Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[monicashen]

1) When a dress has been worn too long, you can find the fabric thread standing out on the surface of the cloth material. What kind of words can you use to describe this state?

2) When someone is frightened, the body shakes up a bit and then you find minute pockets of air on the skin surface as if hairs are standing on ends. How to describe this state?

3) In the cold weather, there are sores on the skin as a result of the extreme coldness. What is that called in natural English?

This is when we non-native speakers need to enlist the help of native speakers if we were to use natural English.

Many thanks in advance for the much awaited answers.

[lenin95]

Hi, I'm not a native speaker either. But I found this topic interesting and decided to contribute.

1) I guess you could say frayed. E.g.: Frayed jeans are quite popular nowadays.

2) I first thought of "goose bumps", but I guess, that's a little different. I guess you can say something like: The big guy made my hair stand on end. Or something really informal, but what I often hear around: "You scared the s... (beep) out of me." At least that's what I often hear people saying when in that kind of state.

3) I'd bet it's frostbite.


Again, I'm not a native speaker, so I could COMPLETELY wrong.

[monicashen]

Thanks LENIN95.

Re 2) I would like to see more related words which describe that scenario.

Re 3), I have something else in mind. It is not frostbite that I am looking at. Not to worry anyway.

Have a nice weekend!

[redset]

Hey guys!

1) Fraying is when part of the material comes apart, and you can see the individual strands of thread. This usually happens at the edge of the material, but it can fray in the middle too and cause holes - you see it in jeans sometimes.

The little balls of material you have to pull off I've always called 'bobbles' - it's also referred to as 'pilling' but the dictionary says pill can only be a verb in this sense. I'm sure there are a few other words for it.

2) Goose bumps, goose pimples or goose flesh are all names for when you're cold and the hairs on your body all stand up to trap air, causing tiny bumps under the skin. 'Hair standing on end' is definitely a good one too. You could also say you 'have the chills', which usually means you're either frightened or that something amazing has just made you shiver (like a piece of music that really moves you for example).

3) My first thought was frostbite too - it has several stages before the tissue turns black, so it's not always serious. Maybe you were thinking of chilblains? Have a look on wikipedia and see what you think.