Surprising English

English is a vast  language in terms of vocabulary.  Yet, there are many basic and familiar words that can used in very surprising ways.I hope the few examples below make you find English even more fascinating than before. Enjoy it!


DOG (verb) = to cause trouble for someone over a long period of time

e.g. He has been dogged by persistent back problems.

e.g. Facebook has been hit with a string of controversies over privacy. In May, after a series of complaints from some users and privacy advocates, the company made wholesale changes to its privacy settings.Despite these changes, the privacy issue has continued to dog Facebook.

DOG (verb) =  to  follow someone closely in a way that annoys them

e.g. Photographers dogged the princess all her adult life.

HOUSE(verb) = to give someone a place to live

e.g.  A large number of families are still waiting to be housed

HOUSE (verb) =  to be the place where something is kept, or where an activity is carried out

e.g.  The club is housed in a magnificent 16th-century building


PAMPER (verb)=  to look after someone very well, especially by making them feel very comfortable or by giving them nice things

e.g.  She had a whole evening in which to pamper herself

e.g. This cruise ship is famous for papering its passengers 

FOX (verb)= to make you confused and be impossible for you to understand or solve

e.g.  We were foxed by the problem

WOLF DOWN =  to eat something very quickly

e.g. The girls wolfed down the pizza in minutes


RABBIT ON = to talk about something for a long time so that people feel bored or annoyed

e.g. What are you rabbiting on about?




SNAKE = to move in or have a series of long curves

e.g. The path snakes through the bushes up the hill.