It may be the beginning of March but in England the snow is coming down heavily! My parents have sent me photos of enormous icicles* and the snow. So, even though it is officially almost Spring I thought I would tell you some snow and ice related vocabulary, idioms and a listening activity with a song!

• Snow related vocabulary
• 2 snow/ice idioms
• Listening practice with Snow Patrol ❄️

Snow related vocabulary

Snow

• Snowflake ❄️ the individual piece of snow.
• to snow = the verb.
• snowy = adjective to describe with snow
• blizzard = a storm with snow and wind
• sleet = snow mixed with rain
• slush = the snow on the ground which has melted a bit and gets mixed with the dirt.

Ice

• To freeze = when water is at 0 degrees and turns hard.
• Icy = adjective, with ice.
• Hailstone = like snow but with balls of ice, frozen water.
• icicle = hanging frozen columns of ice.
• black ice = ice on the ground which is impossible to see. Very dangerous on roads, for drivers.
• slippy (informal) / slippery  = adjectives, for when the ground has ice or water and our feet move on their own.

The ground is very slippy/ slippery here!

2 Idioms – snow and ice

These idioms mention snow and ice but we use them in contexts which are totally unrelated to the weather.

To be snowed under

To be on thin ice

Listening practice with Snow Patrol

This song became very popular when it was used in the series Grey’s Anatomy.

Listen to the song and try to write down the words missing in the gaps.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

I’ll post the answers next week or if you can’t wait to check your answers you can go to YouTube and search for Snow Patrol, Chasing cars with lyrics.

Watch the weather reports in English this week and see if you hear any of the words used to describe snow or ice.

Have a great week!

Kim