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Slippery slope
WotD: Slippery slope Have you ever played the board game Snakes and Ladders? If you have, then you can understand the meaning of slippery slope well enough. You roll the dice, and if you land on the bottom of a ladder, you can climb up and get ahead. Landing on the head of a snake,…
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Part of the furniture
English Idiom: Part of the furniture One of the great things about working at the same company for a long time is stability. At the same time, though, one drawback is that you become part of the furniture. What I mean is that once you’ve been somewhere so long, it seems permanent, and you become…
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Fish around
Word of the Day: Fish around Seafood is a significant part of Japanese cuisine. I mean, vegetarian sashimi is just not the same as the real thing. Of course, to catch sea creatures, you have to go fishing. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for crabs, lobsters, whales or shellfish. We can still call it…
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Run wild
Word of the Day: Run wild We should encourage young people to let their imaginations run wild. As we do that, we should also create a system to nurture the creativity, spontaneity and gaiety that comes from it. There are two negative nuances to letting things or people run wild. The first is to behave…
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Diamond in the rough
Phrase: Diamond in the rough Very few people want a rough uncut diamond. Most want a polished diamond set in gold. It requires time, patience, and experience to find a diamond in the rough, see its potential, and then invest a piece of your life into it to make it something special. It’s the same…
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Out of pocket
English Phrase: Out of pocket We spend most of our time trying to get into places. We want to be in with the right people, in the right company and inside when it rains. Nobody wants to be out of pocket. Unfortunately, some people sometimes find themselves in that position. Out of pocket can mean…
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Crickets
Word of the Day: Crickets In Japan, the chirping of crickets signifies the change of the seasons. Students who take evening classes with me have commented on how nice it is to hear bell crickets through the microphone. Some train companies even put bell crickets on their trains in little tiny jails so people can…
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Better late than never
Phrase: Better late than never We are all caught in the grip of time. Better late than never is a very positive way to look at life and how everything seems to work out – eventually. Now, the phrase, better late than never, is often used when something we are expecting is behind schedule. Of course, it’s…
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Get on in years
English Phrase: Get on in years As you begin to get on in years, you realize you can blow a raspberry at the world and get away with it. Young people, I should say younger people because we’re all young at heart, are continually striving to meet the expectations of others. I’ve come to realize…
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Stick to your guns
Idiom: Stick to your guns So, as I said yesterday, I’m going to be 146 years old in a day or so. No, I’ll be 46. I only felt like 146 when I got up at 5:30 am. Anyway, one thing I have learned is that you have to stick to your guns if you…
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