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Do you know the difference between “backbone“, “background“, “backpack“, and“ backside“? All these words are based on the noun “back“ but mean very different things. In this lesson, I will teach you the meaning of ten words and expressions using “back“. So don't back out. Watch the video, and you'll look back with satisfaction at the new vocabulary you've learned! QUIZ: TRANSCRIPT Hi. I'm Gill at . And today we're having a lesson on the use of the word “back“. We've already given you a lesson on the word “back“ in different parts of speech, so do have a look for that if you haven't already seen it. This lesson is about words which are based on the word “back“ or they begin with “back“. So, let's have a look at a few examples. First of all, if you say: “That man has no backbone!“ Your backbone is your spine that runs down the back of your body, and it sort of holds you upright. So if you think literally someone has no backbone, they're going to go over like that, but this is used in a metaphorical sense, not a literal sense. So if you describe someone as having no backbone, it means they're not a very strong person. You can easily make them do things, or stop them doing things. They don't sort of have a mind of their own or they don't have a strong will. You can push them around, that sort of thing. They're a bit weak. So, no backbone is quite a bad criticism of anybody. Okay. Second example, if you're applying for a job, usually: “Your job application will require the backing of two referees.“ Meaning people who will give you a reference, maybe people you have worked with before who will say how well you did your job, what sort of person you are. Hopefully they will say nice things. Otherwise, you wouldn't choose them to give you references. So when you fill in an application form, you often have to put the name and address, and job title of two referees. Okay? So the backing of referees means the support, the telling the new company about you, and helping you to get the new job. Okay. Right. Another business-related one, if you want to find out more information about a company, you can ask somebody: “Could you give me some background information on the company?“ So, information tells you really what it means. Background means just general information about maybe when the company was started; what does the company do, what is their business, how many people work there, do they have one building in one city or several buildings in different cities? All the sort of background, maybe a bit historical; what has happened in the past? Are they on the stock market? That sort of thing. Background information. Okay. Next example, sometimes when a government decide to do something new, a new policy, sometimes people don't like it very much and it can cause demonstrations, riots, all sorts of things. It can cause bad things to happen. People react to the new policy. So if you say: “The government's new policy could result in a backlash.“ that's like if you're using a whip... The whip which does a lash, you lash something with a whip. If it comes back at you and hits you, that is a backlash. So, the government is doing this, and it comes back at them and something bad happens. A bad result, basically. A backlash is a bad result from something. Okay. And finally in this first half of the lesson, if I have been on holiday for two weeks and I come back, and my desk has got lots of papers mounted up, lots of emails on the computer, lots of work to do because I've been away: “I have a huge backlog of work!“ It means just lots of work that has come in while I have been away. Why did I bother going on holiday? I got all this extra work to do now. A backlog. So it's best to avoid a backlog if you can, but not going on holiday is not so nice. But when you think sometimes: “What will it be like when I go back? There'll be so much to do“, so that's a backlog. Okay, we'll move on to the next few examples. Okay, so you'll see I am now carrying my backpack to illustrate the next sentence. So, let's see what it is. “He is going to backpack around India.“ Okay? And that's what you do if you're travelling just with a pack on your back like this, so you're travelling very light and you're just getting buses, you're walking, you're maybe getting rides in cars and lorries, backpack. And this... This is all that you have with you. No suitcases or anything like that. So, it's a very popular way of travelling if you're feeling quite brave and you're happy just to go day to day seeing different places. Okay, so that's a backpack. Right. Okay. And next sentence... Now, this is a little bit rude. So sometimes I hear people saying this word: “backside“ because they've put “back“ and “side“ together, and because English is not their first language, they don't realize that “backside“ as one word has a very specific meaning.
