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Knock-on effect
Word of the Day: Knock-on effect We’ve all experienced the negative results of the knock-on effect, which is when one event is indirectly caused by another. One day, there could be an accident on the highway that could cause a traffic jam. Due to this traffic jam, you are late to the office in the…
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Chew the cud
English Idiom: Chew the cud Cows chew the cud. It’s the food they’ve already eaten and stored in their first stomach. When they have the time, they bring this food back to their mouths and chew it until they have chewed it enough to move on through their body. The cow in today’s little video…
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Perilous
Word of the Day: Perilous Dangerous is a word that we use to describe many activities. When something is extremely dangerous – so risky that you could lose your life or be severely injured – you could say that it is perilous. Crossing a street in Osaka or driving on Manilla streets can be hazardous.…
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Peal
Word of the Day: Peal After a wedding, it is common to hear the bells of a church or chapel peal out to announce to the world that two more people have made a lifetime commitment to each other. Although Japan is not a Christian country, many Japanese couples choose to get married in a…
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Put two and two together
English Idiom: Put two and two together Investigators are trained to put two and two together and find a solution to a problem. When you put two and two together, you take the limited information which is available and come up with a plausible conclusion. Although it sounds easy, it’s not as straightforward as you…
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Wonky
Word of the Day: Wonky If something is wonky, it is just not right; things are somehow unsatisfactory, not straight, not strong enough or not working correctly. Probably the most famous example of something being wonky that I can give you is the Leaning Tower of Piza. It’s immediately evident to anyone who looks at…
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Two heads are better than one
English Proverb: Two heads are better than one Have you ever had a problem you couldn’t solve and had to ask someone for help? Yes? Well, you already understand the proverb two heads are better than one. When people brainstorm or share thoughts and opinions about a problem, they can usually solve it faster than…
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Haywire
Word of the Day: Haywire Unfortunately, sometimes things and people go haywire, and when that happens, things fail to work as they should. If you’re lucky, it doesn’t happen very often. If you’re unlucky, well, it happens all the time. Remember the days of analogue TV? Sometimes, the picture would go haywire (usually at the…
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Living on the edge
Idiom: Living on the edge Most of us have unexciting lives. Then, some of us live on the edge. If you live on the edge, your daily activities involve some level of danger, and you probably get a thrill out of it. You may often seek out life-or-death situations by participating in exciting activities such as skydiving,…
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Tantrum
Word of the Day: Tantrum Sometimes, people cannot control their anger and throw a tantrum. In other words, they throw things around, yell, scream or otherwise act like a child. I suppose they may even gnash their teeth and make evil faces. It all depends on the person. On more than one occasion, I have…
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