The English saying “barking dogs seldom bite” is an English proverb that means that people who make a lot of noise and threats are usually not the ones who will actually do anything. It is often used to comfort someone who is being threatened or bullied by someone who is all bark and no bite.
Business English Word of the Week:
Geschäftsenglisch Wort der Woche:
Considermeaning to Reflect, Contemplate, Cogitate, Ruminate, or think something through carefully.
Law English word of the Week:
Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:
Deliberatemeans to be Thoughtful, to be Cautious, to have a measured approach. Lawyers, as well as the Jury (die Jury), in a courtroom, are often asked by the Judge (der Richter) to “Deliberate“.
Vocabulary for Contracts:
Wortschatz für Verträge:
to sign a contract = einen Vertrag unterschreiben, a signature = eine Unterschrift,
to initial a contract = einen Vertrag zu initialisieren.
Vocabulary for Negotiations:
Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:
The special English word to haggleover price means to bargain, to barter, to quibble, to wrangle, to negotiate, to beat down the price.
The man second from last to the right of the group
has quite a round-looking head, so I guess he was ‘IT’.
Word of the day: Wort des Tages:
To Pondermeans to Consider, Contemplate, Deliberate, Muse, Think over, Wonder about, and brood over.
Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:
The English slang word Cheesy (käsig) means too cheesy pick-up lines a direct translation is ‘kitschige‘ Pick-up-Linien.
Cheesy is used to mean something that is very obviously joking or over-the-top. It can be funny, annoying or even uncomfortable and embarrassing to hear someone say something super cheesy. It can be even worse if someone does something cheesy. Similar words to “cheesy” include “corny” and “tacky.” “Corny” is a synonym (a word that means the same thing) of cheesy. However, “tacky” sounds more negative and generally is used to refer to something that is cheap or in bad taste.
This is an English idiom that is used quite a lot = “Barking dogs seldom bite“. The possible meaning: Don’t be afraid of dogs that bark or people that threaten you (or when people say they will do something bad to you) – in both cases they rarely take action.
British (B.E.) / American (A.E.) English Vocabulary:
Mobile phone (B.E.) Cellular phone(A.E.) (Cell phone for short); German ‘Handy’.
The word “Handy” is a real English word and it means useful or easy to hand. The German use of this English word is a slang word in German, but it would not be understood in the UK.
Special Grammar tip of the week:
Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:
The use of “A” and “An”. There are 5 vowels in the English language = a, e, i, o, u. For any singular word beginning with one of these 5 vowels, then we use “A” = a box, a candle, a pen, a watch, a computer, a desk, a mobile phone, a printer, etc. However, there are some exceptions to that rule! This has to do with how the word is pronounced. The following words begin with the letter “H”, but the “H” is NOT pronounced.
hour, hourly, honour,honest,honesty, there are a few more examples, but not too many. So we say an hour, an honest man.
Then there are the words that begin with the letter “U” where we do NOT see the letter “U”, but we pronounce it with the letter “Y”. For example:
University, uniform, universal, uniformity, and one or two others. You can see that these words ALL begin with UNI.
So we say, a University and a uniform.
Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:
Taught the letters “au” are pronounced “or” K-or-T (same pronunciation as a Tennis Court or a Court of Law).
False Friends: Falsche Freunde:
Labour / Labor
Translate the following sentences:
The cost of labouris rather high in Germany.
Ich arbeite zwei Tage in der Woche im Labor.
1. Die Arbeitskosten sind in Deutschland zeimlich hoch.
2. I work two days a week in the laboratory.
Both the English and the German go back to the Latin verb laborare, meaning “to work”. Laboratorium is a Medieval Latin word meaning “a place for work” and the short form is the word “Lab“.
Wit, wit, wit
Witz, Witz, Witz
“Varnishing is the only artistic process which the Royal Academicians are thoroughly familiar.” Quote by Oscar Wilde.
Slang word of the day: Slangwort des Tages:
This is a strange English slang word = Whatchamacallit is what a person will say when they cannot think of the word for that thing/object etc. at that very moment.
Sample sentence:
“Pass me that Whatchamacallit will you?“
Cockney rhyming slang: Cockney Reimender Slang:
Many of us know that “brown bread” is Cockney rhyming slang for dead, “china plate” for ‘mate‘, meaning a friend (often a Londoner would say, “Me Ole China“), and “bubble bath” for laugh. But how many know the meaning of the phrases? The historic native wit of this east-end community (and its followers from around the world) often has an interesting logic to its phrases. Rather than simply a rhyming association, the slang reflects meaning in the expressions themselves. Here’s a guide to the most commonly used Cockney rhyming slang:
Sample sentence:
“What a load of pony an’ trap.” Have a guess what this means?
Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:
“Thankfulness can take you places where complaining will only leave you stuck!”
Mark Brislin.
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Delivering professional Business English teaching in person or via video conferencing in Dresden, Chemnitz, Meißen, Brand-Erbisdorf, Lichtenberg, Freiberg, Döbeln, Riesa, Halsbrücke, and all over the state of Sachsen for over 20 years!
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