Generous — A Vocabulary Story
Extra Chips
The queue outside Costa del Cod stretched past the bus stop, and Sami knew exactly why. Mr Whitlock, the owner, was famous on Talbot Road for being generous.
Generous means warmly willing to give more than is expected. It also means showing kindness and readiness to share.
Other chip shops weighed their portions like gold. Mr Whitlock just grinned, tipped the scoop, and added a handful more.
"You'll go broke," Sami's dad always said, half-laughing.
"Maybe," Mr Whitlock would reply, "but I'll go broke happy."
Sami had watched it for years. When old Mrs Achterberg counted out coppers and came up short, he waved her money away. When the football team trudged in soaked and beaten, he sent them home with free batter scraps and worse jokes.
While tucking into the chips one evening, his mum explained, "people like Mr Whitlock have generosity stitched right through them."
Then came the flood. The basement filled, the fryers died, and a sign went up: CLOSED — SORRY.
By morning, the pavement was crowded again. Neighbours arrived with buckets, sandbags, and a jam jar already heavy with notes — every one of them as generous as the man they'd come for. The football team turned up first, sleeves rolled.
Mr Whitlock came outside, blinking at them all.
"You'll go broke," Sami teased gently.
The old man laughed, wiping his eyes. "Maybe. But look — I'm rich."
Word Definition
generous
meaning
warmly willing to give more than is expected; showing kindness and readiness to share
synonyms
liberal · ample · benevolent · charitable · lavish
antonyms
stingy · selfish · miserly
example sentence
She was generous enough to donate a large sum to the charity.