Real English, explained plainly
Idioms, phrases, and grammar that confuse learners, explained the way a native speaker would, not a textbook.
Workplace
39
My boss said 'let's circle back on that' - what does it mean?
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Is 'per my last email' passive aggressive?
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My manager keeps saying 'let's take this offline' - what does it mean?
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My colleague said she doesn't have the 'bandwidth' - is that a tech thing?
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What does 'low-hanging fruit' mean in business?
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What does 'move the needle' mean?
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My boss said we need to 'do a deep dive' - what does that mean?
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Why do people say 'going forward' instead of just 'in the future'?
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What is a 'pain point' in business English?
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What does it mean to 'loop someone in' on an email?
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What is a 'ballpark figure'?
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My manager said I 'dropped the ball' - is that an insult?
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What does 'pushback' mean at work?
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What does 'hit the ground running' mean?
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What does 'game-changer' mean?
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What does 'keep me in the loop' mean?
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What does 'blue sky thinking' mean?
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What does 'pivot' mean in business?
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What does 'buy-in' mean at work?
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What does 'red flag' mean?
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What does 'boil the ocean' mean in business?
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What does 'scalable' mean in business?
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What does 'siloed' mean at work?
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What does 'best practice' mean?
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What does 'deliverable' mean in business English?
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What does 'stakeholder' mean in business?
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What does 'bottleneck' mean in business?
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What does 'benchmark' mean in business?
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What does 'synergy' mean?
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What does 'proactive' mean?
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What does 'leverage' mean in business English?
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What does 'onboarding' mean in business?
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What does 'follow up' mean in business English?
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What does 'due diligence' mean?
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What does 'at capacity' mean?
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What does 'take this forward' mean?
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What does 'next steps' mean in business English?
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What does 'in the pipeline' mean?
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What does 'sign off on' something mean?
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British English
37
What does 'fair enough' mean?
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Why do people say 'no worries' instead of 'you're welcome'?
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Why do British people say 'cheers' for everything?
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What does 'gutted' mean in British English?
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What does 'sorted' mean? My British friend says it all the time.
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What does 'chuffed' mean?
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What does 'I reckon' mean?
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What does 'do you fancy' mean in British English?
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What does 'bloody' mean in British English - is it a swear word?
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What does 'mate' mean in British English?
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What does 'keen' mean - is it always about enthusiasm?
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What does 'proper' mean as British slang?
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What does 'alright' mean when British people say it as a greeting?
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What does 'ta' mean?
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What does 'dodgy' mean?
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What does 'knackered' mean?
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What does 'cheeky' mean?
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What does 'gobsmacked' mean?
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What does 'brilliant' mean in British English? It seems to mean more than clever.
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What does 'bloke' mean?
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What does 'quid' mean?
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What does 'fortnight' mean?
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What does 'miffed' mean?
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What does 'posh' mean in British English?
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What does 'faff' mean?
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What does 'ace' mean in British English?
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What does 'bits and bobs' mean?
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What does 'shambles' mean?
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What does 'skint' mean?
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What does 'a do' mean in British English?
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What does 'having a go' mean in British English?
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What does 'give it a miss' mean?
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What does 'nicked' mean in British English?
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What does 'sacked' mean in British English?
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What does 'mint' mean as slang?
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What does 'chancing it' mean?
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What does 'off you go' mean?
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Idioms
42
What does 'bite the bullet' mean?
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What does 'it's up in the air' mean?
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What does 'sitting on the fence' mean?
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What does 'spill the beans' mean?
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What does 'throw someone under the bus' mean?
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What does 'get cold feet' mean?
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What does 'burning your bridges' mean?
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What does 'does that ring a bell' mean?
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What does 'hang in there' mean?
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Why do you say 'break a leg' instead of 'good luck'?
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What does 'it costs an arm and a leg' mean?
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What does 'once in a blue moon' mean?
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What does 'the elephant in the room' mean?
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What does 'under the radar' mean?
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What does 'the ball is in your court' mean?
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What does 'every cloud has a silver lining' mean?
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What does 'think outside the box' mean?
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What does 'Catch-22' mean?
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What does 'tip of the iceberg' mean?
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What does 'a blessing in disguise' mean?
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What does 'get out of hand' mean?
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What does 'in the same boat' mean?
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What does 'hit the sack' mean?
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What does 'sit tight' mean?
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What does 'get the ball rolling' mean?
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What does 'cut to the chase' mean?
