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Swill
Word of the Day: Swill Imagine drinking a wonderfully creamy, hot, delicious mug of cocoa. When you finally get to the bottom of the mug, there’s a bit of chocolate sauce left at the bottom. You want to drink it, so what do you do? Well, you swill it around until the sauce is…
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Swanky
Word of the Day: Swanky It is a lot of fun to stay in a swanky hotel. The Savoy in Covent Garden, London, is the first example of this type of hotel that I can think of. It probably sticks in my mind because a Canadian politician once stayed there at the Canadian taxpayers’ expense.…
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The whole kit and caboodle
English Idiom: The whole kit and caboodle Today’s idiom is an extension of caboodle I introduced yesterday. Today, I am going to present the whole kit and caboodle. People use this idiom when they want to include everything. Imagine if someone’s house, unfortunately, burns down. It’s terrible, and they have now lost the whole kit…
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Caboodle
Word of the Day: Caboodle Caboodle is another unusual little word that may look and sound funny. It’s a word that most English speakers would recognize from its presence in the idiom, the whole kit and caboodle. They would, however, have no idea what the word by itself means. Well, a caboodle means a collection.…
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Fresh as a Daisy
English Cliché: Fresh as a Daisy I can’t help it. I am a morning person. I wake up as fresh as a daisy in the summer when the sun rises. I feel fresh, full of energy, rejuvenated, and ready to take advantage of whatever the day has to offer. When you feel refreshed, energetic and…
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A cut above
English Idiom: A cut above (somebody/something) A cut above means that somebody or something is better than or superior to others. For example, my wife’s apple pie is a cut above my mother-in-law’s. Now, saying that may get me in trouble, but you know what they say: happy wife, happy life! Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test This…
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Acuity
Word of the Day: Acuity Acuity is a person’s ability to think, see, and hear clearly. Recently, in Japan, much attention has been paid to accidents involving elderly drivers. As people age, their mental and physical acuity begins to diminish. Many accidents have involved elderly drivers mistaking the gas pedal for the brake pedal. Given…
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Holy grail
Word of the Day: holy grail Notice that holy grail is not capitalized. This is because there are two versions. The Holy Grail (capitalized) refers to the cup that Jesus Christ is supposed to have used to drink out of at the Last Supper. I am not referring to that Holy Grail, though. I am…
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Have a bee in your bonnet
English Expression: Have a bee in your bonnet If you have a bee in your bonnet, you talk about something enthusiastically because you think it is important. Most of the time, you believe it is important, but others do not. I have a bee in my bonnet about articles and article usage in English. I…
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Tickled pink
English Idiom: Tickled pink We have recently purchased a new car, and my wife and I are tickled pink. Yes, we are delighted with our new car and the sense of freedom of the open road. It has a standard 6-speed transmission to give us a better feel for the road and all the bells…
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