-
Burn the midnight oil
Phrase: Burn the midnight oil There’s a time and a place for everything. When you’re on to something, you need to know when to burn the midnight oil and when to take a breather. There are only so many hours in a day, and when we burn the midnight oil or continue to work late into the night, we make a…
-
Cachet
Word of the Day: Cachet From the get-go today, I’ll tell you that cachet is derived from French. Therefore, the ‘t’ at the end of the word is not pronounced. The correct pronunciation is Cash, eh? Just pretend you’re a Canadian working at the grocery store register when you notice a customer holding a 100-dollar bill –…
-
Be on to something
Phrase: Be on to something Day after day, all around the world, discoveries are made in various research sectors. Some are accidental discoveries, while others come many years after a researcher realizes they were on to something. When you are on to something, you realize that you have not made a significant discovery yet but have acquired…
-
Boondoggle
WotD: Boondoggle Boondoggle is a word you’ll often hear used in political debates and newspaper commentary on political decisions. Before we get into the matter, I should explain that a boondoggle is a large, useless and expensive thing constructed using public money; it’s a white elephant. No country, political party or politician has a monopoly…
-
Up in the air
Idiom: Up in the air Decisions, decisions, decisions we all have to make; some are harder than others, and most of them are up in the air. What can we do about it? Making decisions is like death and taxes: inevitable. One of the main challenges with making decisions is the knock-on effect. Our decision affects all…
-
Contingency plan
WotD: Contingency plan Nothing stays the same. The world is in a constant state of flux. That’s why having a contingency plan for every possible situation is a good idea. This year, we lost power for three days due to the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years. Luckily, my wife and I had a gas…
-
No harm, no foul
Phrase: No harm, no foul To begin with, I chose today’s picture for no harm, no foul as a play on words. Did you get a little chuckle out of it, or did it at least make you smile? Foul – fowl, a bird is a fowl – It’s a play on words. No matter; let’s give it…
-
Hustle and bustle
WotD: Hustle and bustle In countries all around the world, there’s an ongoing migration to the hustle and bustle of cities. Cities sure are getting crowded. New York’s population is 8,622,698, Tokyo’s is 37,468,302, and Toronto, The Big Smoke in Canada, has around 2,800,000 people. Hustle and bustle is a lot of action in a small place.…
-
How we roll
Expression: How we roll Sometimes, things are tough, but others seem to have no trouble accomplishing them. When this happens, we can say, ‘That’s how we roll. ‘ There are various situations where we can use this phrase. Book reading competitions are a perfect example. I was never one for sports, and I never liked to…
-
Munchies
Word of the Day: Munchies When you’re feeling a little peckish and need a little snack, you, my friend, have the munchies. I’ll take another trip down memory lane now, and we’ll go back to Canada in the 1980s. Back then, Hostess was the most prominent brand of potato chips in Canada. There were many flavours. The ones…
Got any book recommendations?