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What does 'miss the boat' mean?
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What does 'on thin ice' mean?
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What does 'rule of thumb' mean?
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What does 'off the top of my head' mean?
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What does 'let the cat out of the bag' mean?
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What does 'back to square one' mean?
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What does 'piece of cake' mean?
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What does 'under the weather' mean?
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What does 'the whole nine yards' mean?
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What does 'the lay of the land' mean?
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What does 'that ship has sailed' mean?
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What does 'call it a day' mean?
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What does 'kill two birds with one stone' mean?
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What does 'barking up the wrong tree' mean?
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What does 'a penny for your thoughts' mean?
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What does 'bite off more than you can chew' mean?
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Grammar
40
Americans say 'I could care less' but shouldn't it be 'I couldn't care less'?
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I used 'actually' and my colleagues seemed confused - what does it really mean?
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My teacher said 'eventually' doesn't mean what I think - what's the difference?
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What does 'sensible' mean in English? It doesn't seem to mean what I expected.
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When do you use 'make' and when do you use 'do' in English? I always confuse them.
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What is the difference between 'say' and 'tell' in English?
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What is the difference between 'lend' and 'borrow'? I always confuse them.
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What is the difference between 'bring' and 'take'?
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When do you use 'since' and when do you use 'for' with the present perfect?
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What is the difference between 'used to', 'be used to', and 'get used to'?
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What's the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'?
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What's the difference between 'its' and 'it's'?
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What's the difference between 'there', 'their', and 'they're'?
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When do you use 'less' and when do you use 'fewer'?
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When do you use 'who' and when do you use 'whom'?
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Why do people write 'could of' instead of 'could have'?
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What's the difference between 'boring' and 'bored'?
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What's the difference between 'lie' and 'lay'?
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What's the difference between 'your' and 'you're'?
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What's the difference between 'hear' and 'listen'?
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What's the difference between 'see', 'look at', and 'watch'?
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What's the difference between 'speak' and 'talk'?
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What's the difference between 'hard' and 'difficult'?
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When do I use the present perfect tense in English?
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What's the difference between 'may' and 'might'?
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What's the difference between 'despite' and 'although'?
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What's the difference between 'unless' and 'if not'?
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What's the difference between 'I wish' and 'I hope'?
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When do I use 'so' and when do I use 'such'?
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What's the difference between 'too' and 'very'?
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When do I use 'either/or' vs 'neither/nor'?
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What's the difference between 'by' and 'until'?
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What's the difference between 'during' and 'for' with time?
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What's the difference between 'already', 'yet', and 'still'?
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When do I use the present simple vs the present continuous?
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What's the difference between the past simple and past continuous?
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What's the difference between 'will' and 'going to' for the future?
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What's the difference between 'should' and 'ought to'?
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When do I use 'much' and when do I use 'many'?
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What's the difference between 'few' and 'a few'?
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Confusing Words
21
What's the difference between 'imply' and 'infer'?
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What's the difference between 'jealous' and 'envious'?
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What's the difference between 'sympathy' and 'empathy'?
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What's the difference between 'disinterested' and 'uninterested'?
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What's the difference between 'accept' and 'except'?
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What's the difference between 'historic' and 'historical'?
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What's the difference between 'further' and 'farther'?
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What's the difference between 'comprise' and 'compose'?
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What's the difference between 'beside' and 'besides'?
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When do you use 'amount' and when do you use 'number'?
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What's the difference between 'principal' and 'principle'?
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What's the difference between 'convince' and 'persuade'?
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What's the difference between 'advice' and 'advise'?
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Is it 'practice' or 'practise'?
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What's the difference between 'complement' and 'compliment'?
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What's the difference between 'stationary' and 'stationery'?
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What's the difference between 'lose' and 'loose'?
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What's the difference between 'passed' and 'past'?
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What's the difference between 'than' and 'then'?
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What's the difference between 'weather' and 'whether'?
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What's the difference between 'quiet' and 'quite'?
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American English
19
What do 'gonna', 'wanna' and 'gotta' mean?
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What does 'my bad' mean?
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What does 'heads up' mean?
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What does 'take a rain check' mean?
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What does 'reach out' mean?
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What does 'for sure' mean?
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What does 'y'all' mean?
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What does 'have a good one' mean?
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What does 'no biggie' mean?
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What does 'that being said' mean?
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What does 'you bet' mean?
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What does 'right on' mean?
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What does 'sounds good' mean and is it too casual for work?
