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Dead giveaway
Word of the Day: Dead giveaway A dead giveaway is something that ultimately reveals the facts. It’s a sign that it will tell you the truth about a situation if you notice it. Don’t become confused about the ‘dead’ part here. Dead can mean that something is no longer alive or functional, but it can…
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Cobble something together
English Idiom: Cobble something together Most of us would prefer enough time to prepare for everything we must do. Unfortunately, folks, things don’t happen that way, and we are often forced to cobble something together at short notice. You see, to cobble something together means quickly and carelessly preparing, creating a plan or putting something…
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Jailbird
Word of the Day: Jailbird Informally, a person who is in jail is a jailbird. Usually, they’re habitual criminals who have been in and out of jail many times. Calling someone a jailbird is not a very nice thing to do. It’s a sort of insult, but it is not a four-letter word or an…
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Strike a chord
English Idiom: Strike a chord Something can strike a chord with you when you like it because it connects to your life or experiences, and you can relate to it. For example, let’s imagine that your children are going to university for the first time. Of course, they are experiencing a broad range of emotions because…
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Huff
Word of the Day: Huff (verb) Today, I will introduce huff, which we can use as a verb, such as ‘What are you huffing about now?’ Huff means to say something in an angry, upset or annoyed way. You don’t have to yell at somebody to act angry. When you speak, the tone of your voice can…
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Put away
WotD: Put away As you can probably guess, put away is a phrasal verb, meaning putting something somewhere. This phrasal verb has various meanings. It can mean storing something after you have used it, as we teach our children to put away their toys before they go to bed. It could also mean to eat…
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Leave high and dry
English Idiom: Leave high and dry This poor ship has been left high and dry, which means leaving someone without any help and little hope of receiving any assistance in the future. A boat needs water to float, and the water seems to have gone away, leaving the ship in a challenging situation and without…
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Nest egg
Word of the Day: Nest egg If you listen to your financial adviser, they will tell you that if you want to retire and maintain a lifestyle similar to the one you enjoy now, you will have to put away quite a substantial nest egg. That’s right; if you haven’t started already, you should be…
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Written in stone
English Idiom: Written in stone When we say something is written in stone, we mean it’s permanent or challenging, if not impossible, to change. For example, when you sign a contract for a bank loan, it is complicated to break or get out of that contract. It is also very often used in the negative.…
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Chock-a-Block
Word of the Day: Chock-a-block The junk shop display window in the picture accompanying today’s post is chock-a-block with decorative cookie tins. If you haven’t guessed it yet, today’s word of the day means that something is full of people or stuff. Luckily, I live in the countryside of Japan, and crowding is never a…
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