Dime

Hey everybody, today we will go over some idioms that use the word, dime.

A dime is a 10 cent coin in the US though sometimes we also say dime in Canada.

Probably the most recent slang term or idiom using dime is:

A dime bag which is a small amount of illegal drugs sold for 10 dollars. This is most useful when watching movies or crime dramas.

An older idiom is to drop the dime on someone. This means that you snitched on someone. Again, it is useful when watching crime dramas though it's a pretty old idiom and not so common anymore.

To snitch on someone, means you told the police (parents, teachers, etc.) about something bad someone did and they got caught and got in trouble.

"Mickey dropped a dime on Donald and he's in the Big House(prison) now!"

I think the idiom to drop the dime on someone comes from the fact that before when you made a phone call you had to pay a dime. So you would drop a dime into the phone to make a phonecall. For more information check out this link:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=DROP+A+DIME

At the drop of a dime, be careful this is a completely different idiom! It is still fairly common and it means you will do something instantly, without hesitation. We use this idiom to talk about OTHER PEOPLE and usually for NEGATIVE THINGS.

"Don't make Jimmy angry he'll kill you at the drop of a dime!"
(kill you without stopping to think about it)

"My girlfriend gets angry at the drop of a dime, it's driving me crazy."
(gets angry easily)

A dime a dozen, this idiom is pretty useful it means that something is common and easy to find, not so valuable, easy to replace, etc.

"Cute girls are a dime a dozen in LA."
(cute girls are everywhere in LA)

A: "Sorry, I lost your magazine."

B: "Don't worry about it, they're a dime a dozen."
(very common, not so valuable)

The last idiom I want to talk about is; on a dime. This has two meanings:

1- At a precise point, precisely.

"My new car can stop on a dime."
(can stop at an exact point)

"This motorcycle can turn on a dime."
(can turn very precisely)

2- Cheaply, inexpensively, without spending a lot of money.

"This book is great! It can tell you how to live on a dime."
(how to live without spending a lot of money)

"I'm tired of traveling on a dime! Let's take a more luxurious trip."
(traveling cheaply)

That's all for now, hope you enjoyed the lesson and be sure to live a comment in the comments section!

Phil

Christmas Carols ^_^

Hey everyone, MERRY CHRISTMAS and Have a Happy New Year~!

So, to celebrate I decided to write about Christmas carols. These are traditional Christmas songs that people sing during the Holidays. Most, are from the 19th century and during the Christmas season people go carolling. This means they go from house to house and sing Christmas songs. Carolling used to be very popular but recently it is not so common but sometimes, it still happens ^_-

So today, I am going to present to you three very common Christmas carols that I used to sing when I was a kid.The first is:

Jingle Bells

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go
Laughing all the way

Ha Ha Ha

Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh

That is the version I used to sing as a child, if you want the full original version follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bells

We also had a joke version we would sing in elementary school which was:

Jingle bells, Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg;
The Batmobile lost a wheel,
And the Joker got away!

This is version talks about the superhero Batman and so it is popular among young boys who think it is funny! The second carol I am going to show you is:

We Wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas; We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This is only a small part of the carol but it is the one people remember. If you want to know the whole song follow this link: http://www.christmas-carols.net/carols/merry-christmas.html

One of the few that people know all the words to is:

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer

had a very shiny nose.

And if you ever saw him,

you would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer

used to laugh and call him names.

They never let poor Rudolph

join in any reindeer games.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve

Santa came to say:

"Rudolph with your nose so bright,

won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Then all the reindeer loved him

as they shouted out with glee,

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,

you'll go down in history!

Hmm, those are the ones I remember singing as a child. I hope you enjoy these songs and have a great time during the Holidays. I am off to Taiwan soon for a short vacation, I am not sure if there will be another post this year so...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

SEE YOU IN 2009!

Phil


Songs with midi music for you to sing along to:

http://www.the-north-pole.com/carols/index.htm

Christmas carols:

http://www.christmas-carols.net/

the pinky

the pinky

So this is the smallest finger of the human hand. It is also called: the pinky(Scottish spelling is pinkie), the little finger, the baby finger, the fifth finger (or fourth finger if you don't count the thumb) and even the anti-thumb.

From the word pinky, we get the term pinky ring. This is a small ring worn on the pinky and actually, many engineers in Canada and the U.S. wear a special ring on this finger. Also, villains in movies often wear pinky rings...

While researching this lesson I learned that in Japan, when talking about two people if you lift up your pinky it means they are in a relationship... but it is a bit of an old fashioned gesture.

In China, lifting up the little finger to someone is like the middle finger to English speaking people so it is really rude~!

