• Ghost

    Ghost

    Word of the Day: Ghost Even though it’s been around for a while now, online dating is still developing. It’s also creating a new lingo in the English language, such as swipe right and ghosting. Ghosting means to end all contact with someone suddenly by not contacting them or replying if they attempt to contact you. I consider…

  • Pay your dues

    Pay your dues

    Phrase: Pay your dues Very few people get a quick and comfortable ride to the top. If you want to be successful, you will have to pay your dues like everyone else and wait for your number to come up. To pay your dues means to suffer through difficulties and hardship before becoming successful and having what…

  • To die for

    To die for

    Idiom: To die for English is a language which seems to have been designed to frustrate, irritate and confuse its learners. Let’s take the idiom to die for as an example. When you say something is to die for, you mean it is fantastic, wonderful or highly desirable. We generally look at death as an unwelcome thing.…

  • Cost an arm and a leg

    Cost an arm and a leg

    Idiom: Cost an arm and a leg Have you ever noticed how the simple things in life are free, but the things you really want, what you feel would make you happy, cost an arm and a leg?  Why the heck is that? Why do humans lust after the most expensive things we can think…

  • Wannabe

    Wannabe

    WotD: Wannabe Every one of us has been a wannabe at least once.  Come on, tell me you didn’t want to be a baseball player for the Orix Buffaloes and catch a throw from Area 51.  Perhaps you wanted to join a girl group and dance on stage like Morning Musume or AKB48.  If you’re…

  • Push your buttons

    Push your buttons

    Idiom: Push your buttons The people who know you best are the same ones who know how to push your buttons.  There are quite a few benefits to having close friends and family, but there are also downsides.  These people you call friends can say and do minor little things that will get your goat…

  • Party pooper

    Party pooper

    WotD: Party pooper Sometimes, words in the English language make no sense to non-native speakers such as this guy. Party pooper is one of those terms.  Even if you asked a native speaker where it comes from, they would most likely have no idea.  Before I go into more detail, you need to know what…

  • Run through your mind

    Run through your mind

    Idiom: Run through your mind Here, we have another little expression for something you can’t get out of your head. If you have something running through your mind, you either can’t stop thinking about it or, if it’s a song, you can’t stop singing it.  Remember a few days ago, I introduced the word nag,…

  • Quid pro quo

    Quid pro quo

    WotD: Quid pro quo Hello, boys and girls; I’m back with another Latin term again. This time, it’s quid pro quo.  Now, don’t roll your eyes and say you don’t need to know Latin.  If you graduated from university, then you should know a little Latin.  If you want to speak English at a high…

  • Rain on your parade

    Rain on your parade

    Idiom: Rain on your parade There’s an old understanding in English that everyone loves a parade. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely true. There’s always someone or something that’s going to rain on your parade. That means that there’s always going to be something that can spoil your plans.  People who enjoy raining on your parade are often…

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