6. The UK’s Third Heatwave

That was the new story. Let’s look at the vocabulary that I highlighted at the beginning in more detail.

Vocabulary item one was hit highs of, a phrase that is alliterative actually: hit highs – two /h/ sounds there.

And it’s a collocation and it means that temperatures reached a very high level or, in other contexts, it could mean that profits, for example, reached very high levels.

So an example sentence could be, London hit highs of 33 degrees last week, and it means that it reached that high temperature.

You can also say that the temperatures hit record highs, and this means that they were a higher temperature than ever before.

And of course, we see a lot of that these days, not just in the UK but abroad, I know.

You can also say hit record lows, if the temperature was the lowest ever recorded.

By the way, I hear a pronunciation mistake with the word climate. I hear it quite often. I think people want to pronounce it /ˈklaɪ.meɪt/ or something similar because of the A-T-E at the end, but we pronounce it with a schwa, which is /ə/. So the second syllable has a schwa: /ət/, /ˈklaɪ.mət/.

I actually recommend that, as you’re learning English, you check the pronunciation of words, even if you’re quite confident you’re right to pronounce it a certain way, because English pronunciation is crazy and lacking in logic most of the time.

I would recommend you look in a dictionary, for example, the Cambridge online dictionary, which is free and includes phonetic transcriptions of the words.

So you will see there, for example, /ˈklaɪ.mət/ (climate) with that schwa sound, and then you can write it down in your vocabulary notes with the pronunciation next to it.

Vocabulary item two was close, which is an adjective that means very hot and humid, making you sweat a lot.

The weather in England is very close when it gets hot. I know that compared to many countries around the world, it doesn’t get very hot here, so you probably think we’re crazy for it to be news that it got to 33 degrees, that’s just every day in the summer where you live!

Don’t worry, I know, and it annoys me when British people complain about the hot weather because I love it and I can’t get enough.

But the truth is that in the UK when it’s hot, it does get very, very close, whereas where my family are from, for example, in Hungary, it gets hotter and for longer, but it’s not as close – it’s not as humid. So I don’t think you feel it as much.

So this is a British English term and it doesn’t mean near, of course, close in this context. It’s used to describe heavy, sticky air.

So an example would be, It was so close yesterday, I couldn’t sleep.

Now, the pronunciation tip for this is to be careful to pronounce the last consonant sound as /s/, close.

Now, you may think, “Of course – it has an S.” But be careful because when we mean near or hot and humid, it’s close with an S sound, but there is a word that spelt exactly the same, but we finish it in a /z/, in a Z sound: close. So what’s that word then? It’s spelt exactly the same – C-L-O-S-E – but it means to shut, a door, for example: close the door.

And when we use it as a verb in that way, it’s got the Z sound: close. Whereas here as an adjective, it’s close with an S.

So again, as an adjective or in fact an adverb: close. As a verb, close.

Right, vocabulary item three was heatstroke, combined with two different verbs: get heatstroke or suffer from heatstroke.

So what’s the difference? Suffer from heatstroke is a higher register and it’s more general. So when people don’t drink enough and they sit in the strong sunshine, they can suffer from heatstroke, for example.

Or you can say they get heatstroke, but that would be more informal. And if you’re talking to your friends or talking informally, you would usually say, I got heatstroke. You wouldn’t say I was suffering from heatstroke or I suffered from heatstroke. It sounds too formal.

Suffer from something is used more in a medical context or a journalistic context.

Heatstroke, what is it? Well, it’s a serious illness caused by too much heat and not enough water.

And if you get heatstroke, you can be admitted to hospital. So you can say, I was admitted to hospital for heatstroke.

That’s quite formal, but you can say that. To be admitted to hospital for something.

Hot is of course an adjective. Hot, H-O-T. Heat, H-E-A-T, is the noun.

So what’s the verb? To heat. It’s spelt the same as the noun, H-E-A-T. And it’s often used with up as a phrasal verb: heat up. So for example, It’s really heating up out there. Or if you’re talking about food, you can say, I always heat up my leftovers in the microwave. I heat up my leftovers.

And how about heated? This is an adjective and it has a different meaning. Heated, H-E-A-T-E-D. This collocates with argument – a heated argument-  and with debate – a heated debate.

So what does it mean if you think of its basic meaning of being hot? A heated argument. This is an intense argument.

So a heated argument or debate is full of emotion or intensity. It’s usually quick to escalate. And it involves shouting frustration or raised voices.

So, if you like, the temperature of the argument or the debate is very high, so it’s heated.

Vocabulary item four was sweltering. S-W-E-L-T-E-R-I-N-G. and this is an adjective to mean very, very hot, so hot that you feel like you are melting.

For example, We walked through the sweltering streets of the city.

This is neutral and can be used in various contexts.

Let’s look at some useful synonyms. So what about stifling, S-T-I-F-L-I-N-G. This is when it’s very hot, but there’s also no movement of air.

You can also say it’s suffocating, which is similar because it means you can’t breathe and it’s very hot. This heat is suffocating.

A very common way of describing hot weather is to say It’s boiling. Now, of course, this is related to the verb to boil, which is what water does at a hundred degrees. And it’s therefore an exaggerated term because I’m hoping it would never be a hundred degrees, but we use it to mean it’s very, very hot. It’s boiling.

Another word: scorching. S-C-O-R-C-H-I-N-G. This comes from the verb to scorch, which means to be burnt slightly or damaged by excessive heat.

For example, We try to avoid the scorching midday temperatures.

So there you go. Some other ways to say very hot that are used all the time in British English.

And the last piece of vocabulary this week was balmy, which is B-A-L-M-Y. And it’s an adjective that is positive for a change. A lot of these are negative, aren’t they? And it means pleasantly warm, usually in the evening. So I’ve never heard this used to talk about the daytime. You can, in theory. It’s used in practice to describe a pleasantly warm evening.

For example, and I’m talking personally now, I love balmy evenings when you can sit outside, eat outside.

Or what’s a more formal way of saying eat outside? A very posh, sophisticated way of saying it: to dine al fresco. And thanks to the Italian language there for that.

But apparently, in Italian, al fresco – is that the right pronunciation? – is slang for in prison because prisons were historically cold and damp.

Italians. is this true? Let me know in the comments.

Anyway, when it’s balmy, you can eat outside or dine alfresco, and I love it. It doesn’t happen very often in the uk, although slightly more often these days, as we’ve heard today.

Now, what’s the important pronunciation tip I promised to give you about this word?

As I said, the word is spelt B-A-L-M-Y, but we don’t pronounce the L at all. /ˈbɑː.mi/, not baLmy. /ˈbɑː.mi/. Balmy. There’s no L in the pronunciation.

What are some other words with a silent L and always before a consonant, just before a consonant?

Well, we have should, could, would, don’t we? There’s no L sound in there, although it’s in the spelling.

Another very common word with a silent L: /hɑːf/, not haLf. /hɑːf/.

Talk… walk.

And then a very common one to pronounce incorrectly: salmon. /ˈsæm.ən/, not saLmon. /ˈsæm.ən/, salmon.

So there you go. My useful pronunciation tip of the day.