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Keep (something) to yourself
English Phrase: Keep (something) to yourself If you can keep a secret, then you can keep something to yourself. There you have it. That’s it; my work is done here. No, but seriously, to keep something to yourself means not telling anyone else about it, no matter what it is. They can ask, beg or…
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Je ne sais quoi
Phrase: Je ne sais quoi Did you ever find yourself liking someone you didn’t think you would like, and not know why you liked them? That’s je ne sais quoi. I’m going to state the obvious here and tell you it’s French. Next, I’m going to explain that je ne sais quoi means I don’t…
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Game of Chance
WotD: Game of Chance There is very little in life that you can call a sure thing. With this truth in mind, I suppose we could say life itself is a game of chance. Every decision we make or action we take is a gamble, hoping things will work out the way we think they…
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Birds of a feather flock together
Proverb: Birds of a feather flock together Most people feel comfortable being around others who are like them. It’s nature’s way of balancing things out. As today’s proverb teaches us, birds of a feather flock together. Some may misconstrue this proverb and use it to support racism, but that’s not what it means. This means…
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Follow suit
Word of the Day: Follow suit It’s challenging, you know, to come up with a little story to introduce a new word, idiom or phrase each day. That’s OK, though, because I enjoy the challenge. So, today’s term is follow suit. What I can tell you is that it has nothing to do with suits…
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On the same page
Idiom: On the same page We’re going to begin the weekend with a very common idiom. Whenever people agree with each other, they can say they are on the same page. If we lived in a perfect world, people would agree about all things all the time. However, you and I both know that’s not…
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Hockey stick moment
Idiom: Hockey stick moment Ever noticed that life is full of long stretches of boredom followed by sudden and sometimes unexpected moments of activity or growth? If you can answer yes, then you have already experienced a hockey stick moment or two in your life. You see, a hockey stick moment occurs when all of…
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A watched pot never boils
Idiom: A watched pot never boils While waiting for something to happen, we can think about nothing else, which makes the time pass even more slowly. That’s where today’s idiom, a watched pot never boils, comes in. A watched pot never boils means that for someone who is waiting for something to happen, time will…
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New York minute
Idiom: New York minute Whether you call it New York City, the Big Apple, the Big Smoke, or the City That Never Sleeps, if you’ve already been there, you have a good idea of what can happen in a New York minute. If something happens in a New York minute, it happens fast. I’m not…
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Bookworm
WotD: Bookworm Before you read any further, take a moment to create an image of a bookworm. OK, so now that you’ve done that, let’s erase that image and create one that is much better and true. Most language students know that bookworms read a lot. Most people have a negative image of bookworms as…
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