14.7. Vocabulary. Explain the differences in the following.

I saw a man killed in an accident. It was horrific! / I saw a man killed in an accident. It was terrific! ‘Terrific’ is a false friend (a cognate with a different meaning) in many other languages. In English it is a synonym of ‘wonderful’, ‘fantastic’ and ‘stupendous’, and is, therefore, inappropriate.

In London a lot of women have blond hair. / In London a lot of women have yellow hair. ‘Blond’ is the normal light, or fair hair colour. ‘Yellow’ is the completely unnatural colour of, say, a New York taxi. That said, you can see more people with unnatural coloured hair than anywhere else in the world.

Jan Popov and his famous Bouncing Czechs. / Jan Popov and his famous bouncing cheques. The first is probably an East European circus acrobat show. ‘To bounce’ is the action of a ball coming back to you. The second is a man who writes cheques (the same pronunciation) when he has no money in his bank account. ‘The cheque bounced,’ means that they sent it back saying there was no credit.

They supposedly bought tickets. / They were supposed to buy tickets. In the first example, it is said or thought that they bought tickets, although it is not known for certain. In the second, they almost certainly didn’t buy them, although they should have, or were told to buy them. In other words, the difference is between a positive and a negative idea.

They spent all day licking up to the boss. / They spent all day licking the boss. Who thinks of these ridiculous ideas. ‘To lick up to someone’ is to do or say things that win you favour with a person. ‘You look very smart  today boss. I’ve never seen you look so good!’ etc. ‘To lick’ is what you would do to an ice cream with your tongue. The second example is yet another childish example of the author’s Freudian fixation.

At no time were they nice to me. / In no time they were nice to me. In the first, they weren’t nice. Not at any moment. In the second, they became nice very quickly. ‘She’ll be here in no time,’ therefore means ‘very soon’.

The cowboy builder was unqualified. / The cowboy was disqualified. A cowboy, as everybody knows, is a person who rides a horse, stars in Western films and plays poker. OK. But did you know that it also refers to a workman who does a job really badly or in an unprofessional way? Thus the phrase, ‘to do a cowboy job’. Zak Washington’s is obviously a cowboy English teacher.

I’m going to drive Maria round the corner. / I’m going to drive Maria round the bend. The first is the literal meaning of someone giving another a lift in their car. The second is an idiomatic expression mean ‘to annoy’, ‘to irritate’, or ‘to drive someone crazy’.

The football match is beginning! I hope you break your leg! / The theatre show is beginning. Break a leg!  Again, the first is literal. You wish that the other team’s player breaks his leg. You’re not very nice, are you? ‘Break a leg!’ is what actors or performers say to each other before a live show. It’s meaning is ‘good luck’.

Dave is always blowing his own trumpet. / Dave is always sounding his own horn. Another idiom. ‘To blow your own trumpet’ is to talk about yourself in a flattering way, as if you are really important or special. A ‘horn’ is the part of the car that is used in Britain to warn drivers or pedestrians of impending danger, and in most other countries to get the attention of attractive women, whilst driving.