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Pull something out of a hat
English Phrase: Pull (something) out of a hat/thin air You’ve seen magicians do it in cartoons. They reach in and pull a rabbit out of a hat, or perhaps your uncle has reached behind your ear and pulled a coin out of thin air. I can’t tell you how they do it because it’s magic,…
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Spread yourself too thin
Idiom: Spread yourself too thin Have you ever felt like Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings? You know, like ‘butter scraped over too much bread.’ Go ahead, check it out, and I’ll still be here when you get back. I’m not sure if it’s a modern phenomenon or not, but many of us…
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Corny
Word of the Day: Corny Jokes in a foreign language are often the hardest to understand for learners. The one thing to remember is that nobody laughs at corny jokes, so if you don’t get it and native speakers are not laughing at it, there’s a good chance the joke is a corny one. A…
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The wheels are turning
Idiom: The wheels are turning Whenever things begin to move or plans start to progress, you may hear someone say the wheels are turning. Keep in mind they are not only talking about cars, trains, bicycles and rollerblades. More often than not, they are referring to the wheels of progress and industry. All large projects…
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Senior Moment
Word of the Day: Senior moment I want to be able to say you’ll never have a senior moment, but if I did, I’d be lying. As sure as you’ll one day be a senior, you’ll be having senior moments. First, they will be few and far between. You’ll forget your glasses are on top…
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Tempt fate
WotD: Tempt fate When you tempt fate and get away with it, you become everyone’s hero. They all talk about how cool and brave you are with nerves of steel. When you tempt fate and lose, you become a big fat zero. People will turn on you in a second and will not hesitate to…
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No man is an island
English Phrase: No man is an island Today, I’ve chosen a ubiquitous phrase in English – no man is an island. Of course, in our modern times, we must be inclusive and modify it to ‘no one is an island’ or ‘no woman is an island.’ However, to stay true to the original John Donne…
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Go with the flow
English Phrase: Go with the flow You may think it’s easy to go with the flow, but sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the world. If you go with the flow, you agree with everyone else and go along with what they say, decide, or do. It sounds pretty easy. I’ve been fortunate to have…
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As cool as a cucumber
English Idiom: As cool as a cucumber Are you the type of person who stresses out easily, or are you generally the only one in the room who is as cool as a cucumber? The expression is as cool as a cucumber because cucumbers are 11°C cooler on the inside than the ambient temperature outside.…
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Leave something to chance
English Phrase: Leave something to chance So, I’ve heard that you’d like to make a little more money this year and losing a few kgs wouldn’t hurt either. How do you intend to make that happen? Do you have a plan, or are you going to leave everything to chance? I know it may be…
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