Episode #021, 26.02.2012: concoction

Sound: /kənˈkɒkʃən/

concoct, transitive verb. Make up of mixed ingredients (soup, drink, story, plot). Hence concoction.

In a sentence: “The cook made a soup concoction.”

This word is interesting in that it means the putting together of something, but in very different context. A concoction can be a soup or a drink, which consists of different ingredients. But it can also mean a story or a plot, which is in a way a concoction of different events.

There is also the phrase, a concoction of lies, which is simply a false story in order to defraud people.

Note that concoction can mean the mixture but also the preparation itself.

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Episode #020, 19.02.2012: Spotlight: Simple English Wikipedia

Welcome to another spotlight episode. You probably know Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. You probably noticed that there are articles in many languages. There are more than 1 million articles in English, German and French. 37 more Wikipedias have more than 100,000 articles.
But have you noticed that there is another “language” called Simple English? The Simple English Wikipedia consists of more than 10,000 articles. It is very useful if your English is poor or average. The Simple English Wikipedia avoids difficult words and uses an overall simpler language, that anybody with a superficial knowledge of English can understand.
The only downside is that simpler language and less difficult words also contain less meaning. The articles also tend to be shorter than those of the English Wikipedia. For example, the introductory text (lead) of Epicurus in the Simple English Wikipedia says “Epicurus […] was an ancient Greek philosopher, and the founder of a school of philosophy called Epicureanism.” The English Wikipedia has two paragraphs instead! So, if you need more information, try the English Wikipedia, too, by clicking on the link “English” under languages on the left.
Nevertheless I think the Simple English Wikipedia is a good thing for beginner, because you can concentrate on the information without seeing too many words that you have to look up. And when your English gets better, you can then use the normal Wikipedia.

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Episode #019, 12.02.2012: ridiculous (ridunculous, redonkulous)

Sound: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ridiculous
ridiculous, adjective. Deserving to be laughed at, absurd, unreasonable.
In a sentence: “This clown is ridiculous.”
By the way, a synonym is goofy, which means silly. Quite appropriately, the silly Walt Disney cartoon character was named Goofy.
In order to find an even stronger word than ridiculous, (young) people have termed the words ridunculous and redonkulous. Those words are quite simply, just even more ridiculous versions of the word ridiculous. Ridunculous can also be understood as a blend of redundant and ridiculous.

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Episode #018, 05.02.2012: bangarang

bangarang (from the urban dictionary):

1. interjection. Battle cry of the Lost Boys in the movie Hook.
   This is probably the most known meaning of the word, even though it is somehow fictitious. However, because of the movie, more people use it. Now it serves also as a name for a band and a series of parties. Originally, it meant:
2. noun. Jamaican slang defined as a hubbub, uproar, disorder, or disturbance.
   …which is exactly what the boys in Never Land do, when they go to war. Did you notice the word hubbub? It is defined as confused din (i.e. loud noise); disturbance, riot and: confused yelling of war-cry.
3. General exclamation meant to signify approval or amazement.
   This is another way the Lost Boys use the word. It can also be used instead of “cheers!” when raising glasses or as an adjective as in “You look bangarang!”

Bang is of course the sound of a blow, a gun going off. Bangarang, therefore, sounds very violent, sudden, which fits the meaning of the word.

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