The last thing to mention about the little finger is: pinky swear or pinky promise. This is when two people link their little fingers and shake to make a promise. It is often used by kids. A long time ago, if you broke this promise you were supposed to cut off your pinky... kind of like the Japanese Yakuza and 指つめ.

A: Are you telling the truth?

B: Sure, I pinky swear it's the truth!

In this case, they probably won't shake using their pinkies. It is kind of like saying: I swear, cross my hurt and hope to die(if I am lying).

Finally! The finger series is done, I hope you enjoyed it ^_^ If you have any questions or suggestions please leave a post on my message board!

Phil

the ring finger

Hey everyone! Today, we will finally finish my series about fingers by covering the ring finger. This is the third finger of the hand (fourth if you count the thumb), especially the left hand on which people normally wear their wedding rings.

Here is a picture:

In many cultures, this is a magical finger and so you get the name; medical finger because it was supposed to have healing powers. This is the same as in Japan where you call it: 薬指 - kusuri yubi or medicine finger.

There aren't any real idioms again just the term ring finger which is often used. Ex:

A: Wow, that is a cute guy!

B: Did you check his ring finger? Is he married?

Ok, there is one more lesson left in this series which is about the smallest finger... ...the pinky!

Phil

Index finger, Middle finger...

Hey everyone, I will continue my series on finger idioms. Today, I will be covering the index finger and the middle finger.

the index finger

This is also called the pointing finger (though it is rude to point with this finger), the forefinger, the first finger and the trigger finger.

I couldn't really think of any idioms that go with this finger, the trigger finger is said because it is the one you use to pull the trigger to shoot a gun.

So you might here: "I have an itchy trigger finger" which means that you will easily shoot your gun.

People might also say "pull my finger" and put out the index finger, when you pull it they fart! It's a kid's joke ^_-

I often get hangnails on my index fingers... this means that a small piece of nail sticks out the side of the fingernail. Then you pull it out and it is a bit painful.
Not too fun -_-

the middle finger

This is the finger you use when you tell people to F#*K You! So there are a few idioms about this:

to give someone the finger

This guy cut me off on the road so I gave him the finger.

to flip the bird

My teacher was mean to me so when she turned around I flipped her the bird.

Hmm, that is about it. There are not many idioms about these fingers... Our next lesson is about the ring finger... and then the last lesson will be about the pinky!

Phil

iknow check out this interesting site!

We interrupt my series on finger idioms to tell you about a new website for people learning Japanese or Japanese people learning English it is called iknow:

http://www.iknow.co.jp/

It is pretty cool, there is audio, photos, etc. that help you learn lots of vocabulary. So if you want to do a free online study course, check it out!

Phil

2 Thumbs up!

Today, we will be talking about the thumb! 2 thumbs up is an idiom that is often used to describe movies, it means it is a great movie~! 2 thumbs down means it is a terrible movie.

This is a really old idiom that comes from the Roman Empire, when the Emperor went to the Colosseum and saw gladiators fight-he would give the thumbs up to spare someone's life and the thumbs down to say he should be killed...

So from that, we got two idioms:

thumbs up, meaning something is good

and

thumbs down, meaning something is bad

So you can say, "I gave him the thumbs up/down", which means I showed that I approve or disapprove of something.

Now, onto some more idioms!

twiddle your thumbs, this means to do nothing, you just sat there moving your thumbs in circles.

Don't just sit there twiddling your thumbs! Help me!

I hate waiting! I just sit there twiddling my thumbs!

to thumb through something, this means you look through something quickly usually a magazine, book or a bunch of papers. Think of all those people in convenience stores thumbing through magazines...

Can you thumb through my paper for me and tell me what you think?

all thumbs or all fingers and thumbs, this means you are bad with your hands, you aren't good at making things with your hands.

Don't ask me to help build your shelf, I'm all thumbs.

stick out like a sore thumb, this means you are easily noticed, it looks like you do not belong there.

I don't like going to fancy restaurants, I always feel like I stick out like a sore thumb!

under someone's thumb, this means you are under someone's control.

Bob's totally under his wife's thumb, he never does anything without her permission.

have a green thumb, this means you are good with plants and gardening. You can easily make things grow.

My wife has a green thumb, her garden is doing great!

There are other thumb idioms but I think these are the most common. I hope you enjoyed today's lesson.

Have a nice day!

Phil

Check...

Sorry for not blogging in awhile but last week was my Japanese test, I think it went ok and I will find out in 3 months!!! What a long wait...

Anyways, today I will just make a quick post about an instruction I saw on the test's answer sheet. There was this English phrase:

"Check up on your test voucher"

This isn't correct English... so I thought I would talk about phrasal verbs using check.

