🧈 Butterfingers

#098

Jack Ellis
August 31, 2025

My wife has many great qualities.

Too many to list here.

But there is one characteristic that is very noticeable.

She is clumsy. Torpe, patosa.

She often bumps into things, and on bad days might even bump her head.

But where she really excels is in dropping things.

There’s a word for such a person in English, butterfingers.

Because it’s as if you have butter on your fingers. And that’s why it slipped out of your hand.

It’s a sort of playful insult, where you’re teasing the other person.

So next time your spouse or a friend drops something you can say:

“Butterfingers!”

Anyway I must go. I think I heard something fall.

An accident waiting to happen

This week’s three tips:

SOMETHING TO AVOID 🫣

🤦🏻‍♀️ “She let it to slip”

You can’t use to after let. Just say the verb without to. If you use allow or permit, then yes, you need to use to.

I can’t believe they allowed that to happen

She would never permit them to be rude

✅ “She let it slip”

So remember not to use to after let.

I can’t believe they let that happen.

She would never let them be rude

The captain let my son visit the cockpit.

SOMETHING TO SOUND CONFIDENT 🧐

👔 Business expressions

“To drop the ball”

This is the professional cousin of butterfingers.

Instead of physically dropping a glass, you “drop the ball” when you fail to deliver on something important, usually in a work or team setting. The phrase comes from ball games, where dropping the ball means losing possession, making a mistake, or missing a play.

Be Ready To Drop The Ball

It doesn't have to be the end of the world as long as you take ownership of the mistake.

www.forbes.com/councils/theyec/2019/08/19/be-ready-to-drop-the-ball

SOMETHING TO DO 👀

We have developed a new level test

If you are a student - you will be asked to do it in September

If you’re not a student - you are more than welcome to test your level

So either way - please take the test

Crystal Clear English Level Test

Test Your English Level: Find Your Progression Point with Crystal Clear English

crystal-clear-english.learnworlds.com/course/crystal-clear-english-level-test?utm_source=crystal-clear-newsletter.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=holiday-what-holiday

NEXT STEP ➡️

Reserva una Clase de Inglés Gratis | Crystal Clear English

Reserva una clase de inglés gratis con Crystal Clear English. Experimenta nuestras clases personalizadas sin compromiso.

crystalclearenglish.es/reserva-una-demostracion-gratis

LOOKING FOR MORE?🔎

Resources for learning English - Crystal Clear English

Find valuable resources for learning English, with expert tips, expressions, and challenges to improve your fluency.

crystalclearenglish.es/recursos