250,000 word combinations and 9,000 noun, verb, and adjective collocations 75,000 examples showing how collocations are used 25 usage notes on collocations shared by words such as seasons, currencies, and language Pop-up definition and spoken pronunciation for every word in the dictionary on the CD-ROM Thousands of interactive exercises and activities on the CD-ROM Genie look-up on the CD-ROM finds the words that collocate as you write

700,000 Collocations help increase spoken and written fluency, ideal for Intermediate - Advanced level students. All collocations illustrated with corpus examples Notes on formality and grammar ensure that you produce natural and accurate English every time Warning notes to highlight wrong collocations that are frequently used by learners of English Covers British and American English Integrated thesaurus demonstrating how closely related synonyms are differentiated through collocation Error notes for commonly misused collocations NEW Academic Collocations List - the most frequent collocations used in academic English Inclusion of the Academic Collocations List - the most frequent 2500 collocations from academic texts. Online access via a PIN number in the print dictionary: get the full contents of the print dictionary online plus additional collocations and thesaurus entries interactive exercises to practise collocations

A comprehensive guide to the terms, concepts, and theories of pragmatics - the study of language in use - from the traditional to the most recent, showing how they originated and how they are used. A vital resource for students and researchers in linguistics, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and computational linguistics.

Did you know that 'flavour of the month' originated in a marketing campaign in American ice-cream parlours in the 1940s, when a particular flavour would be specially promoted for a month at a time? And did you know that 'off the cuff' refers to the rather messy practice of writing impromptu notes on one's shirt cuff before speaking in public? These and many more idioms are explained and put into context in this second edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Idioms. This vastly entertaining dictionary takes a fresh look at the idiomatic phrases and sayings that make English such a rich and intriguing language. A major new edition, it contains entries for over 5000 idioms, including 350 new entries and over 500 new quotations. The text has been updated to include many new idioms using the findings of the Oxford English Reading Programme, the biggest language research programme in the world. The entries are supported by a wealth of illustrative quotations from a wide range of sources and periods. For example: 'Rowling has not been asleep at the wheel in the three years since the last Potter novel, and I am pleased to report that she has not confused sheer length with inspiration.' - Guardian, 2003. 'I made the speech of a lifetime. I had them tearing up the seats and rolling in the aisles.' - P.G. Woodhouse, 1940. Many entries include boxed features which give more detailed background on the idiom in question. For example, did you know that 'taken aback' was adopted from nautical terminology, and described a ship unable to move forward because of a strong headwind pressing its sails back against the mast? The text has been entirely redesigned so that it is both elegant and easy to use. Anyone interested in the quirky side of the English language will have hours of fun browsing through this fascinating and informative volume.