Here is a list of some of the more difficult English words from our articles.
time was when
AmE ['taim w^z 'wen] = /ˈtaɪm wʌz ˈwen/
BrE ['taim woz 'wen] = /ˈtaɪm wɒz ˈwen/
- “Time was when” is an informal way of saying “There was a time when”.
Time was when my wife loved me passionately. Now she doesn’t even cook for me.
Time was when I could solve seven math problems in one day. Now I can’t even add up numbers.
Time was when I had a lot of admirers following me about wherever I went. Nowadays I choose to stay home for fear of being lynched.
ESL
['i: 'es 'el] = /ˈi: ˈes ˈel/
ESL means “English as a second language”. People usually use the word ESL to talk about teaching English to people who do not speak English. Usually, ESL teaching happens in an English-speaking country. Often, ESL students are people who came to live in an English-speaking country, and do not speak English very well.
If we talk about teaching or learning English in a country where English is not spoken, we usually use the word “EFL”, but “ESL” is sometimes used, too.
Here are some example phrases with the word ESL:
- an ESL website
- Laura is an excellent ESL student.
- Most ESL teachers are native speakers.
- Paul goes to an advanced ESL class.
- The book is full of boring ESL quizzes and activities.
- He was reading an ESL magazine.
CV
['si: 'vi:] = /ˈsiː ˈviː/
where you want to work. Your CV has information about your education, your skills, and your job experience. If you know English well, you can write about it in your CV. CV is short for “curriculum vitae”, which means “the course of a life” in Latin.
nightmare
['nait me..(r)] = /ˈnaɪtmeəʳ/
- You are having a nightmare when you sleep in the night and you’re having a bad dream (for example, when you are dreaming that someone is trying to kill you). If a situation is very bad, you can also say it is a nightmare.
My neighbor must have terrible nightmares. I can hear him screaming every night.
What a nightmare. First somebody stole my car, and now I lost the keys to my apartment.
The book described the nightmare of World War II.
get out of that armchair
[get 'aut ..v TH..t 'a:(r)m tSe..(r)] = /get ˈaʊt əv ðət ˈɑːʳmtʃeəʳ/
- When you tell somebody to get out of that armchair, you’re telling them to start working now. When you say that, you humorously suggest that they are doing nothing, although it may not be true.
Get out of that armchair and start doing something to improve your life!
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