Enhance your word power

[Princess Royal]

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Words with Hyphenation
Commonly used hyphenated words

Hyphened words are combination of two or more than two words in a way so as to give one meaning.

About-face or About-turn: a change of direction
Ad-libbed: to speak in public without having planned what to say
All-out: complete and with as much effort as possible
Avant-garde: the leaders in new and unconventional movements, esp. in the arts; vanguard; of such movements, ideas, etc.
Blue-chip: designating any high-priced stock with a good record of earnings and price stability; excellent, valuable, etc.
Blue-stocking: a learned, bookish, or pedantic woman who spends most of her time studying and is therefore not approved of by egoistic and chauvinistic men
Booby-trap: any scheme or device for tricking a person unawares; a bomb or mine that is set to be exploded by some action of the intended victim, as when some seemingly harmless object is lifted
Bric-a-brac: small, rare, or artistic objects placed about a room for decoration; knick-knacks; gimcracks
Card-carrying: owning a membership card in a specified organization; an active and involved member of any organization
Cast-off: over used, discarded, worthless
Court-martial: a court of personnel in the armed forces for the trial of persons accused of breaking military law; a trial by a court-martial; a conviction by a court-martial; to try by a court-martial; to convict by a court-martial
Cul-de-sac: a situation which leads nowhere; dead end; a short road which is blocked off at one end
Derring-do: daring action taken without considering consequences; reckless courage
Drop-dead: to die suddenly and unexpectedly
Double-cross: to deceive someone by working only for one’s own advantage; treachery
Five-and-ten-cent-store: a store that sells a wide variety of inexpensive merchandise, original wioth many articles priced at five or ten cents
Fly-leaf: an empty page at the beginning or end of a book next to the cover
Forward-looking: anticipating or making provision for the future; progressive
Free-for-all: a contest, race, etc. that anyone may enter; a disorganized fight in which many take part; brawl; open to anyone
Fuddy-duddy: a fussy, critical person; an old-fashioned person
Go-for-broke: daring, enterprising
Grass-roots: the common people, original those esp. Of rural or non urban areas, thought of as best representing the basic, direct political interests of the electorate
Gross-out: to offend, disgust, shock, etc.
Hard-liner: a person who takes a hard-line position
Half-mast: the position of a flag lowered about halfway down, a mast, staff, etc., esp. as a sign of mourning; to fly (a flag) at half-mast
Hanger-on: a follower or dependent; a person who joins another, some group, etc. although not wanted; a follower who seeks personal gain; sycophant; parasite
Have-nots: a person or nation with little wealth, or poor resources
Heavy-handed: using too much force in dealing with someone: clumsy or tactless; cruel, oppressive, or tyrannical
Heebie-jeebies: strong feelings of fear or anxiety
Helter-skelter: in haste and confusion; in a disorderly, hurried manner; hurried and confused; disorderly
High- minded: having very high moral standards of behaviour
Ho-hum: an expression showing boredom or unwillingness
Hocus-pocus: meaningless words used as a formula by conjurers; a magician’s trick or trickery; sleight of hand; legerdemain; any meaningless action or talk drawing attention away from some deception; trickery; deception
Hugger-mugger: a confusion; muddle; jumble (Archaic) secrecy; confused; muddled, jumbled, (Archaic) secret; in a confused or jumbled manner; (Archaic) secretly; to keep sec ret
Hurly-burly: noisy activity
Jekyll-and-Hyde: a person with two very different sides to their personality, one good and the other evil
Jerry-builder: maker of poorly built materials of cheap quality
Last-ditch: made, done, used, etc. in a final, often desperate act of resistance or opposition
Lock-step: a way of marching in such close file that the corresponding legs of the marchers must keep step precisely
Mock-up: a scale model, usually a full-sized replica, of a structure or apparatus used for instructional or experimental purposes
Namby-pamby: weak, foolish or silly
Off-the-cuff: to speak without having prepared or thought about one’s words first
Pent-up: held in check; curbed; confined
Per-diem: by the day; daily; a daily allowance, as for expenses
Pell-mell: a very fast and disorganized movement or action
Plea-bargaining: pretrial negotiations in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for having more serious charger dropped
Point-blank: used before noun aimed horizontally, straight at a mark, at such close range that rise and fall in the projectile’s flight need not be considered; of or suitable for such fire; straightforward; plain; blunt (such as ‘point-blank answer’) in a direct line; straight; without hesitation or quibbling; directly; bluntly( such as ‘to refuse point-blank’)
Pre-empt: to door say something before anyone else can, excluding others; appropriate before hand
Put-up: to show or express a particular type of opposition to something
Rank-and-file: the ordinary workers in a company or the ordinary members of an organization
Roly-poly: short and plump; pudgy; a roly-poly thing or person, especially a child
Run-ins: a quarrel, fight, etc.
Run-of-the-mill: ordinary, not exclusive or exciting
Scot-free: without receiving the deserved or expected punishment; without being harmed
Second-string: sports that is the second or a substitute choice for play at the specified position; subordinate or inferior in rank, importance, etc.
Self-effacing: not making oneself noticeable, modest
Shell-shock: mental illness caused by experience of war
Silver-tongued: eloquent; persuasive way of expressing oneself
Skinny-dip: a swim in the nude
Stage-struck: to be extremely interested in the theatre/film
Stand-in: a person who serves as a substitute for a motion-picture or television actor or actress as while lights and cameras are being adjusted; any substitute for another
Strung-out: experience the strong effects of drugs such as heroin or cocaine
Tongue-in-cheek: amusing, humorous
Topsy-turvy: upside down; in a reversed condition; in confusion or disorder; a topsy-turvy condition; inverted state; a state of confusion
Tug-of-war: a contest in which two teams pull at opposite ends of a rope, each trying to drag the other across a central line; any power struggle between two parties
Union-jack: the red, white and blue flag of the UK
Up-and-coming: likely to achieve success soon or in the near future
Washed-up: cleaned up; tied; exhausted; (slang) finished; done for; having failed
Well-nigh: almost or very nearly
Whizz-bang: (old slang) a high expensive shell of great speed whose sound explosion occurs immediately after its sound of light; also, a fireworks device suggestive of this
Witch-hunt: an investigation carried out ostensibly to uncover disloyalty, subversive political activity, etc., usually conducted with much publicity and often relying upon inconclusive evidence and capitalizing on public fear of unpopular opinions
Word-of-mouth: communicated orally


