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Have a weakness for
Phrase: Have a weakness for someone/something OK, boys and girls, it’s Monday. That means have a weakness for is the last post of my work week. You may remember that on November 15, the post was have a soft spot for (something). Today’s post is similar yet different. For the students who asked me about the usage of ‘yet’…
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Edge
Word of the Day: Edge Competition is the name of the game, and if you want to get ahead of the game, you need to have an edge. Now the good news is that everyone does have one. The bad news is that not everyone knows what theirs is. Your edge is your advantage over other people. You may…
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Walk on eggshells
Phrase: Walk on eggshells There are times when the direct approach is best, and there are other times when we need to walk on eggshells. I don’t know if you’ve ever come into contact with a quick-tempered person, but I have. Dealing with them was just a pain in the B-U-T-T. Other people I worked with,…
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Sugar rush
WotD: Sugar rush Oh, the joy of it! Nothing matches the sweetness of a sugar rush that comes after munching down on anything chocolate. Cakes, pies, donuts, chocolate bars and, of course, everyone’s favourite chocolate Easter eggs: any chocolate at all will suffice. Some people drink alcohol, while others do drugs. Heck, since marijuana was legalized in…
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Have a soft spot for
Idiom: Have a soft spot for (someone or something) Snakes? How could David have a soft spot for snakes? You may be wondering. Well, to be honest, I don’t. I chose it to get your attention. It worked, right? So, mission accomplished. Sometimes, to teach somebody something, you first need an attention grab. Let me do some teaching,…
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Loanword
Word of the Day: Loanword They call it a loanword, but really, it’s stolen. We’re all thieves. Yep, that’s right. If you can read this, I’m happy to tell you that you’re a thief too. If you speak English, you are one of the biggest thieves in the whole world. As an English language teacher, I…
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A clean slate
Idiom: A clean/blank slate Have you ever wanted to forget past mistakes and begin life again with a clean slate? If you begin with a clean slate or blank slate, you start fresh and with no limits, and don’t let previous mistakes or happenings affect you. Are there some things you regret and would do differently…
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Cognate
Word of the Day: Cognate OK, everyone, let’s do a little bit of grammar today, shall we? Let’s look at the word cognate. C’mon now, before you begin to groan and move on to something more enjoyable, why not make this the one thing you learn today? Are you still with me on this? Yes, OK,…
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Baptism by fire
Idiom: Baptism by fire It’s nice to ease into something new, but sometimes, we must undergo baptism by fire. Baptism is often used in a religious sense to mean being initiated into a certain belief and becoming a follower of that religion. It’s not, however, the only meaning. Most English words differ depending on the context of…
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Lash out
Word of the Day: Lash out It wasn’t long ago when, if we wanted to lash out, we would think twice about it first. As a result, we mostly thought better of it and kept our opinions to ourselves. The development of social media has changed all that. These days, no matter where we are, the time of…
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