Awesome - synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms
alarming, astonishing, awe-inspiring, awful, beautiful, breathtaking, daunting, dreadful, exalted, fearful, fearsome, formidable, frantic, frightening, grand,  horrible, horrifying, imposing, impressive, intimidating, magnificent, majestic, mean, moving, nervous, overwhelming, real gone, shocking, something else, striking, stunning, stupefying, terrible, terrifying, wonderful, wondrous, zero cool

informal words as synonyms for awesome - hairy, mind blowing

Antonyms
unamazing

Hell - synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms
Abaddon
infernal regions, infernoperdition , place of torment, purgatory

Hades, lower world, grave,  ordeal, everlasting
fire, bottomless pit, misery, hell-fire, , nightmare, blazes, trial, abyss,
Gehenna
underworld
 nether world
wretchedness
pandemonium
fire and brimstone

Some general words sometimes referred to as hell:

anguish, difficulty, pit, affliction, torment, agony,limbo,suffering

Antonyms

Antonyms bliss, elysian fields, Elysium, empyrean, heaven, kingdom come, New Jerusalem, paradise, sky, Zion (also Sion)

How is word `cuisine’ pronounced?

The first syllable `cui’ is pronounced like the `qui’ in `quit’, `quiz’, and `quick’. The `s’ that follows is like the `z’ in `zip’ and `zoo’; and the final `ine’ is like the `een’ in `seen’, `teen’, and `keen’. The main stress is on the second syllable.

The word comes from French and is mostly used to talk about a particular style of cooking – the way in which an item is prepared. When you refer to the cuisine of a restaurant, you are talking about the different varieties of food served there.

Example: The new restaurant on M.G Road offers excellent traditional Thai cuisine.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 24, 2006

`hornet’s nest’

A hornet is a large insect which has a relatively large sting. When you refer to a problem as being a hornet’s nest, what you mean is that it is one that causes people to become angry. When you `stir up a hornet’s nest’, you are asking for trouble; you say or do something controversial which results in a lot of commotion.

*The teacher’s article in the local paper stirred up a hornet’s nest. *The Minister’s remarks about the striking students stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 24, 2006

`stuck up’

This is an informal way of calling someone `snooty’ or `snobbish’. A person who is `stuck-up’ thinks he is more important than others, and as a result, is often very unfriendly towards them.

Examples: What’s got into Hamsa? Why is she so stuck-up? *When I met the star, I was pleasantly surprised. He wasn’t at all stuck-up.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 24, 2006

‘send someone on a guilt trip’ and `lay/put a guilt trip on someone’

When you send someone on a guilt trip, you try to make the person feel very guilty about something.
Example: My parents always try to send me on a guilt trip for not calling them often enough.

It is also possible to say, `lay/put a guilt trip on someone’.
Example: Madhu put the guilt trip on all of us for not helping her during her time of need.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 17, 2006

Collective nouns

There are vast range of collective nouns, some are used for many animals or groups like herd, while some are specific to particular group.
So lets first look at the common nouns, common to many groups:
herd - herd can be used of all grass eating animal groups mainly, eg. cattle, elephant, asses, buffalo, caribou ( a type of reindeer) ,

troop - baboon, apes, dogfish ( a dogfish is a small bottom-dwelling shark with a long tail)

colony - auk ( a short winged seabird) , beavers, ant, badgers ( a mammal from weasel family) , bats,