Cinderella – the Roald Dahl version – vocabulary and notes
The word sappy – American informal adjective – describes something that is extremely emotional in an embarrassing way. The UK English for this is soppy – an informal adjective conveying disapproval about the excessive showing or feeling of emotions such as love or sympathy, rather than being reasonable or practical:eg a book with a soppy ending
That’s one of the soppiest songs I’ve ever heard!
She’s really soppy about her cats.
Mind (you) – used when you want to make what you have just said sound less strong:eg I’m really badly paid – mind you, everyone is, in this sort of job.
John’s very indecisive – mind (you), Alice is no better!
slimy – adj – covered in slime
Get me to the Ball! See how rude this is – not at all the tone conventional fairytale princesses adopt. This is part of the completely different ‘take’ on a traditional story. We would call a child who spoke like this a brat – an INFORMAL DISAPPROVING term for a child who behaves badly
pantyhose – American for UK women’s thin nylon tights. This is old-fashioned for UK speakers
fall for 1) somebody / 2) something – informal phrasal verb – 1) suddenly have strong romantic feelings about someone; 2) be tricked into believing something that is not true
gulp – 1) eat or drink food or liquid quickly by swallowing it in large amounts, or 2) to make a swallowing movement because of fear, surprise or excitement or 3) breathe in a large amount of air very quickly
the plot grows thicker – the plot becomes more complicated – we could also say ‘the plot thickens‘
charge – INFORMAL hurry from one place to another:
eg She’s just charged into the office shouting about the photocopier not working.
I’ve been charging about/around all day and I’m exhausted.
back out of sth – to withdraw from some form of commitment eg She offered to give me a life, but then backed out of it.
poke your head round a door – put your head round a door / look behind a door
bizz = business – invented for the rythym
slut – OFFENSIVE – careful! – a slovenly or promiscuous woman