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Have your fingers in many pies
English Idiom: Have your fingers in many pies Believe it or not, I am quite busy before breakfast. Some days, I have almost half a day’s work completed before 8 am. The reason is that some of my students are extremely busy. In other words, they have their fingers in many pies. They are working…
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Hidden gem
Idiom: Hidden Gem Many people want to find a hidden gem when they go travelling. Hidden gems are fantastic secret places or things which nobody else knows. These are the places that haven’t become tourist traps where cheap souvenirs are sold. They want to escape the hustle and bustle of the main attractions and find…
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Learn the ropes
English Idiom: Learn the ropes We need to learn the ropes whenever we start a new job; I’m sure you know what I mean. Each company has its own way of doing things. We may already know the gist of the job, but we still need to learn how the company works, what its office…
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Catch-22
Word of the Day: Catch-22 A Catch-22 is a situation with no solution, or you can’t win. The classic catch-22 situation many people find themselves in is that to get a job, they need experience, but to get the experience, they need to get a job, and so on. There is no solution. My own…
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Separate the men from the boys
Expression: Separate the men from the boys Well, the new company employees who started working in April have been on the job for a little over four months now. Of course, these new hires have been training with the company and learning the ropes during the summer. We are almost two weeks into September, and…
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Conducive
Word of the Day: Conducive Oh boy, conducive is an official and formal-sounding word. Let me use it in a sentence for you. As most people in Japan know, the northern part of the country has been hit by three typhoons and a rain front over the past few weeks. That has created a situation…
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Gist
Word of the Day: Gist If you get the gist of something, you understand the essential information but do not know its details. For example, most of us know the gist of how a car works: put gas in the tank, turn the key, push on the gas pedal with your foot and turn the steering wheel. You may…
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Step up to the plate
Idiom: Step up to the plate The government of Japan has already reduced the legal voting age from 20 to 18. Many 18-year-olds stepped up to the plate and took advantage of their first opportunity to vote in the last national election. To step up to the plate means to take responsibility or to take…
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Kingpin
Word of the Day: Kingpin Kingpin is another useful word to know. The kingpin I am referring to here is not a king or a bowling pin. The kingpin is the most important person in an organization. For example, at ArtisanEnglish.jp, I am the kingpin. It may make me sound important (which I am…
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A feather in your cap
English Expression: A feather in your cap A feather in your cap is a universally understood expression that signifies a significant achievement, a badge of pride or honour that anyone can earn. My students and I came upon this expression in one of the news articles that we used in class last week. If you have…
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