Skip to content
A word or 2 Logo 2021
Professional Writing Services
  • Home
  • About us
  • Services
    • Editing
    • Blogging
    • Copywriting
    • Research articles
    • Content strategy
    • Email marketing
    • Conference reporting
  • Blog
  • Clients
  • Portfolio
  • Testimonials
  • Rates
  • Home
  • About us
  • Services
    • Editing
    • Blogging
    • Copywriting
    • Research articles
    • Content strategy
    • Email marketing
    • Conference reporting
  • Blog
  • Clients
  • Portfolio
  • Testimonials
  • Rates

Write better English

  1. Home/
  2. Blog/
  3. Write better English/
  4. Page 5
Photo: Iza Grek

Hard to call someone a horse’s ass: idiom usage

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:April 15, 2021

Having said good-bye to the last of the Easter holiday makers in Durban, a coastal town in South Africa, we started to make our way home on Monday. On the…

Read MoreHard to call someone a horse’s ass: idiom usage
Read more about the article See the scissors of the sub-editor
Content is king

See the scissors of the sub-editor

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:March 31, 2021

Where cash was once king, no-one wants to transact with hard currency, banks charge a fortune for handling the dirty lucre and it’s certainly not safe to be walking around…

Read MoreSee the scissors of the sub-editor
Africa rising
Kids in Africa enjoying their freedom

Trends for 2021 and beyond

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:March 5, 2021

With the year, two and a bit months underway, there’s been enough time to reflect on trends that will shape the decade ahead. I’ve put my thoughts together and come…

Read MoreTrends for 2021 and beyond
A stonking good word

A stonking good word

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:February 16, 2021

Every now and then, a word comes a long that makes me prick up my ears and say, 'that's a good one'. Stonking is such a word. There’s so much…

Read MoreA stonking good word
Groundhog idiom
Groundhog test the weather

Groundhog Day: origin of idioms

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:January 15, 2021

From Ricky Gervais’ production of “Afterlife” (Netflix) to a number of recent articles in the press, the term groundhog day, seems to be popping up everywhere. Not sure what it…

Read MoreGroundhog Day: origin of idioms
content marketing strategy

Content marketing needs to be part of your marketing strategy

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:December 9, 2020

Content marketing needs to be part of your marketing strategy. Here’s why. It’s all about the traffic Content marketing helps businesses prepare and plan for reliable and cost-effective sources of…

Read MoreContent marketing needs to be part of your marketing strategy
Read more about the article Is there a smoking gun in the Zondo Commission? idiom origin
Smoking gun as only evidence of crime

Is there a smoking gun in the Zondo Commission? idiom origin

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:November 26, 2020

While the Zondo Commission takes a deep dive into state capture, many South Africans may hope it finds the "smoking gun". And if you are South African you will know…

Read MoreIs there a smoking gun in the Zondo Commission? idiom origin
Idioms from other languages
Are these your monkeys?

Not my circus, not my monkeys. Idiom usage

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:November 17, 2020

Not my circus. Not my monkeys. I did a double take. I was having coffee with my Irish friend Paul and he was throwing this phrase around throughout our conversation.…

Read MoreNot my circus, not my monkeys. Idiom usage
Read more about the article Black swan, a label for COVID-19
Black swan as a metaphor for unprecedented events

Black swan, a label for COVID-19

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:October 20, 2020

In much of my research for clients in the past couple of months I have often seen the term black swan. As I know swans to be white in most…

Read MoreBlack swan, a label for COVID-19
Standing on shoulders of giants

On the shoulders of giants: idiom usage

  • Post author:Iza Grek
  • Post published:September 8, 2020

Although English is widely spoken, it’s seldom spoken well. And nowhere is this more true than in the use of idioms. People who speak English as a first language are…

Read MoreOn the shoulders of giants: idiom usage
  • Go to the previous page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • …
  • 13
  • Go to the next page

Iza Grek

Iza is an award-winning journalist. She has worked in advertising and communications for more than 20 years. A word or 2 has been in operation since October 2014 and continues to thrive, offering customers writing and editing services across the board from blogs to speeches and e-books.

Writing Services

  • Editing
  • Blogging
  • Copywriting
  • Research articles
  • Content strategy
  • Email marketing
  • Conference reporting

Latest Posts

  • Tail ’em, Nail ’em, Jail ’em – not so fast in our (cry) beloved country
    November 13, 2025/
    0 Comments
  • ****Madlanga Commission is the idiomatic cat among the pigeons***
    ****Madlanga Commission is the idiomatic cat among the pigeons***
    November 6, 2025/
    0 Comments
  • How a productivity slump led to a boost in vocabulary
    How a productivity slump led to a boost in vocabulary
    November 4, 2025/
    0 Comments
  • How a productivity slump led to a boost in vocabulary
    November 4, 2025/
    0 Comments
  • How a random search led me to International Mole Day
    How a random search led me to International Mole Day
    October 23, 2025/
    0 Comments

Blog Categories

Blog Archives

A Word or 2 offers professional writing and editing services

Writing Services

  • Editing
  • Blogging
  • Copywriting
  • Research articles
  • Content strategy
  • Email marketing
  • Conference reporting

Get in touch

Email: iza@awordor2.co.za

Phone: +27 728 736 061

  • Opens in a new tab
© Copyright 2025. All content is copyright of A word or 2. Website Greenhouse Creative
Verified by MonsterInsights