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Surreal
Word of the Day: Surreal It all feels so surreal. We’ve just come through a pandemic! It was like one of those History Channel episodes about ancient history, but we were living through it this time. Now, there’s war in Europe again. As I write this, my phone is going off with a missile alert…
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Walk the walk
Phrase: Walk the walk Welcome back! Today’s phrase, walk the walk, is often used in tandem with yesterday’s phrase, talk the talk. If you haven’t covered that one yet, I suggest you go back and read that one first. OK, on with today’s post. A lot of people are very good talkers, but that’s all…
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Talk the talk
Phrase: Talk the talk The world has become full of smooth talkers who can talk the talk but not walk the walk. Do you know what I mean? No, I suppose not. If you could speak English fluently, you would not be reading or listening to these posts, right? To talk the talk means to…
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Head honcho
WotD: Head honcho The Japanese language uses many English loanwords. The English language is comprised of loanwords from other languages, including Japanese. One of those words from Japanese, honcho, is what we’ll be looking at today. First, when a word from one language is ‘borrowed’ by another, the meaning is often changed. English speakers say…
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Top brass
Word of the Day: Top brass Sometimes, when I introduce a word in my classes, a student will say they have never seen that word before. Well, top brass is a term you may see a lot more of in the coming months. Top brass refers to people in the highest positions of an organization, such…
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Does not compute
Wednesday Email: Does not compute Well, that was interesting! Britain now has its third prime minister in less than two months! It’s beginning to look a lot like Japan. It looks like the US is also in a period of constant leadership change. These rapid changes are occurring because, for those leaders, the reality of…
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Jinx yourself
Phrase: Jinx yourself When you jinx yourself, you unintentionally cause yourself to have bad luck by either thinking too positively or too negatively. So, that sounds pretty straightforward, but how do you cause yourself bad luck? Well, one good way to jinx yourself is to talk positively about something you would love to happen. For…
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Rhetorical question
WotD: Rhetorical question When someone asks you a question, they generally expect an answer. Failing to receive one can be seen as an insult and anger them. However, not all questions are asked to be answered. That’s where rhetorical questions come into play. A rhetorical question is asked to make a statement or trigger an…
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Rank-and-file
WotD: Rank-and-file These days the success of any organization depends on how well the rank-and-file are listened to, informed about and included in making major decisions. Did you know that in North America, children play a significant role when families are choosing a new family car? Rank-and-file refers to the general workers in a company,…
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Go down the drain
Idiom: Go down the drain So, what have you watched go down the drain? I can remember what it was like to work on a document for hours before closing it, only to realize I had neglected to save it first. That was hours and hours of work gone down the drain. Not to mention…
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