Enjoy learning them.



Source: Word Power Made Handy, Dr. Shalini Verma

[Princess Royal]

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Words and figurative expression in English language

Burn the midnight oil – to work or study for long hours in the night
Bury the hatchet – to settle a disagreement, make peace
Busyman’s holiday – holiday spent in an activity the same as, or similar to, one’s occupation, as a bus driver who takes his family for a Sunday drive
Come home to roost - to have disagreeable repercussions; boomerang
Dutch treat – meal or entertainment which each participant pays his or her own share
Eat crow - to be forced into a humiliating or extremely disagreeable situation
Fish or cut bait - to proceed wholeheartedly or drop out altogether; stop procrastinating or temporizing
French leave – unauthorized hasty or secret departure
Go begging – to be in little demand
Have an ax to grind – to have a selfish motive or ulterior purpose to promote
Have a bone to pick – to have something to argue or complain about
Hold a candle – to compare favourably with
Have a chip on one’s shoulder – to have a disposition or quarrel
Hold water – to remain sound, logical, or consistent; stand up
Lame duck – elected official who remains in office for a brief period after a successor has been elected
Pay the piper – to suffer the unfavourable consequences of one’s actions
Play possum – to pretend to be dead or asleep
Play the devil’s advocate – to uphold the wrong side of a cause for the sake of argument
Poker face – expressional face, as that of an experienced poker player
Red herring – something used to distract attention from the real issue (from the practice of drawing a red herring across a trail to confuse hunting dogs)
Roll out the red carpet – to show impressive courtesy
Stick in one’s craw – to be intolerable and unacceptable to one
Stick to one’s last – to keep to one’s trade or field (from the proverb "Let the cobbler stick to his last,” a last being a shaped form on which a shoe is made or repaired)
Whistle in the dark – to put up a show of confidence in the face of impending danger or defeat; try to keep up one’s courage
White elephant – possession entailing expensive and trouble far greater than its usefulness to the owner



Source: Word Power Made Handy, Dr. Shalini Verma

[Princess Royal]

Colour Metaphors

BLACK

Black – tainted, impure, wicked
Black belt – symbol of a very high standard in the sport of judo or karate
Black book – a book containing names of those blacklisted
Black box – a small machine that records information about an aircraft during its flight and which is used to discover the cause of an accident
Black comedy – a film, play, etc. that looks at the amusing side of things we usually consider very serious, like death and illness
Black humour – an amusing way of looking at or treating something that is serious or sad
The Black Death (history) – disease that killed an extremely large number of people in Europe and Asia in the 14th century
The Black Country – the industrial area in the West Midlands of England
Black economy – business activity and income which people do not record in order to avoid paying tax on it
Black-hearted – wicked
Black hole – a region in space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light can escape/an imaginary place in which things are lost
The Black Hole of Calcutta – an unpleasantly full and hot room
Black look – face full of anger and hatred
Black mood – a very unhappy feeling
Black tie – clothes worn for formal social occasions
Black Mass – a ceremony in which the Devil is worshipped instead of Christian God
To be in the black – to be out of financial danger
Black magic – wicked magic
Black future – depressing or without hope
To look as black as thunder – extreme anger (this is a simile, not a metaphor)
Black market – illegal trading of goods
Black sheep – a person who brings disrespect and bad name to his family
Black mark – disgrace; notoriety; shame
To be in the black – to have money in the bank and not to be in debt (if a bank account is in the black, it contains some money, and if a person or business man is in the black, they have money in the bank and are not in debt)
To see things in black and white – to have a simple view of what is right and what is wrong or good and bad
To paint a black picture of something or somebody – to present/describe a situation or person as extremely bad

