Odds & Ends of English Usage

Some foreign students find English very difficult, some others find it quite easy. There is one thing, however, on which they all agree: English sounds are vague, complicated, often confusing and totally inconsistent as regards punctuation.

This book is an exhaustive compilation of the most curious words that can be found in the language. It will serve students as a reference when they want to find the correct word to use. It will also help the teacher who wants to show pupils the oddities of the language.

 

Contents
Similes and idiomatic comparisons. I
2 To feel ............................................ 2
3 Sound made by animals ................. 2
4 Onomatopoeic words ..................... 3
5 Words related to various subjects ... 4
6 Words related to the five senses ..... 7
7 Fewer or less .............................. 7
8 Last or latest .............................. 7
9 Syllables with similar spelling but
different pronunciation .................. 8
10 Similar sounds .............................. 11
11 Words that rhyme ........................ 14
12 Words of similar derivation ........... 15
13 Homophones........................... .... 16
14 Homographs ................................ 19
15 Homonyms ................................... 20
16 Words with similar endings .......... 25
17 Collective nouns ........................... 25
18 Past tense of regular verbs ........... 26
19 Past tense of regular verbs
(continued) .................................. 28
20 Make or do ................................. 29
21 Plurals .......................................... 30
22 Jobs .............................................. 31
23 Expressions with at ...................... 33
24 Expressions with in ...................... 34
25 Expressions with on ..................... 34
26 Expressions with blood ............... 35
27 Expressions with double ............. 37
28 Expressions with eye ................... 38
29 Expressions with finger .............. 39
30 Expressions with foot .................. 39
31 Expressions with hand ............... 41
32 Expressions with heart ............... 42
33 Expressions with hit .................... 43
34 Expressions with kick ................. 44
35 Expressions with time ................. 45
36 Expressions with top .................. 47
37 Ways of saying strange .............. 48
38 Expression with to be ................. 48
39 Expressions related to the
weather ..................................... 49
40 Words and expressions related
to age ......................................... 50
41 Words and expressions related
tonames ..................................... 51
42 Ways of lOOking ......................... 52
43 Ways of walking ........................ 52
44 Ways of speaking ...................... 53
45 Ways of burning ........................ 54
46 Ways of eating ........................... 54
47 Ways of laughing ...................... 54
48 Ways of shining ......................... 54
49 Shops and what they sell ............. 55
50 Expressions with prepositions ....... 55
51 Aoran ........................................ 6O
52 A list of everyday idioms ............... 61
53 Verbs that double the final
consonant .................................... 71
54 Verbs that double the final
consonant in Britain but not
in America ................................... 72
55 Verbs ending in -ie ....................... 72
56 Verbs ending in -c ........................ 72