English (Biplab Ghosh Blogs)

Words Usage

Tags:     English for UPSC     Noun     Write Correct English     Spoken English     Types of Sentences     Clause     Vocabulary     Spelling     Words Usage     Proverbs

If you are learning English for work, travel or to move to an English-speaking country some of these words may be very useful, especially if you are planning to visit the UK! If you are learning English and have any experience with British people you will know that they like to talk about the weather a lot. There are lots of jokes about how British and English people enjoy talking about the weather and moaning about it too! So I thought it would be a good time to write a blog post about some useful words British people use to talk about colder weather. The summers in the UK do not stretch for long and people are indeed unhappy when it is over. So, I have kept this in mind while explaining these terms. Enjoy!

1.Chilly – This term simply refers to cold. “It is very chilly today” – Someone would say this to another person to say it is cold. The term Chilly alludes to cold but not life-threatening cold. Chilly can also be used in a building or home to say it is a little bit cold.

2.Freezing – “It is freezing here now!” This term refers to intense and uncomfortable cold weather. And, yes, the British use this word in numerous ways. More often, the term is overstated.

3.Pouring – It often rains in the UK and there are a lot of different words for rain commonly used by people. “It is pouring or, pouring down. There is no need of appending this term with the idiom cats and dogs. This is because the term, pouring, itself means raining heavily. A classical rhyme in the children's nursery goes like this - It is pouring, it is raining and the old soul is snoring.

4.Chucking down – This also alludes to raining heavily. But this phrase is only used in informal situations associated with family and friends and family.

5. Drizzle – This term refers to light rain. Only drops of rain can get you wet.

6.Blowing a Gale – When it is extremely windy, people say that it is blowing a gale.

7.Downpour – While “chucking down” is informal, this term is used in formal situations. Both refer to rain heavily.

8.Deluge – This term is used when a very heavy downpour is creating a situation of flood.

9. Cloudburst – refers to an intense spell of rain normally for a short duration and local by nature.

10. A rainstorm – refers to a heavy downpour that is associated with a storm.

Now, I hope that You will start using these terms regularly, impressing yourself as well as others with your precision in judging the quantum of rainfall.