Friday 4 June 2010

Vocabulary: The Other F-words



Don't be scared by the title. You know I am not the type of teacher who will teach how people use the "F-word". Then why do I use that title? Well, if you are my ex-students, you may recall that I have mentioned about the odd coincidental relations between certain "F" starting words with "finger", "movements" or "finger movements"


I mentioned that in my class, but I have never put down a list of vocabulary and I just pull words out from my brain, so I thought, since there is such an odd news from the Standard with one of the f-words as title, might as well starting putting this vocabulary list together today. 

Whew! Took me 4 hours to write this entry. Hope you can learn something today. 

Fingers crossed!



"Fingers crossed" for Good luck

"Fingers crossed" for nullifying promises
Image from Zazzle.com
fatfinger
Image from Russell Heimlich
fiddle
Image from Reuters


fidget
Image from Starmony
file (nails)
Image from Mont Bleu Design
finger 
Image from modestosurgery
finger wag
Image from Zero Percent Chance
flash
Image from Illustrated Photography
flatten (a dough)
Image from EgglessCooking
flick (the hair)
Image from
flicker (eyelid)
Image from i.ehow
flip (a phone)
Image from MultiCellPhone

fondle (a woman)
Image from GodHaven





Breast-fondling secretary guilty


Patsy Moy Friday, June 04, 2010


A former secretary at Henderson Land has been convicted of indecently assaulting a female colleague by groping her breasts inside an office washroom.


Chung Sau-kuen, 33, was found guilty at Eastern Magistrates' Court yesterday of two counts of indecent assault.
Chung had denied the charges.

Magistrate Johnny Chan Jong- herng ruled Chung's behavior was indecent by the moral standards of Hong Kong people.

He said the accused was not justified in poking and fondling another woman's breasts simply because she thought they were friends.

Chung should have understood her behavior was not the same as touching a colleague's waist and hand like she would do in the office.

The assaults occurred inside a washroom at Two IFC on two separate occasions last year.

The victim, who worked as a receptionist in the same building, testified that Chung suddenly grabbed her breasts inside the washroom one night after work.

She said she didn't take any action over the initial assault because she wanted to avoid making enemies and causing embarrassment at work.

Then on November 4, also inside the washroom, Chung commented that the victim's clothes were "very sexy," the court was told.

Chung said to the victim: "Your breasts do not look fake" before poking them.

The victim then decided to lodge a complaint with her supervisor who, however, described it as a "personal matter," and would not take further action.

The victim then told her boyfriend, and filed a police report.

In mitigation, the defense lawyer said Chung had left her job of 12 years after her case was widely reported by the media.

Chung got married earlier this year.

She was allowed bail pending sentence on June 17.



Vocabulary:
nullify -- (vb) [T] to cause something to have no value or effect

fatfinger -- (vb)[T] informal to press the wrong button by accident when you are using a computer keyboard 
fiddle -- (vb)

  1. [T] formal to act dishonestly in order to get something for yourself, or to change something dishonestly, especially to your advantage
  2. [I] to move things about or touch things with no particular purpose
  3. [I] informal to play the violin

fidget -- (vb)[I] to make continuous small movements which annoy other people
file -- (vb)[I + adv or prep T] to use a file in order to make an object smooth or to change its shape
finger -- (vb)[T] to touch or feel something with your fingers
finger wag -- please see Business Vocabulary: The Cogs -- Boss Group
flash -- (vb)

  1. [T] to show something for a short time
  2. [I or T] informal If someone flashes, they show their sexual organs in public
  3. [I + adv or prep T] to move very fast
  4. [I or T] to shine brightly and suddenly, or to make something shine in this way
  5. [I] literary If someone's eyes flash, they look bright because of the anger or excitement the person is feeling.

flatten -- please see Vocabulary: Suffix "-en"
flick -- (vb) [I or adv or prep T] to move or hit something with a short sudden movement
flicker -- (vb)[I or T] to appear for a short time or to make a sudden movement
flip -- (vb)[I or T usually + adv or prep] If you flip something, you turn it over quickly one or more times, and if something flips, it turns over quickly
fondle-- (vb)[T] to touch gently and in a loving way, or to touch in a sexual way


grope -- (vb)

  1. [I or T]  to feel with your hands, especially in order to find or move towards something when you cannot see easily
  2. [T] informal to touch someone's body in order to get sexual pleasure, usually when the person does not want you to do this

indecent assault -- (n) [C or U] UK LEGAL an attack on someone which usually involves sexual actions but not rape (= forced sex)
accuse -- (vb)[T] to say that someone has done something morally wrong, illegal or unkind
justify -- (vb) [T] to give or to be a good reason for
poke -- (vb) [T] to push a finger or other pointed object quickly into someone or something
testify -- (vb) [I or T] to speak seriously about something, especially in a court of law; to give or provide proof
grab -- (vb) [I or T] to take hold of something or someone suddenly and roughly




Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossed_fingers
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/nullify


http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=99013&sid=28472349&con_type=1&d_str=20100604&fc=8


http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fat-finger-syndrome
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fiddle_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fiddle_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fiddle_3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fidget_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/finger_2
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/05/business-vocabulary-cogs-boss-group.html
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2009/06/vocabulary-suffix-en.html
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/flash_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/flash_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/flash_3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/flatten_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/flick_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/flicker_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/flip_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fondle

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/grope_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/indecent-assault
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/accuse
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/justify
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/poke_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/testify
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/grab_1