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Vocabulary: London's Legal Quarter - the Inns of Court, Thursday 12th December 2013

16/12/2013

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Hello all
Thank you for providing so much interesting research about the history of the places we saw. You worked really hard!

Here is the vocabulary that we went over at the end (even though it was a bit noisy in that bar!).

I look forward to seeing you all again soon and wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a great 2014!

Best Wishes
Gail

Vocabulary:
To be broke (adjective) (informal): To have no money. E.g. I can’t stay in London any longer because I’m absolutely broke!

Gobbledegook (also gobbledygook) (noun) (informal): Complicated language that is hard to understand. We also use it to mean that something that someone says is rubbish. E.g. I listened to the teacher in class but it was complete gobbledegook to me! E.g. I watched that T.V. programme last night but it was total gobbledegook.

A wig (noun): a covering made of real or false hair that you wear on your head. E.g. we saw the wigs that a judge and barrister wear in court. They are made of horse hair.

A gown (noun): a) A loose piece of cloth worn by certain professions E.g. lawyers, barristers, judges. We saw some of the gowns worn by lawyers and Judges in the shop, Ede & Ravenscroft (the specialist gown and robe makers since 1689).

a) A woman’s long formal dress for special occasions.

c) A dressing gown. This is the long loose robe that we wear after a bath or when we get out of bed.

A robe (noun): A long, loose piece of clothing, especially worn at ceremonies.

To quote (verb): a) to repeat exactly something that somebody else ahs said or written before. E.g. The newspaper quoted the Prime Minister.

b) to say what the cost of a piece of work is or probably will be. E.g. He quoted £1,200 to repair our roof.

A quotation (noun) We usually say ‘a quote’: a) a phrase from a book, speech, play etc.

b) a statement that says how much a piece of work will probably cost.  E.g. He gave me a quote for £50 to put some shelves up.

To abbreviate (verb): To make something shorter, especially a word or phrase. E.g. The World Wide Web is usually abbreviated to ‘www’.

An abbreviation (noun): A short form of a word or phrase

E.g. etc = etcetera; Mr. = mister; kilometre = km

A measurement (noun): a) a size, amount etc that is found by measuring. E.g. What are the exact measurements of the room? (= how wide, long etc is it?)

A foot (noun) (used in measurement): A measure of length. 1 foot = 30 centimetres (cm).

E.g. How tall are you? I’m 5 foot 5 (inches)

E.g. A 6-foot high wall

We abbreviate feet/foot as ‘ft’ E.g. She’s 5ft 3ins (= 5 foot 3 inches).

A jug (noun): A container with a handle used for holding or pouring liquids. E.g. A milk jug. E.g. A jug of water. E.g. We asked for a jug of water at the end of our walk.

A vase (noun): A container that is used for holding cut flowers in water.

A window box (noun): A long narrow box outside a window, in which plants are grown.

A gardener (noun): a person who works in a garden as a job or for pleasure. E.g. The gardener in the Inns of Court knows how to create beautiful gardens!

To sue (somebody) (for something) (verb): To go to a court of law and ask for money from somebody because they have done or said something bad about you. E.g. He took his company to court and sued them for £10000000 because they broke their contract.

To lie (about something) (verb): To say or write something that you know isn’t true. E.g. The witness lied in court. E.g. How could you lie to me?

A lie (noun): to tell a lie. E.g. That story he told us about being ill, was just a lie to get out of working!

Perjury (noun): When a witness (or the person who is either accused or the defendant) deliberately lies in court. E.g. The witness committed perjury when she lied about what time he arrived back home.  

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Vocabulary: The Inns of Court Wednesday 22nd May 2013

23/5/2013

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Dear all
I enjoyed walking through the Inns of Court with you yesterday. What a wonderful area it is. So hidden and quiet ...

Below, is some of the vocabulary that we went over at the end. Your English is very good ... I am impressed! Well done!

I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Best Wishes
Gail

Vocabulary: London’s Legal Quarter: The Inns of Court

A solicitor (noun): A solicitor has the first contact with a client who needs legal help or advice. The solicitor does all the paper work on a case, but if it has to go to court, they find a barrister who specialises in the same type of law (family, criminal, civil etc)

A barrister (noun): A lawyer who has had extra training to become a barrister. Barristers are the people who stand up in a court and represent the client in front of the judge. Barristers are trained in the Inns of Court.

