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Line your pockets
Idiom: Line your pockets We can be assured no two things go hand in hand as firmly as corruption and lining your pockets. When people line their pockets, they are dishonestly making money by doing something illegal or allowing something illegal to happen. This may create images of brown paper bags stuffed with cash being…
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What goes around comes around
Idiom: What goes around comes around While English has become the lingua franca for international communication, it is not the best language in the world. Many other languages can express complex thoughts and ideas in a single word, whereas English requires a long-winded expression. This is probably why the English language has become very good…
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Work like a dog
Phrase: Work like a dog Have you ever wondered what happened to the promise of technology, enhancing our lives and making work easier? Doesn’t it feel that instead of work becoming more manageable, it’s become harder? Wouldn’t you agree we’re all working like dogs? Well, if your dog is anything like mine, she doesn’t work…
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The road to hell is paved with good intentions
Proverb: The road to hell is paved with good intentions Oh boy, hell must be a very crowded place right now. Before you begin thinking that we are all going to burn for eternity, let me reassure you. We are not all going to hell, and Japanese summers, which are as hot as hell, only…
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Build a better mousetrap
Idiom: Build a better mousetrap It sucks, I know, but most of us do not come from money, nor does money grow on trees for us. If, then, we would like to have a more comfortable life, with perhaps fewer money worries and possibly, dare I say it, a rainy day fund in the bank,…
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Easier said than done
Phrase: Easier said than done Talk to any successful business owner, and they will tell you the world is full of talkers. People are very eager to tell you what they are going to do. They have big plans and even bigger dreams. The problem is that most of what they say is easier said…
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Strike a balance
Phrase: Strike a balance You know, the older I am, the wiser I become. At least, I like to think so, anyway. After many years of being in an international, interracial marriage, I can tell you the key to happiness is to strike a balance. Strike a balance means to come to a compromise about…
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The clothes make the man
Proverb: The clothes make the man ZZ Top said it best with the line ‘every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man’ in their song titled Sharp Dressed Man. In Japan, it’s definitely true. I’ve found that here, more so than in Canada, people tend to judge you immediately by your clothes. The clothes make…
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Don’t hate the player, hate the game
Proverb: Don’t hate the player; hate the game Have you ever noticed how regular people like us dislike rich people? I say don’t hate the player; hate the game. It’s human nature to desire and strive for more money. Just think for a moment. The first thing a lottery winner does is celebrate. Why do…
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Kill two birds with one stone
Proverb: Kill two birds with one stone To begin with, we will not be killing any birds today. We won’t be throwing any stones either, for that matter. Full disclosure here, yes, I have killed my fair share of chickens in my youth while growing up on a subsistence farm in Atlantic Canada. Anyway, to…
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