by Alan Townend34. Word story: Weather
The trouble with English is that there are so many words that sound
exactly alike but have no connection with each other whatsoever. A
case in point is «weather» which often gets muddled up with
whether. In fact the only way to differentiate between them when
speaking is to aspirate the first aitch with emphasis. But whether it's
whether or «weather«, the topic of this little story is the one to do
with the climate — «weather». If you live in the UK and your English
vocabulary is limited, you can always fall back on expressions like
these: «Lovely, isn't it? « — «Couldn't be better, could it?» — «What
a pleasant change!» — «Makes a difference, doesn't it?» Yes, they all
refer to the weather. Apart from polite conversation the word
«weather» also appears in several expressions. If you're feeling
under the weather, you're not feeling very well. If you «make heavy
weather of something», you're making things more difficult than they
need to be. Someone gives you a job to do which would normally
take about half an hour and if you are still doing it 3 hours later,
then that's «making heavy weather of it». If a business is having
financial problems but somehow manages to survive and be back in
credit, it is said to «weather the storm». If you «keep a weather eye
open», you are being very careful to see there's no trouble. The
burglar or thief «keeps a weather eye open» making sure there are
no police around. You may think you have a good friend but you only
know how loyal they are when you want their help in a crisis. If they
turn away when you need them most, we call them «fair weather
friends». I don't think I've got anything more to say really. Oh, yes
I've just looked out of the window and it's turned out nice again —
the «weather» I mean.