 To smuggle (verb): a) When someone takes goods in or out of a country and it is illegal, we say that they smuggle. E.g. They smuggled drugs into London.

b) We also use the verb informally. If I took a bag of sweets into the cinema instead of buying the expensive sweets sold at the cinema, I can say ‘I smuggled some sweets into the cinema’.

A smuggler (noun): The term we use to describe a person who smuggles.

To scrape (verb): to remove something from a surface by moving a sharp edge across it. E.g. He scraped the mud off his boots before he came in.

A boot scraper (noun): We saw a boot scraper outside a house. Old houses had boot scrapers built into the entrances to visitors could scrape the mud off their boots before entering.

To scrape through something (expression): To succeed in doing something with difficulty. E.g. I just scraped through that exam!

Bankrupt (adjective): Not having enough money to pay what you owe. E.g If the company don’t spend less, they will go bankrupt.  

Bankruptcy (noun): The state of being bankrupt. E.g. We walked along Carey Street where there used to be a ‘Bankruptcy Court’ in the 1840s.

Sewage (noun): The waste material from people’s bodies that is carried away from their homes in water in sewers (noun).

To switch (verb) (something over, from something, to something, between A and B): To change for be changed from one thing to another. E.g. She switched careers from journalism to teaching. E.g. the football match has been switched from Saturday to Sunday. E.g. Don’t forget to switch off the light.

A switch (noun): a small button or something small that you press up or down to turn on electricity. E.g. a light switch.

To backfire (verb): a) to have an unexpected or unpleasant result, often the opposite to what had been intended. E.g. My plan to rob a bank backfired when the police caught me and sent me to jail!   b) when the exhaust in a car or other engine has a small ‘explosion’. E.g. a car backfired in the road

Wisteria (noun): a type of climbing plant with large purple flowers. We saw lots of wisteria on our walk. Some wisteria can live for 200 years!

A gown (noun): a) a long, elegant dress worn on formal occastions e.g. She wore a silk gown to the ball.

b) a loose cloak worn by certain professions E.g. lawyers, barristers, judges. We saw some of the gowns worn by lawyers in the shop, Ede & Ravenscroft (specialist gown and robe makers since 1689).

c) a dressing gown. This is the long loose robe that we wear after a bath or when we get out of bed.

A wig (noun): a covering made of real or false hair that you wear on your head. E.g. we saw the wigs that a judge and barrister wear in court. They are made of horse hair.

A hood (noun): the part of a coat, jacket etc that you pull up to cover your head and neck.

A hoody (noun) (informal): a) a sweatshirt that has a hood. b) an informal word often used to describe young people, especially teenagers who wear the hoods on their sweatshirts pulled up all the time.

A hat (noun): An item of clothing worn on the head (separate from the coat or jacket).

To attach something to something (verb): to fasten or join something to something. E.g. the hood is attached to the coat.

A pub (noun): a place where people go to buy and drink alcohol. Food is usually available too. [traditionally called a Public House]

A club (noun): a group of people who meet regularly to share an interest. E.g. a sports club, a walking club, a language club.

A nightclub (noun): a place where you can go to dance and drink late at night.

To behead (verb): to cut off somebody’s head, usually as punishment. E.g. the Lord was beheaded in Lincoln’s Inn Fields because he tried to kill the king.

To decapitate (verb): to cut off somebody’s head

To hang (verb): Note that when we talk about a person, we use ‘hanged’ as the past tense. If we talk about a painting we put on the wall, we use ‘hung’.

To lose your head (expression): a) to become confused or very excited b) to have your head chopped off!

Crisps (noun): a potato crisp is a very thin slice of potato that is fried in oil, dried and eaten cold. We buy them in packets and they usually have a lot of salt added. [Note: US English call them ‘chips’]

Chips (noun): sliced potatoes deep-fat fried in oil. Often called ‘french fries’. In England, chips are traditionally bigger than french fries.

A chippy (noun): a fish and chip shop. E.g. Let’s go to the chippy on the way home.


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New vocabulary: The Inns of Court - Monday 16th July 2012

24/7/2012

1 Comment

 
Dear all
Thank you so much for joining me on another English Conversation walk last week. I hope that you enjoyed exploring another area of London (and one that is so different!).

