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Of two Minds
English Idiom: (To be) of two minds Right now, the United States of America is going through a fascinating election. Many Americans know who they want to be the next President, but many other Americans are of two minds about it. To be of two minds means to be undecided about something. Let me give you…
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Lame duck
WotD: Lame duck The G7 Summit was just held in Mie, Japan, and President Obama made his historic visit to Hiroshima. Since the idiom I chose for today is like water off a duck’s back, I decided to stick with the duck theme and introduce the noun lame duck for my word of the day.…
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Like water off a duck’s back
Expression: Like water off a duck’s back The expression, like water off a duck’s back, gives a lovely visual image. We can imagine water rolling off a duck’s back, and the duck is not bothered by the water. Let me give you an example of how it is used as an idiom. Some people may try…
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Dollars to donuts
English Expression: Dollars to donuts Now, this great idiom is used in English when a person wants to express that they are sure that something will happen. We are willing to bet something of little value against something of higher value because we are confident we will win. For example, I bet you dollars to…
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Housewife vs homemaker
Word of the day: Housewife vs Homemaker I have explained this many times during my teaching career. Many students in Japan still use the term housewife either to refer to themselves or somebody else. Unfortunately, the term housewife is not politically correct anymore, and its usage is outdated in Western countries. Here is the reason.…
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Wrap your head around (something)
English Idiom: Wrap one’s head around (something) If you are reading this blog, there is a good chance that you are an English language student. Learning a second language is challenging. There is a lot of grammar, vocabulary, and then idioms, expressions, proverbs, etc., that we find it hard to wrap our heads around. This idiom…
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Bar
Word of the Day: Bar (verb) Most of us like to go to a bar for a drink or a couple of drinks. However, the word bar can also be used as a verb, meaning to prevent someone from doing something. For example, if an athlete uses drugs, they will not be allowed to compete in…
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Bar none
Idiom: Bar none Canada and Japan are tied as the best countries in the world, bar none. I’m sure most of you understand that sentence entirely, except for the last two words. Bar none means without exception. You can use it when you want to emphasize something, such as The Dodge Challenger Hellcat SRT is…
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Par for the course
Idiom: Par for the course Par for the course means something is typical, expected or average for a given situation. Even if you are not a golfer, today’s idiom can come in very handy during your daily life. This idiom is quite similar to yesterday’s idiom, as a matter of course. When learning a language making mistakes…
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As a matter of course
English Phrase: As a matter of course Do you like making mistakes? Are you tired of making mistakes? Do you want to stop making mistakes? Yeah, me too, but you know, we all make mistakes as a matter of course. As a matter of course, means something is natural. For example, as a matter of…
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