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Indisposed
Word of the Day: Indisposed If you search for the word indisposed in a dictionary, the definition will tell you that it means to be ill and unable to do something. For example, if you have influenza and cannot go to work, then you are indisposed. There is another usage of this word, however. Indisposed…
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Up a tree
English Idiom: Up a tree Have you ever found yourself up a tree? No, I don’t mean in the literal sense like this kitty. If you are a mature adult, you should not be climbing trees in the first place. I mean in the idiomatic sense. If you find yourself up a tree, it means that…
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Line-dried
Word of the Day: Line-dried If you walk around Japan, you do not have to go far before you see clothing drying on a clothesline. Local news even informs people when it is a good day for line-dried clothing. Well, actually, the Japanese do not use a clothesline. They use a clothes pole, but that is…
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On the fence
English Idiom: (To be) on the fence So here we have a lovely picture of a cat sitting on a fence. Cats always do this, and nobody usually bothers or judges them. Now, if we close our eyes and picture the image of a person sitting on the fence, today’s idiomatic expression comes to mind. If…
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Upheaval
Word of the Day: Upheaval Think about the word for a second. Upheaval means great change, not great as in wonderful, but great as in significant. Earthquakes or other natural or even human-made disasters, such as wars, cause a lot of upheaval in people’s lives. Houses are damaged, families have to move, and kids change…
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Bone-chilling
Word of the Day: Bone-chilling It’s been cold! Wakayama is supposed to have a subtropical climate, so what the heck is up with all the snow and bone-chilling subzero temperatures? Yeah, bone-chilling. Bone-chilling weather is so cold that even your bones feel like they are freezing. Russia and Canada have bone-chilling winters. I know I’m…
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Give someone the green light
English Idiom: Give (someone) the green light Have you ever had a great idea for a project at your company? Perhaps you had to wait for a manager or boss to permit you to start the project. If this happened to you, you were waiting for your boss to give the green light. When someone…
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Don’t fish off the company pier
Proverb: Don’t fish off the company pier Keep your work and private lives separate; in other words, don’t fish off the company pier. We all know we don’t keep every fish we catch. Catch and release in the company pond is not a good idea because some fish come back to bite you. Don’t fish off…
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Unsung
Word of the Day: Unsung If someone is unsung, their efforts or achievements go unnoticed. I want to take a moment to think about delivery drivers or the couriers I mentioned yesterday. Please take a moment and think about all those drivers who work for the large logistics companies in Japan, delivering everything we have purchased online. If…
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Courier
Word of the Day: Courier When we buy something online, a courier delivers it. A courier is an individual or a company that delivers things such as packages or letters. Ever since online shopping has become popular, couriers have become ubiquitous on the roads and streets. Couriers are everywhere bringing us our books, shoes and…
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