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What does 'touch base' mean?
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Why do Americans say 'can I get a coffee' instead of 'can I have'?
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What does 'no-brainer' mean?
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What does 'give me a break' mean?
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What does 'the whole nine yards' mean?
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What does 'take it or leave it' mean?
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Phrasal Verbs
50
What's the difference between 'give up' and 'give in'?
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What does 'take off' mean? It seems to have many meanings.
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What does 'carry on' mean?
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What does 'fall out with someone' mean?
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What does 'work out' mean? It seems to mean different things.
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What does 'get away with it' mean?
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What does 'put up with' mean?
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What does 'run into someone' mean?
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What does 'it fell through' mean?
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What does 'get on with someone' mean?
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What does 'look up to someone' mean?
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What does 'sort out' mean?
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What does 'back down' mean?
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What does 'pick up on something' mean?
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What does 'hold on' mean?
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What does 'lay off' mean?
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What does 'make up' mean? It seems to have many meanings.
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What does 'come across' mean?
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What does 'let down' mean?
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What does 'wrap up' mean?
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What does 'take on' mean?
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What does 'bring about' mean?
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What does 'crack on' mean?
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What does 'look into something' mean?
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What does 'build up' mean?
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What does 'call off' mean?
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What does 'bring up' mean?
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What does 'put off' mean?
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What does 'go through' mean?
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What does 'come up with' mean?
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What does 'figure out' mean?
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What does 'look after' mean?
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What does 'set up' mean?
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What does 'wear out' mean?
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What does 'turn down' mean?
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What does 'catch up' mean?
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What does 'give away' mean?
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What does 'fit in' mean?
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What does 'hold back' mean?
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What does 'fall behind' mean?
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What does 'move on' mean?
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What does 'stand out' mean?
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What does 'take back' mean?
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What does 'point out' mean?
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What does 'put forward' mean?
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What does 'go ahead' mean?
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What does 'run out' mean?
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What does 'pull off' mean?
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What does 'draw up' mean?
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What does 'blow up' mean?
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Social English
20
What does 'not too bad' mean when someone asks how you are?
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What does 'can't complain' mean?
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What does 'touch wood' mean?
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What does 'long time no see' mean?
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What does 'speak of the devil' mean?
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What does 'mind you' mean?
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What does 'tell me about it' mean?
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What does 'fair play' mean?
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What does 'nice one' mean in British English?
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What does 'you don't say' mean?
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What does 'same old same old' mean?
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How do I respond to 'how are you' in English?
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Is 'pleased to meet you' too formal for everyday use?
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What's the difference between 'I look forward to' and 'I'm looking forward to'?
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What does 'get well soon' mean and how do I respond to it?
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What's the difference between 'congratulations' and 'well done'?
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What does 'how do you do' mean and do people still say it?
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What does 'there you go' mean?
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What does 'off the record' mean?
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What does 'a penny for your thoughts' mean?
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Business Writing
11
Why do people write 'please find attached'?
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What does 'I hope this finds you well' mean and should I use it?
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What's the difference between 'kind regards', 'regards', and 'best regards'?
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What does FYI mean?
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What does 'in due course' mean?
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What does 'please advise' mean in emails?
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What does 'key takeaways' mean?
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When do you use 'to whom it may concern'?
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What does 'sign off' mean in work contexts?
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What's the difference between CC and BCC in emails?
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What does 'action points' mean in meetings?
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Expressions
27
What does 'in a nutshell' mean?
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What does 'for what it's worth' mean?
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What does 'needless to say' mean?
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What does 'to be fair' mean?
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What does 'if anything' mean?
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What does 'by and large' mean?
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What does 'more often than not' mean?
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What does 'at a loss' mean?
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What does 'all things considered' mean?
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What does 'it is what it is' mean?
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What does 'wrap your head around something' mean?
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What does 'give it a shot' mean?
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What does 'have a word with someone' mean?
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What does 'touch and go' mean?
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What does 'I beg to differ' mean?
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What does 'at short notice' mean?
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What does 'on the go' mean?
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What does 'read the room' mean?
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What does 'all over the place' mean?
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What does 'go the extra mile' mean?
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What does 'on the same page' mean?
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What does 'it goes without saying' mean?
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What does 'in the same breath' mean?
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What does 'take it or leave it' mean?
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What does 'that ship has sailed' mean?
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What does 'call it a day' mean?
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What does 'the lay of the land' mean?
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