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On the line
English Phrase: On the line We need to respect firefighters, police officers and military personnel because they put their lives on the line every day. In our daily lives, we need to have a healthy dose of skepticism regarding bankers and investment advisors because they are the ones who put our money on the line.…
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Carte blanche
Word of the Day: Carte blanche Very rarely do we give someone carte blanche. When an architect plans a building, they need to design it according to their customer’s wishes. Engineers designing new software systems have to meet the specifications of their customers. Carte blanche, which is French, literally means white paper. It means to give…
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Crack a smile
English Idiom: Crack a smile From time to time, it’s beneficial to crack a smile. When you crack a smile, you smile. When someone is serious or concentrating, they could crack a smile to lighten the mood. It’s not right to walk around all day with a stern look on your face. Yes, you may…
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Temptation
Word of the Day: Temptation Temptation is all around us everywhere we look. It’s the urge to do things that we know we should not do. Are you on a diet? It’s hard not to eat chocolate cake or snacks, right? It seems that everyone around you is offering you something sweet to eat. You…
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Wolf in sheep’s clothing
English Idiom: Wolf in sheep’s clothing We’ve all met one before – a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Some people, at the first impression, seem to be so lovely. They come across as a proper lady or gentleman. Then you get to know them and realize that they are gaslighting you or selling children’s medication at…
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Eyesore
Word of the Day: Eyesore There is an increasing number of eyesores in Japan. Unfortunately, as older adults in the countryside pass away, their children do not want to have anything to do with the homes and property left behind. These homes fall into disrepair and become eyesores in the community. An eyesore is anything…
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Go under the knife
English Expression: Go under the knife Nobody wants to go under the knife, which is a euphemism for having an operation, but sometimes, it is a necessary evil that must be endured. It’s one of the miracles of modern medicine that a person who is exceptionally sick can have an operation and be perfectly healthy…
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Pickpocket
Word of the Day: Pickpocket A pickpocket can pick your pocket before you can say a pickpocket picked my pocket. A pickpocket will try to steal things out of your pocket. When you’re a tourist in a big city, you stand out from the crowd even though you don’t think so. It’s easy to see…
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The walls have ears
English Proverb: The walls have ears Often, people who commit crimes are caught because they forget that the walls have ears, and someone who is eavesdropping hears them bragging about it in a bar. The walls have ears is a proverb which means you should always be careful about what you say. You never know…
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Necessary evil
WotD: Necessary evil To survive in this world, we all have to accept things that we’d rather not. In Canada, we have free healthcare, and Canadians love it. However, to have free healthcare, higher taxes are a necessary evil. A necessary evil is something that we have to accept but would prefer not to. Taxes…
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