My Kingdom for a Bicycle Lane – Extension vocabulary notes

Vocabulary notes – extension

call on⁷ – indicates that s.o. has demanded that some action be taken
the thick¹⁴ of sth – means right in the middle of sth, often implying sth is a challenge. Eg She’s right in the thick of exams at the moment. We’re in the thick of moving house.
Woe¹⁵ is poetic / literary, meaning originally great sorrow or distress, which it can still mean.
It is usually used humorously nowadays – eg Woe betide anyone who tries to stop me!! (=Just don’t even think about trying to stop me!)

Woe is me! = Oh dear!