antipodes
part of speech
noun (the Antipodes, plural); adjective (antipodean)
meaning for a pupil
1) Places on exactly opposite sides of the Earth from each other. tree →
2) (UK) The Antipodes is a name for Australia and New Zealand, because they are on the other side of the world from Britain. tree →
sense in the lessons
In geography, if you could dig a tunnel straight through the centre of the Earth, you would come out at your antipode; for most places in Europe that is in the ocean, near New Zealand. In Alice in Wonderland, as Alice falls she wonders if she will come out among «the Antipathies» — she mixes the word up with antipathies, meaning dislikes — and imagines people walking upside down.
examples
- New Zealand is close to the antipodes of Spain. tree →
- Alice wondered if she would fall right through the Earth to the Antipodes. tree →
- My cousins live in the Antipodes, in Melbourne. tree →
- An antipodean Christmas is in summer. tree →
- If you dig straight down from Britain, you come out in the sea near New Zealand. tree →
- People at the antipodes are not really upside down; gravity pulls everyone towards the centre of the Earth. tree →
note
Sounds like «an-TIP-o-deez», four syllables. Usually plural with «the». Myth: people on the other side are not upside down — «down» always points to Earth's centre.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «antipodes» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.