“Laughter is the best medicine”

Have you ever been in a foul mood and then for some strange reason something makes you burst out laughing and what was making you grumpy just seems to pale into insignificance?

So much good comes from laughing and smiling. Granted, some people don’t do it as much as they should, but if they ever read this newsletter, I think they will realise that it is such a good thing to do!

Did you know that the more we smile the better? Apparently, those who smile more, live longer and better lives.

Here are some fun facts about smiling:

-       Women generally smile more than men

-       Babies are born with the ability to smile

-       Smiling is a universal sign of happiness

-       Smiles are contagious

-       It takes between 5-53 muscles to smile

-       It boosts the immune system

-       Smiling can reduce stress

There is nothing better than being greeted with a genuine smile it makes you feel accepted and welcome.

But did you know we have 19 different ways of smiling BUT only 6 are to show happiness? That’s crazy, isn’t it? Other types of smiles are related to lying, embarrassment or discomfort, etc.

Having said that, when we do laugh and smile and it’s genuine, we don’t even think about it.

VOCABULARY

Foul mood - a really, really bad state of mind - feeling really angry/grumpy

Burst out laughing - to suddenly start laughing loudly

Grumpy -bad-tempered/irritable

pale into insignificance - to become much less important / not as bad or as serious as you thought.

Granted (adverb) - admittedly (agreeing something is true)

Boost - to improve or increase something

Greet - to welcome someone / acknowledge someone’s arrival

Today, I’m not going to go into the technicalities of each smile from a psychological point of view, but I do want to teach you how to talk about some of the different ways of smiling and related facial expressions because it is something that is not often taught.

There is really a lot of vocabulary and expressions on this topic and I can’t possibly include it all in one newsletter (hence part 1 in the title...at some stage there will be a part 2!)

But here are some important words for now:

Ways of smiling:

Grin (from ear to ear) - (vb. / noun) - a big smile showing the teeth

Smirk (vb. / noun) - To smile in a way that expresses satisfaction or knowing something that other people don’t.

Wry smile (n.)- a smile that shows you find a bad situation funny

Beam (vb/ n) - a big, genuine smile.

Ways of laughing:

To giggle - to laugh in a quiet way. Very often it is difficult to stop and very contagious!

To chuckle - to laugh quietly because you are thinking of something funny

To snigger (UK) Snicker (US)- to laugh in an unkind way at something that isn’t supposed to be funny.

To chortle - A loud laugh indicating pleasure or amusement

To cackle - to laugh loudly in a high-pitched voice (witch -style)

To roar / to howl/ to shriek with laughter - to laugh loudly

COMMON MISTAKES:

FUN VS. FUNNY

This is a really common one. Students confuse and misuse these two words.

FUNNY doesn’t mean enjoyable, it means that something makes you want to laugh!

The comedy film I saw was funny.

He’s a really funny man.

FUN means that you have a good time.

Learning English is fun!

Having fun is really important! Enjoy those precious moments.

COMPARE:

Jane is a really funny girl - (She jokes and is comical - she makes me laugh)

Jane is fun! I love going out with her. (I have a good time when I go out with her. Jane is not boring. I don’t get bored when I am with her.)

By the way…

💡Did you know that we use ‘funny’ to also mean ‘strange, odd, weird, surprising, or unexpected? You can usually tell the meaning by the context.

She’s a funny woman. She never really likes to be with others.

Something funny happened the other day, my keys just disappeared!

A quick note…

From next week, the weekly edition of the newsletter with the audio will be for paying subscribers only. If you’d like to subscribe for 12 months it will cost you less than the price of a coffee per week!

Those of you who decide not to become a paying subscriber will still receive the occasional newsletter for free.

That’s all for this week, folks!

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