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In and of itself
English Phrase: In and of itself We are all working for the almighty dollar, yen, baht, ringgit, or whatever currency people use in your country. The thing is that with money we can buy things to make us happy, but money in and of itself does not buy happiness. Although you may agree with this…
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Takeaway
Word of the Day: Takeaway No, this meaning of takeaway is not the same as taking out. It can be, but that is not the meaning I am introducing today. A takeaway (notice the article) is the main message or information you learn from a meeting, lecture, or reading. We forget most of what we…
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Start from Scratch
Expression: Start from Scratch Our busy modern lifestyle means people don’t have enough time to start from scratch when preparing meals anymore, or at least that’s what they say. That’s one reason why prepared meal delivery services are becoming so popular. It’s the same for me, but I like to prepare something from scratch now and then. I like…
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Cure
Word of the Day: Cure Do you like cured meats? Have you ever eaten a pastrami sandwich on rye bread? How about pepperoni pizza? Or a ham sandwich? Did you know that these meats have not been cooked? Yep, that’s right; deli meats are cured meats. These meats can be smoked, salted or preserved in…
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In a rut
Idiom: (Stuck) in a rut Many of us feel we are stuck in a rut. When you are in a rut, each day feels just like the one before, and nothing new or exciting ever seems to happen. When you are in a rut, the best thing to do is to turn over a new…
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Antifreeze
Word of the Day: Antifreeze Mornings and evenings are freezing in Wakayama at the moment. There’s frost on the ground on car windshields in the morning, and gloves are a must if you’re walking anywhere. When you go further north to Aomori or Hokkaido, you need to put antifreeze in your car during the winter.…
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Open the door to (something)
English Idiom: Open the door to (something) Here we are, everyone, on the last day of 2017! What an excellent opportunity to open the door to something new in 2018. When you open the door to something, you make it possible or at least introduce yourself to it. A closed door offers no possibilities. The…
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Cobblestone
Word of the Day: Cobblestone/cobble For some reason, we seem to feel that a cobblestone street is romantic and quaint. A cobblestone or cobble is a small to medium-sized roundish stone that was commonly used to pave streets in Europe. I’m not quite sure why streets paved with roundish stones seem romantic, but it does.…
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Make a clean breast of (something)
English Idiom: Make a clean breast of (something) It is often much better to make a clean breast of it or tell the truth instead of keeping it to yourself or telling a lie. If you told a lie, to make a clean breast of it means simply telling the truth instead of keeping it…
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Get up to
Word of the Day: Get up to Usually, when we get up to something, we are engaging in mischief or doing something that others don’t approve of. Suppose you have little children, and they suddenly go quiet, or everything suddenly turns peaceful. In that case, you instinctively know that they are up to something because small children are…
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