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Take your breath away
Phrase: Take your breath away When something is so beautiful, surprising, or shocking that it leaves you momentarily speechless, it takes your breath away. Imagine the first time you saw your wife. Now, you know what I mean. It’s a wonderful expression that adds emotion to our language. When something takes your breath away, you…
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Push around
WotD: Push around Canada is being pushed around at the moment. To be fair, the Americans are trying to push Canada around, but we have our elbows up, and they are finding out Canada is no pushover. Canada is not going to be dominated by the American psychodrama. When someone says they feel like another…
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Stand up to
WotD: Stand up to This post will help you understand the value of prepositions. On Monday, I covered stand up for; now, in this post today, I will cover stand up to. As the preposition changes, so does the meaning. Stand up to means to confront or challenge someone or something powerful or intimidating. When…
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Stand up for
WotD: Stand up for We wake up today in a world where we have to stand up to our enemies and those we once considered very close friends or family. Why? Quite simply, if we do not stand up for our beliefs and way of life, no one else will do it for us. To…
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Narrow-minded
WotD: Narrow-minded Narrow-minded people have a fixed mindset and are unwilling to consider new ideas or perspectives. It describes someone who often sticks to their beliefs, ignoring other possibilities even when their beliefs have been proven incorrect. Being narrow-minded can lead to misunderstandings and conflict because it prevents open communication and growth. The dangers of…
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Broaden your horizons
Phrase: Broaden your horizons The phrase broaden your horizons means to expand your knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. When you broaden your horizons, you step outside your comfort zone and explore new ideas or cultures. This is important because it helps you grow and enhances your understanding of the world. One effective way to broaden your…
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At a premium
Phrase: At a premium The phrase at a premium indicates that something is being sold for a higher price than usual or is in high demand. When an item is available at a premium, buyers may need to pay more to acquire it due to its perceived scarcity, popularity or quality. For instance, many products…
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Get caught up
WotD: Get caught up On March 4, 2025, Donald J. Trump imposed 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico – literally the closest friends and allies of the USA. We have gotten caught up in a trade war. Getting caught up means becoming involved in something unexpectedly or being absorbed in a situation…
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Crave
Word of the Day: Crave I can’t believe I haven’t covered the word crave in nine years of writing posts. I did cover much craves more, though. Oh well, better late than never, as they say. However, if you crave something, you want it now, never later. Craving is a powerful feeling of wanting something…
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Tempers flare
Idiom: Tempers flare There are two topics I tell my students never to discuss with native English speakers to avoid a situation in which tempers flare. The first is politics, and the second is religion. The idiom tempers flare means that people become outraged or lose their cool in a situation. It often describes moments…
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