Red sky at night...

... shepherd's delight
A. ...Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning

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We've all heard this rhyme, and we in Britain are, it seems, obsessed with the weather. How many times have you heard the same old small talk about the prevailing conditions on any given day Too hot; too cold; wrong kind of snow... It's rare that there is any consensus on whether the day is just right for the time of year. So, to help you join in, here, in no particular order of merit, are fifty ways of describing weather conditions.

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Wind
1. gale
2. draught
3. blowy
4. breeze
5. blast
6. dust devil
7. gust
8. hurricane
9. typhoon
10. tornado

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Rain
11. drizzle
12. mizzle
13. shower
14. downpour
15. spitting
16. lashing
17. torrential
18. drenching
19. April showers
20. driving

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Snow, ice and other precipitation
21. blizzard
22. flurry
23. hail
24. sleet
25. slush
26. hoar-frost
27. dew

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Fog/mist
28. pea-souper
29. smog
30. haze

31. overcast
32. grey
33. mare's tails
34. scudding
35. mackerel sky

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Sunny
36. scorching
37. blazing
38. dazzling
39. blistering
40. sultry

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Hot
41. boiling
42. oppressive
43. sweltering
44. burning
45. suffocating

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Cold
46. freezing
47. brass monkeys (cold enough to freeze the b***s off...)
48. taters
49. chilly
50. arctic

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See also the article on Inuit words for snow

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For more on phrases and saying click here

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By Simon Smith