Fine Distinctions & Subtle Shades of Meaning 📖 (with Eli Burnstein) [960]

Description

A particularly useful and interesting episode for you today - a conversation about English words which are very similar, but crucially, not the same. My guest Eli Burnstein is the author of “Dictionary of Fine Distinctions” - a book which aims to bring clarity to English words. Expect a funny discussion about subtle shades of meaning between words like poison & venom, accuracy & precision, envy & jealousy and many others. Eli is Canadian, now living in London and so he also shares some key features of Canadian English.  📄 Get the PDF transcript https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Fine-Distinctions-Subtle-Shades-of-Meaning-with-Eli-Burnstein-960.pdf 🔗 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/11/03/fine-distinctions-subtle-shades-of-meaning-with-eli-burnstein-960/ 🏆 LEP Premium https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium 📗 Get the book in the UK https://www.waterstones.com/book/dictionary-of-fine-distinctions/eli-burnstein/9781805227229 📘 Buy the book from Profile Books https://profilebooks.com/work/dictionary-of-fine-distinctions/ 📙 Also available on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dictionary-Fine-Distinctions-Nuances-Niceties/dp/180522722X/ 🧔‍♂️ https://www.eliburnstein.com/ 0:00:00 Introduction 0:05:47 Conversation starts / A Canadian in England 0:06:46 Canadian Accent 0:10:05 Dictionary of Fine Distinctions 0:12:30 English has a vast vocabulary + the story of English 0:21:38 Emoji vs Emoticon 0:30:37 Great Britain vs The United Kingdom 0:37:31 Canadian vs American vs USA vs North American 0:41:42 Envy vs Jealousy 0:48:52 Flat white vs Latte vs Cappuccino vs Cortado vs Macchiato 1:00:33 Assume vs Presume 1:06:21 Accuracy vs Precision 1:11:04 JPEG vs PNG 1:15:53 "gif" 1:18:24 Pronunciation vs Enunciation 1:23:03 Poisonous vs Venomous 1:32:03 Canadian English - distinctive features 1:54:07 Episode Ending