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Working for the man
Idiom: Working for the man We all wake up early to spend our days working for the man. The question is, who is the man, and why are we working for him? We’re all working for the man. ‘The man’ refers to the government that takes our taxes and the boss that makes us work long…
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Dappled
Word of the Day: Dappled Dappled is a lovely little adjective that you can use to describe something covered with light and dark spots. For example, in the accompanying picture, you can see the sunlight shining through the trees onto the road. Dappled is used to describe something covered with light and dark spots. The road is…
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There’s the rub
Idiom: There’s the rub In the post sign on the dotted line, I debuted the idiom ‘There’s the rub.’ Many expressions and words were first made famous by Shakespeare in his plays, and many people like to quote him, even today. There’s the rub means there’s the difficulty. The rub is a somewhat outdated way to…
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Bell pepper
Word of the Day: Bell pepper Most North Americans will call the vegetables in the above picture bell peppers. However, the Japanese use a different word: paprika. By the way, paprika is from the Dutch language. But the Japanese only call the brightly coloured bell peppers paprika, and they call the green bell peppers pīman,…
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Sign on the dotted line
Expression: Sign on the dotted line Many people who want to buy a house or apartment they can call their own will have to sign on the dotted line. It’s the same all over the world. A man wants to be the king of his castle. However, unless you are fortunate and can go to…
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Cash in hand
Phrase: Cash in hand These days, in most jobs, people don’t receive cash in hand as their salary. Cash in hand refers to instances when people receive cash instead of digital payment or a cheque for selling a good or providing a service. They are paid by having their paycheck deposited directly into their bank accounts. It’s an…
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Waft
Word of the Day: Waft I used to love going to the movies when I was young. It was exciting! I remember standing outside the theatre, looking up at the posters, trying to decide what to see, and, of course, the smell of delicious, hot, buttered popcorn wafting through the air. Nothing goes hand in…
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Money doesn’t grow on trees
English Proverb: Money doesn’t grow on trees This proverb is a very useful idiom to use with your children. Why? Because it is true. When your almost adult child asks you to buy them their first car, you should respond with money doesn’t grow on trees. It just means that you do not have enough…
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Persona non grata
WotD: Persona non grata If someone is persona non grata, they are not welcome. Although it’s Latin, English speakers still use it today. The most recent example that I can think of is the 2016 presidential election hacking trouble between the United States and Russia. Just before the 2017 New Year’s holidays, the United States declared…
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Paper Anniversary
Today is the Paper Anniversary of ArtisanEnglish.jp Word of the Day: Paper Anniversary I want to announce that today is the paper anniversary of ArtisanEnglish.jp. It’s a red-letter day! That’s right; this is the official first anniversary of going online. YAY! Now, why is a first anniversary called a paper anniversary? Well, giving couples a…
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