hedging language.

How do you define hedging?

Hedging is the use of language in a cautious or vague way. With hedging, you can make evasive statements. The verb “to hedge is to use cautious, vague or evasive language so that the writer is not challenged on what he writes.

One simple example of hedging is “If the material is left in the open, it is possible it may burst into flames.” The writer avoids saying “It will burst into flames.”

We often read this sort of language in statements made by economists and those from the meteorological department. There may be isolated rain in some parts of the district. The weather may remain cloudy in other parts.” if none of this happens the Met department can say, “Well, we said may happen?

You now understand the importance of hedging. Hedging is done to avoid answering a question directly.

Q: Will it rain tomorrow?

A: It is likely that there may be light-to-heavy showers in different parts of the country during the day or night.

This way, the Met, department does not commit itself to rain or shine. Weather is unpredictable, it says through hedging. At the same time, it has warmed you of possible rain!

Hedging has its uses

Using this language softens strong claims and demands.

Normal: Don’t go near that statue! Hedged: If I were you, wouldn’t go near that statue.

Hedging helps to limit or qualify the claims and statements we make.

Normal: The man caught by the police yesterday is the one who robbed the bank

Hedged: The man caught by the police yesterday allegedly robbed the bank.

In their reports, journalists use the word “allegedly” quite often. This is because the statements they make may not have proof. In that case, it is better to hedge so that no one catches them for wrong reporting later on.

Hedging protects reporters from court cases.

But be careful!

Do not make hedging a habitual feature of your writing. Then you start sounding like you don’t have confidence in your thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

Overuse of hedging language may make the reader wonder what is the authors stand on this? Is he/she saying it is right or wrong? Did it happen or not? Will this work or not?

Phrases such as “1 think we should “or “1 feel like or it would be great if weaken your sentences. The sentences seem to ramble aimlessly.

Show your readers that you have done your research and stand by what you say. Your readers will be happy to read your reports. They will respect your opinions if they are put out in crisp, unambiguous language. Your sentences should express confidence and your arguments should be to the point.

How do we go about hedging?

Here are some tips for you.

[1] Modal verbs

  • can
  • could
  • may
  • might
  • should
  • would

Example: From the data available, we can conclude that greenhouse gases may be responsible for global warming.

Non-hedged: Data available show that greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming

[2] Modal adjectives

  • possible
  • probable
  • likely
  • unlikely

Example: It is likely that the probable results of the experiments are faulty Non-hedged. The results of the experiments are faulty

[3] Adverbs

  • conceivably
  • perhaps
  • possibly
  • probably
  • usually

Example: We could conceivably map out the area before September

[4] Nouns

  • assumption
  • likelihood
  • possibility
  • probability

Example: There is a strong possibility, therefore, that there will be a dust storm over the weekend

[5] Lexical verbs

  • assume
  • believe
  • indicate
  • interpret
  • seem
  • suggest

Example: I believe that his words made the audience angry: his speech seemed to suggest that the people were stupid. Maybe his words were interpreted wrongly.

[6] Introductory phrases

  • It appears that…
  • It can be argued that…
  • We can assume that…
  • It is likely to be the case that…
  • It is probable that…
  • It can be concluded that…
  • The data indicates…

[7] Vague language

‘about’, ‘kind of’, ‘sort of’, feel, ‘seems like’.

Example: It’s kind of difficult for me to share that information with you.

I feel that you should play less and pay more attention to your books. It is about time

[8] Hedging in academic writing

Hedge words and phrases allow writers to be academically cautious, to acknowledge the degrees of uncertainty in their statements and claims. Rather than claiming something is an absolute truth or fact, they hedge and stay safe. The chances their claims will be questioned or disputed by other academics then are fewer.

Examples of hedging in academic writing:

  • The evidence from this research suggests that…
  • The data collected from this study appears to support the assumption that…
  • It seems likely that these results are due to…
  • There are various possible explanations for this…
  • It is almost certain these changes can be attributed to…
  • There is a strong possibility that X would be enhanced by…
  • Current research appears to suggest that…

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