Here is some of the vocabulary that we went over at the end in the pub. If you think of any that I've missed, please do add it!

I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Best Wishes
Gail


To alight
(verb): To get off something (e.g. a horse) or out of a vehicle. E.g. Alight from the bus (get off the bus here). On the tube we often hear an announcement that says: ‘Alight here for the British Museum’ or ‘alight here for Tate Britain’ etc. It means that if you want the British Museum or Tate Britain, then get off the tube here.

An umbrella word (adjective): A generic term for a group of words or ideas. E.g. ‘lawyers’ is an umbrella word for barristers, solicitors etc.

A solicitor (noun): A solicitor has the first contact with a client who needs legal help or advice. The solicitor does all the paper work on a case, but if it has to go to court, they find a barrister who specialises in the same type of law (family, criminal, civil etc)

A barrister (noun): A lawyer who has had extra training to become a barrister. Barristers are the people who stand up in a court and represent the client in front of the judge. Barristers are trained in the Inns of Court.

 A treasurer (noun): A person who looks after the money of an organisation and does all the paperwork.  In the Inns of Court, the Treasurer is also in charge of the administration (I think!)

A plane tree or London Plane (noun): Their scientific name is = platinus hispanica.Type of tree common in England and especially London. It is often used to line a road with trees. In London, you are likely to find them in every square, park and other open spaces. They are tall with rough multi-coloured bark. They have ‘nuts’ that look like little cones that hang from their branches.


A hosepipe
(noun): A pipe usually made from rubber that is used to carry water. We often reduce the word to just ‘hose’ instead of ‘hosepipe’. E.g. I watered my garden with the hose last night or I used the hosepipe to water my garden.

A sprinkler (noun): A gadget or device for spraying water on grass or other open areas.

To ban (verb): When we are officially forbidden from doing something. E.g. ‘a hosepipe ban’ is when we were not allowed to use our hoses to water gardens.  

To smuggle (verb): a) When someone takes goods in or out of a country and it is illegal, we say that they smuggle. E.g. They smuggled drugs into London.

b) We also use the verb informally. If I took a bag of sweets into the cinema instead of buying the expensive sweets sold at the cinema, I can say ‘I smuggled some sweets into the cinema’.

A smuggler (noun): The term we use to describe a person who smuggles.

It’s spitting (weather) (verb): When the rain is very light, we say ‘it’s spitting’.

It’s drizzling (weather) (verb): When the rain is gentle but steady.

Draughty (adjective): When cold air blows through a room. Or if you sit by a door which is open and cold air comes through it. E.g. It’s draughty in here. E.g. A draughty old house. E.g. It feels draughty in here. Let’s sit somewhere else.

Some opposites:

a) Sweet and sour (adjectives): Used to describe taste

Sweet: like honey or sugar or ripe fruit

Sour: if you suck or taste a  lemon, it’s sour

b) Sweet and savoury (adjectives): Used to describe types of food categories

Sweet: foods like biscuits, cakes, chocolate, sweets

Savoury: foods like cheese, eggs, vegetable tarts, crisps etc.

c) Sweet and dry (adjectives): Used to describe types of wine

Sweet: as in a), wine that is more ‘sugary’ in taste

Dry: wine that is less sweet in taste

Bitter (adjective): When food has a sharp and often strong taste, it is ‘bitter’. E.g. coffee, beer, walnuts

A nut (noun): a type of fruit that has a hard shell and usually grows on a tree. Nuts are a generic word or an  ‘umbrella word’ (see above). For example, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, brazil nuts, hazel nuts, chestnuts, cashews etc are all ‘nuts’.

Nuts (adjective): A very informal slang word we use to describe a person who we think is mad. E.g. He’s nuts!

Strange (adjective): Unusual or extraordinary. E.g. It was a strange thing to say. I don’t understand it.  E.g. He is a strange person. He never says anything at the meetings.

Weird (adjective): If we describe a person as weird, it is because they have either done something that is very unusual  and  bizarre or because they look bizarre in some way.

Queer (adjective): We discovered on the walk, that Carey Street was often referred to as ‘Queer Street’ (old English slang meaning in financial difficulties in bankrupt). Later, the word was used to describe a person or thing that was strange or odd and became linked with gay and lesbian people. Today, it is offensive to use the word ‘queer’ to describe gay and lesbians.

