A pro-independence wall painting in the Basque Country, Spain
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Clare Arthurs looks at some of the words and phrases often used in the news and their meanings in various contexts.
This week: separatists
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Clare Arthurs on: separatists
Expressions with 'separate'
- to separate
to divide or split one thing from another
Examples:
To make this cake you first have to separate three eggs. Keep the yolks and the whites as you'll need them later.They only got married last year but things didn't work out and they've decided to separate.
The River Thames runs through London, separating the north from south.
- to separate someone out from something
to be the quality that makes someone or something special and different from others
Example:
All of them can sing but it's his dancing ability that separates him out from the rest of the group.- to separate the men from the boys
to find out who is the most suitable to do a job, who can work best in difficult conditions when others fail
Example:
"Above all try it in the rain before you commit to a career, that tends to separate the men from the boys!" she adds. (Advice to people thinking about working in the construction industry.)- to go your separate ways
to split up and stop working or being together
Example:
After becoming the most popular group of their time, the members of The Beatles went their separate ways in 1970.
A challenge for you
Send us your short 'news story' on this topic and try to use some of the vocabulary from this page. We'll publish our favourites.
Please note that we are not able to publish all comments and comments may be edited.
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