The English slang word Nincompoop originally means to not of sound (mind)
Nincompoophas a history as unusual as its meaning. One hypothesis includes connections to the Latin phrase non compos (mentis), meaning “not of sound (mind).” Alternatively, nincompoop (other English words that mean more or less the same thing = ignoranus, fool, and dumbhead ) could simply be an elaboration based on ninny, which may come from innocent. Nincompoopwas first recorded in English in the 1670s.
This picture above is a play on words
and it helps if you know a little bit about music.
Business English Word of the Week:
Geschäftsenglisch Wort der Woche:
“Agreement“
An arrangement between two or more parties (people or companies). If you put what’s been agreed on into a legal document, you’re creating a legal agreement with them.
Sample Sentence:
“It seems that after several months of tough negotiation, we’ve still to write up an agreement for this deal.”
Law English word of the Week:
Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:
“Subpoena” (pronounced ‘Sup – Pena‘)
A formal order to appear in court.
Sample Sentence:
“I was subpoenaed yesterday and I will have to go to court in two weeks to give my testimony.”
Vocabulary for Contracts:
Wortschatz für Verträge:
“Terms“
The conditions relating to what the parties in a contract agreed on. In your rental contract, for example, the terms would include the period of time you’ll be renting for, the agreed rental amount, and so on.
Sample Sentence:
“Be sure to read the terms of any contract carefully before you sign so you’re not surprised in the future. Always read,‘The Small Print‘.“
Vocabulary for Negotiations:
Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:
“Offer”
An offer is an opportunity, service or item that’s presented to you to consider and think about. For instance, after viewing several offices, you might offer to rent the one in the central financial district and when you are negotiatingyou would rather wait for the other person to make the first offer.
Sample Sentence:
“Wouldn’t it be great if you got a job offer from the company you interviewed with last week?“
There’s nothing like a nice swim at the beach to cool off on a hot summer’s day. Unfortunately, this is also when beaches tend to get super busy. Changing rooms are most likely overcrowded, and the ones that aren’t are probably too far away.
These two women at Coney Island in New York City seem to have found a solution: portable changing booths. These portable changing booths are lightweight and easy to set up, allowing anyone using them to get changed anywhere while maintaining some privacy.
Word of the day: Wort des Tages:
“Supplication” (plea, suit, entreaty, prayer, petition, appeal, request, application) the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.
Sample Sentence:
“She fell to her knees in ardent supplication!”
“Supplication” means to plead humbly.
Although it is a noun, supplicationcomes from the Latin verb ‘supplicare‘, which means “to plead humbly.” While a supplicationis often thought of as a religious prayer (it is used 60 times in the Bible), it can logically be applied to any situation in which you must entreat someone in power for their assistance/help or asking for a favour.
Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:
a recurring meeting. Recurring meetings are pre-scheduled online meetings that are automatically scheduled to repeat based on parameters set by the organizer. Recurring team meetings have revolutionized the way we communicate, collaborate, and work together remotely.
Sample Sentence:
“Zoom allows you to schedule meetings with multiple occurrences, so that each occurrence uses the same meeting ID and settings. You can schedule these meetings in daily, weekly, and monthly increments. You can also set a recurring meeting to be used at any time.”
Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:
“Bite the bullet“ means to get something over with because it is inevitable. To decide to do something difficult or unpleasant that one has been putting off or hesitating over.
Sample Sentence:
“Decisions have to be taken and as the managing director of a company, so you have got to bite the bullet.“
Generally speaking, sentences in written English are not particularly long. This is good news for English learners because it means you don’t need to worry about writing long, complex sentences. A sentence usually has two, or possibly three, clauses (subject + verb + object), linked by a conjunction.
A good way to make your sentences even clearer is to add commas. Commas help the reader understand where one phrase finishes and another begins. The most common occasions where it’s recommended to put a comma are:
between two clauses. For example, If the weather is nice tomorrow, we’re going to the park.
to separate items in a list. For example, Our kids like swimming, skiing, ice skating and cycling.
after some conjunctions. For example, Our holiday was great and the hotel was wonderful. However, the weather was awful.
for extra information in the middle of a sentence (a non-defining clause). For example, My neighbour, who’s from Brazil, is really good at cooking.
And don’t forget to start every sentence with a capital letter!
Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
Try saying this more than once, quickly.
Versuchen Sie, dies schnell mehr als einmal zu sagen.
False Friends Tip of the Week:
Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:
German Translation False Friend (F.F.) Meaning of F.F.
Billion trillion billion Milliarde
Wit, Wit, Wit Business examples:
Witz, Witz, Witz Geschäftsbeispiele:
“Cash slips through my hands into the bookies’ hands as if it were magnetised.” Quote by Phil Silvers.
Slang word of the day: Slangwort des Tages:
A “Quid” (noun)
If you’ve ever been at the cashier of a British shop and heard the word ‘quid,’ then you know how confusing it can be. But, don’t worry, a ‘quid‘ is just a slang word for an English ‘pound.’
Sample Sentence:
“Can you lend me a couple of quid for the parking machine?”
Colloquial / Colloquialisms:
Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:
To “Call it a day” means to stop working on something.
Sample Sentence:
“Ok guys, I think we’ve done enough work on this, for now, so let’s call it a day and down tools!“
To “down tools” means what it says, to put the tools of your trade down and thus stop working.
Cockney rhyming slang: Cockney Reimender Slang:
The short version is just to say “Brahms” which means = “Brahms and Liszt” (two classical composers) Liszt rhymes with “pissed” (which means to be very drunk).
Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:
“I came, I saw, I listened….”
Mark Brislin January 2019 (This is to slightly change the famous quote by Julius Caesar, “I came, I saw, I conquered.“)
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