Grammar
Labour MP and Environment Minister in the previous government, Ed Miliband has just narrowly beaten his elder brother David in the race for the leadership of the British Labour Party.
The British press have puns of fun finding suitable headlines. Newspaper word-play mini-lesson.
First notice the word play, which is standard practice in British tabloid newspapers, and not only tabloids; even the Telegraph couldn't resist the temptation. What do you think could be the word play in these phrases? Think for a minute then point your cursor over the clues and then the answers for my suggestions.
On a historical note, the Miliband brothers are of Polish descent. Although their father, Ralph Miliband, was born in Belgium, his parents were originally from Warsaw. And the brothers' mother, Marion Kozak, was born in Poland.
- Random Thoughts - He Was Sat, She Was Stood
Some time ago there was a rather lively discussion on the language blog, Pain in the English, about these two idiomatic expressions. Let's take a look at a couple of examples from Google Books: He was sat there with his arms over the back of...
- Finding Language In Context - Google Site Search
Let's say you've found a new word. You've looked it up in a dictionary and found an example sentence or two. Perhaps you've also found what other words it collocates with. (I'll be looking at some online tools to find collocates,...
- Random Thoughts On The Expression Vanishingly Unlikely
At language blog The Stroppy Editor, Tom Freeman takes the Guardian to task for the way it treats part of a submission (for a government consultation process on child poverty) from a team led by Alan Milburn, "ex-Labour minister turned coalition...
- Some Random Thoughts On Different To
If you're a foreign learner looking for advice as to what preposition to use after different, I'd recommend using from; that way you won't tread on anybody's toes. You can read more about the use of different and easily confusable...
- Christmas Cracker Joke Matching Quiz
What lies in a pram and wobbles?A jelly-baby ? Why did the tomato blush?Because it saw the salad dressing ? How do you hire a horse?Stand it on four bricks ? Christmas cracker jokes are notoriously bad, relying heavily on awful puns (word play)....
Grammar
Oh Brother! Labour has a new Ed.
 |
| The Sun |
Labour MP and Environment Minister in the previous government, Ed Miliband has just narrowly beaten his elder brother David in the race for the leadership of the British Labour Party.
The British press have puns of fun finding suitable headlines. Newspaper word-play mini-lesson.
Ed is considered to be to the left of his brother, and is thought to be ready to turn the party away from the centralist ideas of 'New Labour'. This was the term used by Tony Blair to show that the party had moved away from its 'old' socialist ways.
David Miliband also served in the previous government, as Foreign Secretary, and until recently was seen by many as the natural heir to 'New labour'
 |
| The Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday |
First notice the word play, which is standard practice in British tabloid newspapers, and not only tabloids; even the Telegraph couldn't resist the temptation. What do you think could be the word play in these phrases? Think for a minute then point your cursor over the clues and then the answers for my suggestions.
| Oh Brother! | Answer | |
| Ed over heels | Clue 1 Clue 2 | Answer |
| Ed by a head | Clue 1 Clue 2 | Answer |
 |
| The Mirror |
| The Mail talks of an upset. Why do you think they use this word? | ? |
| The Mirror says 'Ed edges out brother ...' What do you think the phrasal verb 'to edge sb/sth out' means? | ? |
| The Telegraph's headline seems to be all over the Internet. In this sentence - "Victory has rarely tasted ___ sweet". What word would we normally expect instead of 'less'? | ? |
| Why did the Telegraph change it? | ? |
| The Telegraph describes Ed Miliband as looking sombre. What does this mean? Clue - look at the photo. | ? |
 |
| The Telegraph |
On a historical note, the Miliband brothers are of Polish descent. Although their father, Ralph Miliband, was born in Belgium, his parents were originally from Warsaw. And the brothers' mother, Marion Kozak, was born in Poland.
loading...
- Random Thoughts - He Was Sat, She Was Stood
Some time ago there was a rather lively discussion on the language blog, Pain in the English, about these two idiomatic expressions. Let's take a look at a couple of examples from Google Books: He was sat there with his arms over the back of...
- Finding Language In Context - Google Site Search
Let's say you've found a new word. You've looked it up in a dictionary and found an example sentence or two. Perhaps you've also found what other words it collocates with. (I'll be looking at some online tools to find collocates,...
- Random Thoughts On The Expression Vanishingly Unlikely
At language blog The Stroppy Editor, Tom Freeman takes the Guardian to task for the way it treats part of a submission (for a government consultation process on child poverty) from a team led by Alan Milburn, "ex-Labour minister turned coalition...
- Some Random Thoughts On Different To
If you're a foreign learner looking for advice as to what preposition to use after different, I'd recommend using from; that way you won't tread on anybody's toes. You can read more about the use of different and easily confusable...
- Christmas Cracker Joke Matching Quiz
What lies in a pram and wobbles?A jelly-baby ? Why did the tomato blush?Because it saw the salad dressing ? How do you hire a horse?Stand it on four bricks ? Christmas cracker jokes are notoriously bad, relying heavily on awful puns (word play)....