Vocabulary Course: Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Quiz: Do you know how to complete the ancient but still popular nursery rhyme, 'Rain, rain, go away'? 

Answer at the bottom of the post... 

Guess what? It's raining again in Chicago. I sound like a broken record this spring. However, today it is not really raining, but more like something people in London call mizzle, which is somewhere between mist and drizzle. It's the type of rain that you don't really need an umbrella for if you are running from building to building, but beware if you are outside for any extended length of time. One would end up soaked to the bone. Anyways, the weatherman says it is supposed to clear up by mid-afternoon, so maybe I can keep my fingers crossed and by the time I am finished writing, a beautiful rainbow will come out, the birds will sing, the flowers will bloom, and it will be sunny and 70F. I'm not holding my breath, but it is a nice fantasy to have, right?

Did you understand all of the words for rain that I used in the previous paragraph? Being able to describe rain is very important, especially if you are going to visit or live in the northern States, Canada, or of course, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Let's learn all about the wet stuff!

Essential Vocabulary for Rain

Terms for Light Rain: (Using an Umbrella is debatable...)

to spit (v) ~ literally like spitting from your mouth. It means that a few drops of rain will fall, then start, then stop, then start...If you were at a picnic, you would see a few drops of rain fall on the tablecloth or blanket, in which you would then panic and start to cover all the food up. Then you would look up at the sky when it immediately stops. By the time you think to yourself, "Phew, that was close!" you only then realize that once again, it has started to spit more...repeat this process repeatedly until it either a) stops raining for good, or 2) begins to do something 'wetter' (see below)...

sprinkling (ger)/to sprinkle (v) ~  sort of like spitting but ever so slightly heavier. Maybe the drops are a big bigger in diameter or maybe there are more of them. However, the main point is that it is sporadic and falls lightly.

mist (n)/to mist (v) ~ technically a cloud of water right at ground level and the water is literally hanging in the air, almost like 'rainy fog'

fine rain (n) ~ a fine rain is where it is raining but you cannot see the drops nor really feel them it is a very, light rain

mizzle (n)/to mizzle (v) (British English) ~ somewhere between mist and drizzle

drizzle (n)/to drizzle (v) ~ a light rain with little drops

Terms for 'Average' Rain (Using an Umbrella is necessary...)

rain shower (n) ~ a spell of rain for a given length of time which then gives way to the sun once more

showery (adv) ~ a day where it rains off and on; there are multiple rain showers in a given day

scattered showers (n)/intermittent showers (n) ~maybe it is raining on your side of town but not on the other side of town at the same time

rainy (adv) ~ a day where a rain falls for an extended period of time which can last hours or days or weeks. However, it is multiple periods of light rain or 'average' rain.

Terms for Heavy Rain (Using an Umbrella is beyond necessary but it might get destroyed in the process...)

torrential rain (n) ~ very heavy rainfall that falls very quickly

downpour (n) ~ heavy rains

pouring (ger)/to pour (v) ~  rain that falls heavily from the sky almost like pouring water from a cup

cloudburst (n) ~ a sudden violent rainfall

deluge (n) ~ an overwhelming amount of rain

sheets of rain (n)/to rain in sheets (n) ~ rain that actually falls heavily in waves that actually looks like sheets falling from the sky

monsoon (n) ~ a rainy season in Asia; used in American English for any period of heavy rainfall; a time of heavy rains in the summer in the deserts of the American Southwest

flood (n) ~ either heavy rains over a short amount of time or rains over too many days or a combination of the two that ends up being so much water that it will flood river banks, overwhelm small streams, or flood desert canyons; a dangerous situation because people and animals can drown and houses and property can be destroyed

flash flood (n) ~ sudden rain so heavy that it will flood river banks, overwhelm small streams, or flood desert canyons; a dangerous situation because people and animals can be caught off guard and be overwhelmed and drown and houses and property can be destroyed

Idiomatic Rain Terms

It's raining buckets! ~ literally it feels like buckets of rain are falling from the sky

It's raining cats and dogs! ~ The original meaning of this saying is a mystery, so just think of it as it is raining so heavy it feels like almost anything might just fall from the sky.

It's raining/It's pouring/The Old Man is Snorning/He bumped his head and went to bed/And he couldn't get up in the morning! ~  yet another popular children's nursery rhyme to commemorate something tragic. American children like to sing this song as they splash through puddles coming home from school.

Warning!: If you play the following video, you will have this little tune in your head for days and days, whether it is raining or not! Do not flame me that you are mad that you can't stop singing it; you were warned! :) (Now you know why American children sing it over, and over, and over and over, and...)



Essential Vocabulary 

to sound like a broken record (v/idiom) ~ to say something so often a person sounds like a skippping record. Ahem...you know, those old things that used to be played on record players. You know, before CDs. Yes, there was actually a time called B.CD....before CD. Hard to imagine right? Such a loooooong time ago, the Dark Ages so to speak...I believe it was called the early 1980's. OK. Get that smirk off of your face...don't make me feel old...now where was I? Oh yes, I know, we need a better idiom, but sadly this one will have to do for now in English. I am sure it will change when no one alive can remember a record player. (Or maybe not, languages have an interesting way of holding onto the past...)

to keep my fingers crossed (v/saying) ~ to literally cross the index and middle fingers in a gesture for good luck; to wish good luck for yourself or someone

to not be holding one's breath (v) ~ something probably isn't going to happen so one doesn't have much hope that it will ever happen

I'm sad to announce that I have just finished writing this post and it is still mizzling out! Ugh! Sigh. Maybe tomorrow. (Meaning: Maybe tomorrow it will actually be nice out!) 

A: Rain, rain, go away/Come again another day! 

Instead of listening to this nursery rhyme (see, I'm kind, I don't want you singing kiddie songs all day long!), I've linked you to a jazz version in this classic Charlie Brown cartoon instead. 



That is all for me, Yummers. I hope you are having nice weather in your part of the world!