BLUE

To be/feel blue – to be sad, to be in depression
Blue baby – a baby born with slightly blue skin, usually because of some heart related problem
Blue blood/blue blooded – a person born into a royal family or belonging to the highest social class
Blue chip – a company or investment designating and high-priced stock with a good record of earnings and price stability; (colloq.) excellent, valuable, etc.
Blue – eyed boy – (the British English equivalent of US English fair – haired boy) a boy/man who is particularly liked or is treated well by someone, especially high authority (derogatory sense)
Blue law – a law that limits activities which are considered to be immoral for religious reasons, such as shopping or working in Sundays
Blue ribbon/blue riband – the highest prize in a competition or event
True-blue – completely loyal to a person or belief
Blue skies – happiness
To be blue in the face – to be exasperated (not a metaphor)
Out of the blue/a bolt from the blue – completely unexpected
Once in a blue moon – very rarely
To scream/shout blue murder – to show one’s annoyance especially by shouting or complaining very loudly
Talk a blue streak – to talk quietly and without stopping
The blues – sad songs
‘Singing the blues’ – being sad, being melancholy
Blue balls - a pain in the testicles from lack of ejaculation
Blue movie/blue joke – pornographic or indecently referring to sex
Blue-collar workers – physical or unskilled workers
To be between the devil and the deep blue sea – to have two choices, both equally unpleasant or inconvenient

GRAY

Gray area – lack of clarity
Gray matter – a person’s intelligence
The gray pound/grey dollar – the money which all old people as a group have available to spend
Gray eminence (also eminence grise) – someone without an official position who has power or influence over rulers or people who make decisions
Gray market – a market, as for imported goods, operating outside the authorized system of distribution

GREEN

To be green – to be immature; to be new at something
Greenie – a newbie, a novice; a neophyte
Green thumb/fingers – skill at growing plants
Greens – green vegetables (though this is not a metaphor yet commonly used in English language)
Green light – safe to proceed
To look/go green – nausea and vomiting tendency
To be green about the gills – to look ill and pale
To turn green (with envy) – to envy
Green tourism/Green Party – care for the environment
Green audit – an official examination of the effects a company or an organization has on the environment especially the damage that it causes
Green belt – a trip of countryside round a city or town where construction is not allowed
Green card (work) – a document giving a foreigner permission to live and work in the United States
Green card (car) – a document which insures your car against accidents (financially) when travelling to other countries
Green paper – a document prepared by the British Government for anyone interested to study and make suggestions about, especially before a law is changed or a new law is made
Green room – a waiting room in some theatres or concert halls, especially to be used into a series of hole for entertainment/practice for the game of golf

PURPLE

Purple heart – bravery
Purple in the face/purple with rage – extremely angry
Purple prose – a piece of writing which is complicated or sounds false because teh writer may have tried too hard to make the style interesting

RED

To see red – to be angry
To be in the red – to be in financial danger
Red alert – danger or warning of imminent anger; declaring emergency
Red card – foul (can be used as a linguistic metaphor as well as a symbol)
Red carpet – as in ‘roll out the red carpet’, royal treatment; treat like royalty
Red flag – as in ‘red flag going up’ which means ‘danger’
A red letter day – most important or memorable day in one’s life
Red point of view – left wing in politics
Redbait – to denounce (a person or group) as being communist, esp. with little or no evidence
Red-brick – designating or of a British university or college other than Oxford or Cambridge; esp., any of the newer ones in the provinces, often connoting social inferiority
Redcap – a baggage porter, as in a railroad station; a military policemen (British colloquial)
Red cent – trivial amount
Redcoat – a British soldier in a uniform with a red coat, as during the American Revolution
Red dwarf – a star that is collar on its surface, smaller, and of fainter luminosity than the sun

