stale

Everyday

1. Stale food, especially bread or cake, is old, dry and not fresh any more. tree →
2. Stale air is old and stuffy, not fresh, like in a room with closed windows. tree →
3. Stale news or jokes are old and boring because people have heard them too many times. tree →
4. In hunting, a stale trail is an old scent that has grown weak and is hard to follow. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life, bread goes stale if it is left out; crisps go stale in an open bag. In science, bread goes stale because it loses water; fresh air helps us concentrate. Phrases: «go stale», «stale bread», «stale air».

Examples

• The bread went stale because we left the bag open. tree →
• Let's open a window; the air in here is stale. tree →
• We fed the stale crusts to the ducks. tree →
• Seal the cereal box, or it will go stale. tree →
• That joke is stale; everyone knows it. tree →
• Stale biscuits are soft instead of crunchy. tree →
• The room smelled stale after the holiday. tree →
• He shall follow the new trail, and the stale trail, and the mixed trail, with a clear eye! tree →

Note

Adjective: stale, staler, stalest. Stale is not the same as mouldy or rotten: stale food is old and dry but may still be safe; mouldy food is not safe to eat. Opposite: «fresh». Feeding lots of bread to ducks is not good for them.