Provoking Phrasal Verbs 5

Abide by and ache for

Hello there!

After two weeks of not posting anything I decided it's about time I did something about it! I was quite busy reading, learning the lines of our Academic Oracy Skit, rehearsing and also teaching. But enough about me! It's time for some phrasal verbs. From now on I will start posting them alphabetically. I don't mean I will do all PV starting with A and then to move to B, I simply want to organize myself, so this week it'll be two starting with A and the next it'll be two starting with B, and so on. And yes, I got the idea from Cabin Pressure. And yes, I've been listening to it for the past few days. Again!

So the first phrasal verb abide by is largely connected with law and rules. It means to obey and respect, e.g. law, rules, decisions, etc. Right now as I am sitting in the library I abide by the rules they have here. I am silent, my phone is on silent mode, etc. Because while in library one wants to

My second phrasal verb to ache for means to desire and long for something or someone. Right now I'm aching for one particular video connected with Shakespeare and our university... I must have it!!!

This is it for now... Please let me know if you are aching for sth or sb in the comments below.

Splendid Similes 13

As Large as Worlds. As Old as Time. As Patient as a Brick.

a question for you: Who is Terry Pratchett talking about, using these similes? 

I came across these when I was reading The Light Fantastic, one of the first books I ever attempted to read in English. I failed, of course, because Terry Pratchett is not easy to begin with, and even more so when your English skills are not perfect yet :) Nevertheless, I did read the first few pages and wrote down each and every word that I did not understand. I still have them, it's about 5 pages containing such words as "tortoiseshell", "embarrassingly" and "scoured". I had no chance whatsoever.

Therefore I am even more happy that now I am able to read it, and once (when I have the time - haha, fat chance) I might even try to tackle this particular one again. Wish me luck!

But first, who is Terry referring to? The options are:

a) The Discworld

b) Great A'Tuin

c) The Luggage

Any guesses? :)

Splendid Similes 12

As Fresh as a Daisy

This is what the weather is supposed to be like right now. Sometimes it is so, because the temperature has dropped a little, and apparently no scorching summer si coming - yet. So we could all be enjoying the beautiful spring breeze, organising picnics in parks and sitting on benches and breathing in the atmosphere. If it wasn't for the fact that instead of a beautiful, mild spring, the outside is

As Cold as Ice.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for occasional spring showers. And I am certainly glad that this winter wasn't nearly as severe as the last one. But still I kind of hoped that I would be able to put my winter coat aside in April. Well, apparently not. Nevermind, perhaps it will make the Czech guys so cold that they will decide not to stick to our horrible Easter traditions this time. 

Provoking Phrasal Verbs 4

To blurt out and to speak out

Hi everyone! 

Communication is one the essential parts of our lives and I bet that every single one of you has blurted something out and I hope that you've at least once spoken out for somebody or something.

To blurt something out means to say something suddenly and thinking about the effect it will have, usually because you are nervous or excited. Some people can't keep a secret and they blurt everything out in front of the people that are not supposed to hear those things. I am not such a person, but when I was a bit younger I used to blurt things out out of excitement. Now I am wiser (hopefully) and can keep myself calm and thus I do not give away other's secrets. I am not saying I am perfect and that it cannot happen to me, but I am usually in control of what I am going to say.

To speak out means to state your opinion firmly and publicly about something, especially in order to protest against or defend something. When I speak out for someone, it is usually for my family and friends. When someone verbally or otherwise attacks one of the members of my family and friends, I tend to defend them. Or when I see that someone is being bullied I try to speak out for them and thus help them. I know it is sometimes difficult to speak out for someone or something because we might get hurt in the process, but it really is a good thing to do. So please anytime you see injustice, bullying, etc. please just

This is it from me today, have a nice day and let us know about your experience with blurting something out or speaking out for somebody or some good cause in the comments below.

Splendid Similes 11

As Cool as a Cucumber

Hello there! So, after going through loads of similes, I discovered that I haven't done this classical piece, which "as cool as cucumber" undoubtedly is. So, without further ado, here it is: (it is also quite simple) :)

When you are as cool as a cucumber, it means that you are very calm - so it is cool in the sense of not showing emotion. The origin is where the second meaning of "cool" comes to play, as does the fact that cucumbers are usually very cool (meaning cold), which, by the way makes them an ideal summer food or a juice ingredient. This site even claims that the inside of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees colder than its outside temperature!

But as for me, I must admit that I don't like to use this imile very much. It's just that when you want to say that someone is really cool and then you compare them to a cucumber... Well, to be honest, I always end up with the image of a cucumber with sunglasses, acting really "cool". So no, it doesn't work for me. Does it work for you? Let me know in the comments!

Yeah, and the image in my head looks something like this:

Provoking Phrasal Verbs 3

Snow under and wind down

Hello, hello!
It's time to post some phrasal verbs. At this point you may be thinking that these two phrasal verbs have something to do with weather, but I have to disappoint you... These two actually have nothing to do with weather. What a surprise!

 Let us start with the phrasal verb snow under. When you are snowed under, it means that you have too much of something to deal with. There are times when I feel snowed under, especially during exam periods when I don't have time for my hobbies or anything else. But when it's over I always make up for it by reading books, visiting friends, going to theatre, etc.

This Weeping Angel from Doctor Who isn't snowed under, but it surely is under the snow. But don't feel sorry for him, he is a dangerous creature.  When you see one of those, just don't blink! Blink, and you're dead!

As for the second phrasal verb, wind down, it has at least three meanings. All of them are more or less same with slight difference. First, it can mean to end or finish something gradually. The second meaning is very similar - to gradually reduce work before stopping completely. The last one is my favourite - to relax after a period of excitement or worry. 

How are you guys? Are you snowed under? If yes, please make sure that this weekend you will wind down a little bit. Let us know in the comments below!

Splendid Similes 10

As Fresh as the Air in Spring

Hello again! As you can see, with each week my self-discipline in regards to keeping deadlines is getting worse and worse. But I am determined to keep posting anyway - and since Provoking Phrasal Verbs are to be posted tomorrow, we are probably about to have one post a day until Friday :)

Now, as for today's simile - I think that I hardly need to explain this one to you, do I? Everyone knows the fresh, crisp (we should do a post on this word, it has so many meanings!) sensation you are looking forward to the whole winter and that you are starting to miss with the first few hot days of summer - at least if you are like me, who loves spring and would be perfectly happy if there was a constant tempreature of 20°C throughout the year.

I don't know why, but I have got this feeling associated with the song Rouse Your Dream by Elvenking. If you're into folk metal, you can listen to it ;)

And yeah, it's true that the fresh spring was almost here, but these days it looks more that winter is coming (anyone looking forward to the next GoT season?). Anyway, I'm done blabbering, apparently the sleep deprivation is taking its toll. May the force be with you!