Send us a textWhy is English hard?Contranyms – words that have two opposite meaningsTransparent: can mean invisible or obvious ("I bumped into the back wall which was completely transparent,") or ("It is transparent to me that you are a liar and a rogue").Rules are inconsistent"I before e, except after c"Though not in 'neighbour' or 'weigh'HomophonesHomophones are words which sound the same but are spelt differently.mussels – a small shellfish with a soft body inside a hard black or green shell, often cooked and eaten as food;HomographsHomographs are words which spelt the same but mean somethingPresent (present a present in the present)Bat – bat ball, bat mammalCool – fashionable, hip; moderately coldInvalid – not valid; invalidClose – the door; stand back, dudeproduce (a farmer produces produce)dove bird and past tense diveHomonymspalm (the palm of your hand; a palm tree)letter (a symbol in an alphabet; a written message to someone)ruler (for measuring lengths; a king or queen)IdiomsIdioms are phrases which have a common understanding, but which in itself doesn't impart its meaning.Shoot the breeze: to talk about unimportant thingsPiece of cake: something that is easy or straightforwardDonkey's years: a long time Chew the fat: to gossip or make small talkGo pear-shaped: indicates that something has gone wrongIllogical wordsLet's face it, some words just don't make any sense:Eggplant: there aren't any eggs in an eggplantHamburger: hamburgers don't have any hamGuinea pig: guinea pigs aren't from the country of Guinea, nor are they pigs!Sweetmeats: are sweets, but sweetbreads aren't sweet and are meat!Incommunicado: means you are NOT communicating!MisnomersClosely allied to illogical words are misnomers, misnamed people, places or things:Arabic numerals: originated in India.Tin cans and tin foil: are constructed from aluminium, not tin.Danish pastries: were invented in Austria.Dry cleaning: uses a fluid called naphtha.Koala bears: are marsupials, not bears.Panama hats: originate from Ecuador, not Panama.The Peanut: is a legume, [i.e., fruit/vegetable] not a nut.Irrational collective nounsCollective nouns, apparently, are made up by strange people with a warped sense of humour. Like idioms, either you know a collective or you don't; it is impossible to work out the collective noun for anything.A glaring of catsAn entrance of actressesAn unhappiness of husbandsA Sodom of shepherdsOne goose, two geese. One moose, two…? Moose.A flock of geese (when the geese are flying)A gaggle of geese (when the geese are on the ground)Bonus: words to show off withExegete: one who explains or interprets difficult parts of written works.Sine qua non: an indispensable thing.Sesquipedalian: (of words) long; having many syllables.Paraprosdokian: an unexpected shift in meaning at the end of a sentence or paragraph (also called the surprise ending). It is often used for comic effect. [For example: "Please, make yourself at home. Clean my kitchen.")Defenestrate: to throw someone or something out of a window.  Get in touch or leave us your feedback on any of these channels: Email - [email protected] - https://www.facebook.com/thetnttalkshow/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@thetnttalkshowLocals - https://thetnttalkshow.locals.com/Buzzsprout Podcast - https://thetnttalkshow.buzzsprout.com

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