WHITE

Lily white/whiter than white – innocent; pure
White as the driven snow – pure white (this is a simile, not a metaphor)
White glove – inspection (comes from the military, where inspectors use white gloves to inspect the cleanliness of rooms)
Whities – Caucasians (those with pale skin) (this is a metonymy, not a metaphor)
White head – a pimple with a white top (this is a metonymy(white), mixed with a metaphor, head)
White as a sheet – being pale (this is a simile, not a metaphor)
White knuckle – terrifying experience
White-collar workers – people who work in offices or those who need mental rather than physical effort
White magic – righteous magic or magic which is used only to do good things
White noise – a sound containing a blend of all the audible frequencies distributed equally over the range of the frequency band
White elephant – something that has cost a lot of money but has no useful purpose
White lie – a lie concerning a trivial matter, often one told to spare someone’s feelings
White flag – a white banner or cloth hoisted as a signal of truce or surrender
White goods – large electrical home appliances such as cookers, washing machines, refrigerators, stoves, etc./household linens, as sheets, pillowcases, towels, etc.
White heat – very high temperature at which metal gives out a white light
White hope – any person who is expected to bring honour, glory, etc. to some group, place, etc.
White horses – tides or waves which are white at the top
White pages – a book that lists the names, addresses and telephone numbers of people living and businesses operating in a city or area

YELLOW

To be yellow/yellow streak – to be cowardly
Yellow card – warning
Yellow pages – the selection or volume of a telephone directory, usually printed on yellow paper, containing classified listings of subscribers according to business, profession, etc.
Yellow fever – an infectious tropical deadly disease which causes the skin to become yellow
Yellow journalism – the use of cheaply sensational or unscrupulous methods in newspapers, etc. to attract or influence readers
Yellow-dog contract – an employer-employee contract, now illegal, by which an applicant for a job agrees not to be a labour-union member while employed
Yellow jack – a yellow flag used as a sign of quarantine/ and edible, gold-and-silver marine jack fish (Caranx bartholomaei) found near Florida and the West Indies
Yellow peril – a threat to Western civilization presented by Asian people, esp. those of China and Japan; widely believed in during the late 19th and early 20th cent. in North America, Europe , and Australia
Yellow race – the Mongoloid group of mankind, usually a term of prejudice (derogatory sense)
Yellow rain – a highly toxic, yellowish, powdery substance found in SE Asia c. 1975-85, alleged by some to be a chemical warfare agent dropped from airplanes and by others to be contaminated bee excrement





Source: Word Power Made Handy, Dr. Shalini Verma

[Princess Royal]

Words for human character & personality

Altruistic – concerned for the welfare of others; unselfish
Biased – prejudiced; unduly or unfairly influenced
Captious – quick to find fault, especially overt petty matters; carping
Conscientious – governed by, or made or done according to, what one knows is right; scrupulous; honest; showing care and precision; painstaking
Contrite – sorrowful for a misdeed that one has committed; deeply repentant
Diffident – lacking confidence; timid; shy
Disdainful – feeling or expressing disdain; scornful and aloof; scornful, contemptuous, supercilious, dismissive
Effusive – expressing excessive emotion in an unrestrained manner; too demonstrative; anyone who gives an exaggerated expression of pleasure, praise or gratitude
Excitable – easily excited by things; sensitive’ high-strung, neurotic, easily excited, peevish, irritable, edgy, impatient, intolerant, moody or touchy
Garrulous – one who talks too much, especially about unimportant things; talkative, loquacious or chattering
Gregarious – seeking or enjoying the company of others; sociable
Gullible – easily deceived or tricked; credulous
Haughty – having or showing great pride in oneself and disdain’ contempt’ or scorn for others; proud; arrogant; supercilious
Impassive – feeling or revealing no emotion; calm; unmoved
Impetuous – acting suddenly without forethought; rash, impulsive
Impulsive – impelling; driving forward; acting likely to act on impulse such as “an impulsive person”; produced by or resulting from a sudden impulse such as “an impulsive remark”
Indolent – not afraid; bold; dauntless
Intrepid – not afraid; bold; dauntless
Irrational – not rational (capable of reasoning); illogical; absurd; senseless
Obsequious – much too attentive (to a superior); excessively submissive; servile; fawning
Obstinate – unreasonably determined to have one’s own way; not yielding to reason oe plea; stubborn; dogged; mulish; resisting remedy or treatment such as “an obstinate fever”; not easily subdued, ended, etc.
Obstreperous – excessively noisy; boisterous; unruly
Opinionated – holding obstinately to one’s own opinion
Parsimonious – extremely frugal; miserly; stingy
Pushy – annoyingly aggressive and persistent; someone who always selfishly keeps; promoting one’s own position or interests
Sanguine – confidently optimistic; hopeful
Sceptical – disbelieving; doubting; not easily convinced
Supercilious – showing haughty contempt; disdainful; full of pride and scorn
Taciturn – almost always silent; not liking to talk; uncommunicative; someone who is reserved or says very little
Unscrupulous – someone who lacks in moral principles and is prepared to do bad things to any extent; not scrupulous; not restrained by ideas of right and wrong; unprincipled
Vindictive – inclined to seek vengeance; unforgiving; spiteful





Source: Word Power Made Handy, Dr. Shalini Verma