Improve Your Communication Skills
The Contronym – a Word that Bends Over Backwards
I expect most of you have heard of antonyms, and even if you haven’t heard the word, you know them and use them every day. Antonyms are words that mean the opposite. For example, hot is the antonym of cold, rich is the antonym of poor.
But what happens when we have a word that doesn’t have another antonym – it is the antonym of itself?! You are probably wondering what on earth that could mean. Well, there are some words that have two meanings which are the opposite of each other. This makes the word its own antonym. Words like this are known as contronyms.
LEFT
Left and Left Behind
One very common one that we shall start with is a word that you use all the time without ever thinking about it being a contronym. This is left, which can mean “gone, departed” or “still there, remaining” . If you have gone, then you have left, but if everyone else except you has gone, then you are left!
Connection Infection – Poetry by Kids
News scrolling on a bright screen
Eyes scanning down a magazine
Locked up in a daydream
Obsessed by the latest Instagram post I’ve seen
I’m infected with a virus
That I can’t get out of my head
It’s got me going crazy
At least; that’s what the comments said
Hairstyles and creations
‘Urgent’ messages from relations
The latest trends and how to cook
Living life by an electronic book
I’m infected with a bug
That’s connected to my hands
That’s left me solitary
Unware of and blind to the past
We used to talk face to face
Of politics, clothes and space
But then you were replaced
By a cruel-minded interface
My alarm’s a notification
I’m dictated by cold metal parts
My day scheduled on reaching the leader boards
The social media bug has infected my heart
Istanbul – Through the Eyes of 13 Year Old Maya
Maya is 13 years old, and lives with her family in Bangalore, India. She wants to tell us a bit about Istanbul, and show us the parts of the city that she loves.
Warning – this article may make you want to jump on a plane to Turkey!
A Controlling Friendship – A Bully By Another Name
Have you ever had a friend who made you feel bad? Maybe your friend was mean to you sometimes, and confused you. Or she (or he) would ignore you because you had done something wrong.
We all fall out with our friends on occasion, even us adults. It is a normal part of life.
When the friendship is one-sided then it is a different story. Then we might say it is a ‘controlling friendship’.
How to Jump into Politics