Costume jewellery (noun): Popular jewellery that is made with cheaper metals than gold and silver and replaces precious stones with beads or cheaper stones.

Fine jewellery (noun): Jewellery that is made using gold, silver and expensive precious stones.

A windscreen (noun): The front window on a car through which the driver looks out. It is made of protective glas.

To wind (verb): a) We wind up string or rope into a ball. b) To wind up a person: if we annoy or irritate a person they feel as if someone is winding them up inside and become angry. E.g. she really wound me up. However, we can also use it in a joking way and not use it seriously, e.g. ah, you’re winding me up!

To toss (verb): To throw something lightly or easily. E.g. she tossed the paper into the bin.


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New Vocabulary: The Inns of Court - Thursday 24 May 2012

30/5/2012

1 Comment

 
Hello everyone
I am so pleased that you enjoyed the walk through The Inns of Court last Thursday. It really does come as a surprise to find this area in London ... it is calm and peaceful as well as being so interesting.

Here is the vocabulary that we went over at the end. If you have any others to add, please do so.

I look forward to seeing you on future walks.
Best Wishes
Gail


A lawyer (noun). A person who studies law and passes the exams to be able to act as a lawyer.

To defend (verb). When a lawyer represents the person who is in court and tries to show the court that this person is not guilty.

To prosecute (verb). When a lawyer begins a criminal or civil court action against someone.

A barrister (noun). A lawyer who has completed extra training so that he/she can practice in court as an advocate, particularly in the higher courts. We have ‘Defence barristers’ and ‘Prosecution barristers’.

Defence barrister (see above)

Prosecution barrister (see above)

Wisteria (noun). A type of plant that climbs up buildings or other structures. It has lovely purple flowers in spring. Wisteria can live for over 200 years!

Bunting (noun). When we have big celebrations, we hang up lots of little flags on that are on a string. We use other colourful decorations too. During the most important celebrations, you will see bunting in shops; hanging across roads; hanging from buildings etc.

Blacklegs (noun). When a worker or trade unionist continues to work during a strike, they are often called ‘a blackleg’. If someone takes the job of another person, they are called  ‘a blackleg’ too.

To demolish (verb). To pull or knock down something like a building. E.g. Those pretty cottages were demolished and they built a car park instead. E.g. He demolished the old garage because it was dangerous.

Urinal (noun). A public place for men to urinate. Usually, a urinal is fixed to a wall

A diarist (noun). A person who writes a diary. However, we usually call someone a ‘diarist’ if their diary has become well-known and the information has been used to give us important information. E.g. Samuel Pepys wrote a diary between 1660 and 1669.  As he witnessed so many important events, his diary was published in the 19th century and this is how we have learnt so much about the Great Fire of London in 1666 and what London was like during this period.  

Blogger (noun). A modern day diarist? Someone who writes nearly everyday on a ‘blog’ – a space on the internet to write about anything.

To swallow our words (expression). a) When we speak English fluently, it can sound as if we have swallowed our words i.e. we don’t finish each word. This can be difficult for someone who is learning English!

b) When we are forced to admit that we have said something that is wrong.

Illiterate (adjective). When someone is not able to read or write.

Literacy (noun). When someone is able to read and write.

Literally (adverb). a) When we say something and intend it to be correct and exact. E.g. What does that word mean literally? (what does that word mean exactly?)

b) We also use it to mean something that is not exact or true. We use it to add emphasis to express a strong feeling. E.g. I was literally freezing (if we really freeze, we die). What we really mean is: I was very, very cold.

Flamboyant (adjective). a) If a place has lots of brightly, coloured decorations, we can say that it is ‘flamboyant’. E.g. Lloyds Bank Law Court Branch is the most flamboyant bank  in London because of the decoration.

To preserve (verb). a) When we have a very old building and we keep it like this. We don’t change it to look modern or different. When we looked at the old buildings in The Inns of Court, we saw many ‘preserved’ buildings – they have been looked after so that they are still look like they did when they were built.

b) We preserve fruit to make jam. We cook the fruit in sugar and water and then put it in a glass jar. It keeps for a long time.

Incongruous (adjective). When we walked through The Inns of Court, we saw lots of very old buildings. Just outside the Inns there are many modern buildings. We can say that the old buildings and the modern ones are not in harmony with each other. E.g. That modern glass office block looks incongruous between those 16th century ones.


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