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Pause for thought
Phrase: Pause for thought For the lucky among us, often there is a pause for thought before we send an angry email. It’s the moment when we briefly consider if we really should press send or not. Then those of us with foresight have set the Undo Send feature on our Gmail accounts to 30…
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Free rein
WotD: Free rein Have you ever felt that you’d like to have free rein at the office? I had often felt restricted by school rules, customs or norms when I worked as an instructor for large eikaiwa or as an ALT in Japan. I longed for the days when I would branch out on my…
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Cold turkey
WotD: Cold turkey We all know Americans love to eat turkey for Thanksgiving in November. Did you know Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving by eating turkey? No? That’s OK, now you know. You should also know that Canadian Thanksgiving is always held on the second Monday in October, not November. The one thing both countries have…
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The odd one out
Phrase: The odd one out One of the biggest misconceptions of North Americans is that everyone has a very strong sense of independence and individuality. Yes, there are many more Canadians and Americans than Japanese who do not mind being the odd one out in a situation, but not everyone feels that way. Many long…
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On the rebound
Phrase: On the rebound English is a very funny language. I don’t mean funny Ha-ha, I mean funny as in strange. For example, if you get a rebound in basketball, that’s a good thing. However, if you are on the rebound from a romantic relationship, it’s considered a bad thing. See, a person who is…
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Put your foot in it
Idiom: Put your foot in it One of the first posts I ever wrote on my blog was we are all English students. Today’s phrase is an excellent example of the truth of that. For me, growing up as a white Canadian of Irish ancestry in Newfoundland, Canada, putting your foot in it means accidentally…
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Rise from the ashes
Idiom: Rise from the ashes We use the phrase rise from the ashes to encourage people to be renewed after suffering destruction of some kind. People often comment on how remarkable it was if someone was able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get on with life after experiencing a traumatic event. It…
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Circadian rhythm
WotD: Circadian rhythm Seriously though, how is your circadian rhythm? It’s pretty important, you know. Haven’t you ever heard of the rhythm of life? Well, your circadian rhythm is the 24-hour sleep-wake cycle that repeats every time the sun rises. The sun rises every day, and most creatures on this planet regulate their activities by…
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Branch out
WotD: Branch out The secret to many businesses’ success is that they specialize in a particular product or service and have found a niche for it. What do they do if that niche is no longer profitable or not as lucrative as they would like it to be? They branch out or begin to do…
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This too shall pass
Adage: This too shall pass Today’s phrase this too shall pass is of Persian origin. It is said that a sultan asked his wise men to create a ring that would make him happy. They wrote this phrase on a ring and gave it to him. It worked. When he experienced difficulty, he could gaze…
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