Informal English Expressions

noun a portion or share of something, especially money or food distributed to those in need

verb to distribute in small portions or shares

• The government provides financial assistance to those in need through the dole.
• I heard she's been living off the dole for a while now.
• He's always trying to find ways to dodge the dole and make some quick cash.
• She felt like she was constantly on the dole of other people's generosity.

verb to spend time in a place without any specific purpose or to wait around

adverb in a casual or relaxed manner

• Please do not hang about in the hallway, it is meant for passing through.
• Hey, hang about for a minute, I have something to tell you.
• Let's hang about at the park and chill for a bit.
• I can't just hang about waiting for things to happen, I need to take action.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action or state of being

adverb a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence

• The new security system will knock ten bells out of the old one in terms of efficiency.
• My new gaming console can knock ten bells out of your old one.
• I heard that boxer can knock ten bells out of anyone who challenges him.
• The storm last night knocked ten bells out of the power grid, causing widespread outages.

noun a state of nervousness or anxiety

• The patient complained of collywobbles and nausea after taking the new medication.
• I always get collywobbles before a big presentation.
• I had such bad collywobbles before the exam, I thought I was going to be sick.
• The thought of public speaking gives me collywobbles.