‘What’s an official reply?’ ‘I explained, the management has asked me to thank you for your letter.” Then we reply. Something like: “The matter is under consideration.” Or even, if we feel so inclined, “under active consideration!“‘ ‘What’s the difference between “under consideration” and “under active consideration”?‘ I asked. ‘“Under consideration” means we’ve lost the file. “Under active consideration” means we’re trying to find it!’ (The Complete Yes Minister, p. 33).
Law English word of the Week: Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:
Rechtverdreher: pettifogger, ‘a shyster lawyer’
Sample Sentence:
“There are a lot of shyster lawyers practising law in New York!”
Vocabulary for Contracts:Wortschatz für Verträge:
“To stop/halt the proceedings at the appropriate juncture.”
Juncture, in linguistics, is the manner of moving (transition) between two successive syllables in speech. An important type of junctureis the suprasegmentalphonemic cue by means of which a listener can distinguish between two otherwise identical sequences of sounds that have different meanings.
Sample Sentence:
“It was necessary to halt the proceedings at the appropriate juncture aswhile the contractual requirements were not being met by the party of the Second Part.“
Vocabulary for Negotiations:Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:
“To have a consultation” / a consultant / to consult someone on a matter.
noun: consultation; plural noun: consultations the action or process of formally consulting or discussing.
Sample Sentence:
“The management finally improved standards only after consultation with consumer representatives.“
This means having a short sleep during the day, mainly so that you can do your job better. If I have too long an afternoon nap, then I feel like death warmed up!
Sample Sentence:
“Employees power-nap for about 15 to 20 minutes and come out refreshed.”
“If you have enough money, then you would have bought one of these Snow blowers – Schneefräse.“
Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:
“I’m not firing on all cylinders” – German = „Ich laufe heute nicht ganz rund.“
Sample Sentence:
“I’m really not feeling too well today. I have a muzzy head, so I cannot think straight. I’m really notFiring on all cylinders!“
Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:
“To be a bad lot” means someone who could often be in trouble with the police, a nasty person,a worthless, unreliable, immoral, or dishonest person: crook, troublemaker.
Sample Sentence:
“I would not have anything to do with that man as he is a real bad lot!”
“The dealers at this Casino are very good at shuffling a pack of cards!” B. E.
“The dealers at this Casino are very good at shuffling a deck of cards!” A. E.
Special Grammar tip of the week:
Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:
plus juncture
Also known as an open juncture, this is subdivided into internal open juncture and external open juncture. It is the juncture that occurs at word boundaries. In phonetic transcription open juncture is transcribed /+/, hence the name plus juncture.
close juncture
Also known as a normal transition, this is a transition between segments (sounds) within a word.
terminal juncture
Also known as falling, clause terminal or terminal contour, this is the juncture at the end of a clause or utterance with a falling pitch before a silence.
Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:
“Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.”
Try and say this sentence ten times quickly without a mistake.
Versuchen Sie, diesen Satz zehnmal schnell und fehlerfrei zu sagen.
False Friends Tip of the Week:
Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:
GermanTranslationFalse Friend (F.F.)Meaning of F.F.
Dose can, tin dose Dosis
Wit, wit, wit
Witz, Witz, Witz
“I believe that a real composer writes for no other purpose but to please himself. Those who compose because they want to please others and have audiences in mind are not artists. ” Quote by Arnold Schoenberg.
Slang word of the day: Slangwort des Tages:
“Nowt”
Coming originally from Northern England, this word has recently entered the mainstream British slang and means ‘nothing‘.
Sample Sentence:
“I’ve got Nowt left to spend, so I’ll have to wait until I get paid at the end of the month!“
a pile of – ein Haufen von / a pile of books – ein Stapel Bücher / a pile of leaves – ein Haufen Blätter – a pile of clothes – ein Kleiderhaufen.
Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:
“Take me down to the bar! We’ll drink breakfast together!” W. C. Fields.
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