Ash is the gray or black powder that remains after a fire and the color that resembles it as well. When volcanos erupt, they throw out pulverized lava and that is also ash. Ashes, always in the plural, are the remains or ruins of something destroyed, usually used figuratively, and also, literally, the mortal remains of a cremated body. Unrelatedly, an ash is any of various trees of…
To cop means ‘to seize’ or ‘get’ and, always followed by out, it means ‘to avoid a responsibility’ or ‘to back out of a promise.” Unrelatedly, you might have heard that cop is an informal word for a police officer and, in this sense, the word is sometimes used figuratively about a person who wants to regulate an activity or behavior. In UK slang, often in the expression “a fair cop,” it means capture and, always in the negative…
To linger means ‘to stay in a place longer than expected’ and also, sometimes followed by on, ‘to remain alive or in existence, but gradually dying or losing strength.’ If you linger over or on something, it means that you take your time over enjoying it or contemplating it. To delay something or to…
You probably know that a boot is a strong, heavy shoe or a rubber shoe, mostly used when it rains, that also covers part of the leg. In US English, a boot is also a metal device attached to the wheel of car to keep it from moving (in UK English, this is called a wheel clamp). In UK English, the boot is the…
To spill means to let something fall accidentally from a container, especially if it is liquid, or to scatter something over a surface. Mainly in the UK, to spill is also to cause to fall from a horse or vehicle. If something flows strongly or in great quantities, that’s also to spill. Figuratively, spill can also mean…
To nap means ‘to sleep for a short period of time,’ especially during the daytime. Figuratively, it means ‘to be off your guard.’ As a noun, a nap is a short period of sleep. Unrelatedly, a nap is the raised fuzzy end of fibers on the surface of cloth and the verb to nap means ‘to raise the nap.’ Nap is also used as a shortened version of…