Cut to the chase.

Hey guys, have you heard that expression before? A chase is when someone runs away and someone else runs after them. You will often see chase scenes in action movies. Here's one from the Blues Brothers:




So, when someone says cut to the chase they mean get to the point. Stop dancing around the topic and tell me directly! Other expressions with similar meanings are: tell it to me straight and stop beating around the bush.

Ann: Well, umm, you know things have been tough...

Bob: Yeah?

Ann: And we've fought alot and, umm...

Bob: Ann, tell it to me straight! Stop beating around the bush, just say what you have to say!

Ann: I'm breaking up with you!

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Employee: Sir, I have something I'd like to ask you if you have a moment. You see, I've been working really hard lately and putting in a lot of overtime and...

Boss: Get to the point, I don't have all day.

Employee: Yes Sir, I'd like a raise.

Boss: Times are tough but you've been doing good work how does 5% sound?

Employee: Thank you very much Sir!

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You should cut to the chase when asking for something.

Any questions? Have a nice day,


Phil

You and me both buddy~!

Have you ever heard anyone say this before? I used it last week and my wife asked me what I meant so I decided to explain it to everyone online. It is similar to ME TOO. 

We use it when we want to show we share an opinion or thought. Mostly, it is used to express shared desires or regrets ESPECIALLY when the situation is unlikely to happen, it's just a dream... so it has a kind of rough feeling implying that it will never happen.

Andy:  I wish she wasn't marrying that jerk.
Bill: You and me both!

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Dan: Did you see that Ferrari? I want a car like that someday...
Helen: You and me both.


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Pat: I want to go to Oktoberfest.
Jim: You and me both!


Have a good Sunday,


Phil

I need to pace myself.

Hey guys, do you know what the word pace means?


It is like a step, the distance you walk in one step. So it can be used to talk about your speed:

He moves at a quick pace.

He moves quickly. In Japanese, ハイペース

He moves at a snails pace.

He moves slowly. A snail is,  螺 in Japanese a snail's pace is translated as a cow's pace! 牛歩 (ぎゅうほ).

These days, life is moving at a fast pace.

These days, life is moving quickly.

He does things at his own pace.

He does things at his own speed. In Japanese this is what you call:  マイペース 

When I jog I try to move at a steady pace.

This means I try to move at the same speed.


As a verb, it means to walk back and forth usually due to stress or nervousness.

A: Why is he pacing?

B: His wife is giving birth!

Can you guess what the title means now? It means that you shouldn't rush, you should slow down and move at steady pace. Think about being at an all-you-can-eat buffet. If you rush and eat a lot quickly you will get sick and not eat so much. So someone will say:

You need to pace yourself.

Meaning don't rush!


Phil

buzzkill? killjoy?

Do you guys know these words? They are both nouns and have similar meanings.

Buzzkill

A buzz, is when you are a bit drunk or on drugs and feel nice, happy and comfortable. So a buzzkill, is when something or someone kills your buzz. Basically, it ruins your mood.

Oh no! Ben's coming to the party? He's a total buzzkill.

I was having a great night out with my buddies when my wife called my cell. It was a major buzzkill.

 Killjoy

This is basically the same as buzzkill. It is something or someone who kills your joy.

My science teacher is a real killjoy, he never let's us have fun in class.

What a bunch of killjoys~! I can't believe the cops made us cancel our party...

Have a great weekend,


Phil

What brings you to Kyoto?

Today, we're going to have a quick lesson about how you can politely ask people why they are in your area.

This week, I was teaching a lesson where two people run into each other in town and one of them asked:

What are you doing in Umeda?

This is a pretty direct way of asking why someone is in an area. You can also say:

What are you doing here?

This sounds a bit rude, implying that you SHOULDN'T be in this area. 

Why did you come to Japan?

This also sounds kind of rude. It seems to imply that you should go back where you came from. 

This is why you shouldn't say "Where do you come from?" which suggests you should go back there or are a weird person and should instead use:

Where are you from? ^_-

The best way to ask why someone is in your area is:

What brings you to Japan?

This sounds very polite and friendly!

Al: Oh! Hey Tom, what a nice surprise!

Tom: Hi Al, fancy meeting you here. What brings you to Ginza?

Al: I came to check out some new shops.

Tom: Sounds nice, mind if I join you?

Al: Sure, the more the merrier.

Mind if I join you? = Do you mind if I join you? 


Any questions?


Phil

Do blue eyes run in your family?

Today we will be looking at an idiom that is often used in a medical situation or when you are talking about your family.

~runs in the family

 This means that a characteristic is very common in your family.

Blue eyes run in our family.

Meaning many people have blue eyes in my family, my father, my grandfather, my brother, my cousins, my great-grandfather, etc.

Twins run in the family.

Meaning that many people in my family give birth to twins. My mother was a twin, my cousins had twins, my grand-father was a twin, etc.


This will sometimes show up when you talk about your family.

Alice: Your son is a fantastic basketball player!

Mary: Thanks, he's a chip off the old block. His father was an all-state basketball star in high school.

Alice: I guess it runs it the family!

A chip off the old block is an idiom used when talking about how kids resemble their parents. It is usually used by fathers to say their kids are just like them. 

To run in the family, is also commonly heard in medical situations:

Doctor: I'm sorry to say you have a rare genetic disorder...

Patient: Is it ichthyosis? My Father had that...

Doctor: Yes it is, it runs in families. Don't worry, it is just a skin condition that is easily treatable with modern skin creams.

Patient: Yeah, I know. Thanks Doc, I was just hoping it would skip a generation.

To skip a generation is when a characteristic that runs in families goes from grand-parents to grand-children skipping the generation in between.

Have a nice weekend,

Phil




 

Ignorance is Bliss

Have any of you ever heard this saying? Ignorance is a lack of knowledge, it means to NOT know something.

Don't ask him about world events! Ben's a pretty ignorant guy, he never reads the paper.

Bliss means ultimate HAPPINESS. It is like achieving nirvana in Buddhism.

When I eat delicious fresh food I am in a state of bliss.

When we put the two together in the expression:

Ignorance is bliss.

It means that sometimes when you DON'T know something you are extremely happy. If you know it, your happiness will be ruined.


I thought about this saying when one of my students told me about meeting a girl and who was incredibly happy about her boyfriend. She showed her boyfriend's photo to my student... ...who had been on a date with him after they started dating!


We usually use this when talking about other people. We see them being happy but they don't know something that will definitely upset them.

A: Ed's in a good mood today.

B: Yeah, but ignorance is bliss-he doesn't know he'd getting fired.

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C: Sally had a great time on her vacation.

D: Well... ignorance is bliss and when the cat's away the mice will play.

C: Huh? What are you talking about??

D: I heard her husband was seen all over town last week with a younger woman!

C: Oh no! I feel sorry for Sally...

Any questions?


Phil