The word "malapropism" comes from Mrs Malaprop, a character created by the playwright Richard Sheridan. She often used fancy words that were just plain wrong. I'll give you some famous malapropisms and you guess the correct term.
Uncle Charlie has a fund of quaint expressions. Frankly, some of them are pretty weird! And a lot of them seem to involve animals. Take this quiz to see if you can figure out what the heck he's talking about.
The English language contains a number of words that sound so similar they are confused very easily. In large part, these are homophones, but this is not always the case. Please partake in this quiz as we sample some of these awkward cases. Good luck!
Idioms have been around for as long as there have been words, and a number of them feature food. I've managed to serve up ten of them for you here. Bon appetit!
If you'd like to turn your hand to a quiz with lots of rhyming / Then turn off that TV, the radio, or whatever it is you're doing / 'Cause it's your turn to learn about some 'turn'-related sayings.
Many of us are familiar with the names of Middle Eastern foods such as kebab, hummus or baba ghanoush. However, a number of everyday English words for food and drink items also come from Arabic or other languages of the Middle East.
This fun little quiz lets you pick out the correct way to spell the letter B word from the description I give you. It's fun and easy, so put on your thinking cap and get started. Good luck!
Here's a categorical look at portmanteau words, new words made by blending parts of two other words together, a frankenword if you will. For example, add "motor" to "hotel" and you get "motel". Some questions have an American slant. Enjoy!
I hope you don't give me the cold shoulder after you play this quiz on idioms relating to parts of the body. Otherwise, you will leave me out on a limb. Enjoy!
My creativity has come to life by adding children's characters to some form of literary technique, all depending on style, rhythm or play on words. It is up to you to decide which type of style I have used.
Sometimes, the best way to learn a rule is to see what happens when it's broken. Here are ten self-contradicting writing rules, (mostly) originally published by George Trigg and William Safire. Let's work through them and see what they can teach us.
They say that all good things must come to an end but can you tell me what you will find at the end of each of these phrases? (source: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/phrases-and-sayings-list.html)
Test your knowledge of some of the surprisingly many words beginning with the letter "Q". Though some may be a bit more obscure than others, they can all be found in any good English dictionary.
A syllable is a unit or a section of a word. Try to figure out the number of syllables in each phrase with this quiz. Also learn some interesting facts about each phrase!
A character from Sheridan's play 'The Rivals', Mrs Malaprop would misuse words by substituting a similar sounding but wrong word in its place - hence malapropism. In this quiz, select the word that should have been used in place of the 'malapropism'.
Some English words are entirely too much like others, while having completely different meanings. How many of these too-similar words can you properly sort?
Onomatopoeia? Oxymoron? Anagram? Do you know these terms? If you don't, try this quiz and find out what they mean. If you do know them, well, you might find this quiz easy. Have fun!
Some English words are entirely too much like others, while having completely different meanings. How many of these too-similar words can you properly sort?
Don't be a fraidy-cat when it comes to CAT words: words that begin with "cat", or have "cat" lurking in the middle somewhere. Some of these are straightforward, some come from the sciences, and some are purr-fectly obscure. How many can you identify?
As a teacher, it's disheartening to see so many people without the basic knowledge of grammar. The school year is over, but teaching still lives on! Show me your stuff and prove me wrong!
My grandson loves to play with his train! Did you know that there are all kinds of train slang terms that are used in other ways today? Come learn with us!
Many words, phrases and quotations from foreign languages are commonly used in our books, magazines and everyday conversation. How many of these do you know? Good Luck!
You may not have realized it, but the Japanese language has helped play its part in shaping the English language vocabulary. Here are 10 examples of this phenomenon...enjoy and learn!
All the answers start with 'IM', but the clues I'll give you are to another word, which can follow 'IM' to form a different word. As an example, 'fully grown' would mean 'mature', with the answer being 'immature'. See how you get on with these.