I would probably say something like "Check against your test voucher" or simply "Check your test voucher".

Check up on means that you research someone's background.

At my office, we check up on all new applicants before hiring them.

Or, it is used by parents when talking about seeing(checking) what their children are doing. This is to make sure they stay out of trouble.

I always check up on my kids via cellphone.

Check on has a similar meaning but is not as strong, so check up on can often be seen as a little negative...

(a teenager) Stop checking up on me!!!

Check out means to look at something or go and try a new shop or restaurant, like I want to go and see if it is any good. Kind of like the Japanese 行って見たい。

Check out that cute girl!

I want to check out that new restaurant near the train station.

Check over, means double-check so look over something carefully to see that everything is ok.

Check over your answers before handing in the test.

Check off, comes from having a list of things to do. When finish doing something you check it off your list or cross it off your list.

I found the gift my girlfriend wanted~! I can cross her off my Christmas list.

Check into is the same as look into, again this means research or verify. It is usually used when talking about situations and you will try to find out what is happening.

A: What's going on with the Johnson account? I hear there's a problem.

B: I'll check into it and get back to you.

Basically, check means to verify, to see if something or someone is as you imagine it to be.

A: Is Bob in his office?

B: Let me check... yeah, he is.

So that is it for now, the next post will continue my series on fingers and finger idioms!

Phil

Finger Idioms...

So today, I will go over some idioms using the word finger in them. Here we go!

I'm all fingers and thumbs.

This means that you are not good with your hands, you lack manual dexterity.

Cross your fingers or Keep your fingers crossed

You say this when you hope or wish that something will happen or become true.

A: I hope we have a long vacation this year.

B: Keep your fingers crossed.

Give someone the finger

This is when you lift your middle finger to someone to tell them to F*#K off or F#*K you!

This morning this guy cut me off in traffic so I gave him the finger!

Have sticky fingers

This means that someone often steals things.

Chris has sticky fingers so he's going to jail.

Not lift a finger

This means you do nothing to help someone.

My friend fell down and hurt himself and no one lifted a finger to help him!

Point the finger at someone

This means that you blame someone for something bad that happened

Why are you pointing the finger at me? YOU ARE the one who decided to eat at this bad restaurant!!!

Wear/work your fingers down to the bone

This means you are working very hard for a long time.

I've been working my fingers down to the bone trying to finish this project on time.

Wrap around your little finger

This means that you someone will do anything you want.

Man your girlfriend has you wrapped around her little finger~!

Slip through your fingers

1- This means that something you are trying to do, doesn't work.

I failed my interview, that job just slipped through my fingers.

2- This is also used when you are chasing someone and they escape.

A: Did you catch the prisoners?

B: No, they managed to slip through my fingers...

A: What?!?!? Your in big trouble now!

Hmm, it is getting late. Time for bed, sweet dreams everyone!

Phil

Fingers

Hey everyone, I will be doing a little series about our fingers. Today, I will only tell you the English names for the different fingers. Later, I will be going over idioms that use fingers in them.

There are, of course, 5 fingers which are from out to in:

1- the pinky or little finger, this is the smallest finger on your hand

2- the ring finger, we call it this because when people are married they usually wear a ring here

3- the middle finger because it is umm... in the middle ^_- it is the longest finger

4- the index finger, also forefinger, pointer finger(we use it to point-not so polite) or trigger finger(it is used to pull the trigger to shoot a gun)

5- the thumb, this is the opposable finger which you use to hold things

Please note, with feet we usually just say big toe for the biggest and maybe pinky toe or little toe for the smallest. The rest of the toes have scientific names but people don't talk about them in everyday life.

Next time, we will talk about some idioms!

Phil

For more on fingers check out wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger

What's the magic word?

Today, we will have a quick culture lesson. In English, there are a few words related to magic: abracadabra, hocus pocus, presto, etc. All of these words are used by magicians when they are performing a magic trick. For example:

I will put a rabbit into my hat and...

...ABRACADABRA...

...the rabbit has disappeared!

You can substitute presto, hocus pocus, or any other word for ABRACADABRA.

But in English, there is only one answer for the question:

What's the magic word?

The answer is... Please.

This is a question used by parents to teach their children good manners and how to be polite.

For example:

boy: Mom give me a cookie!

Mom: What's the magic word?

boy: Huh? umm, abracadabra? Give me a cookie!

Mom: What's THE magic word?

boy: Oh! PLEASE give me a cookie Mom.

Mom: Ok, here you go.

boy: Thank you.

Well that's it for now, time for bed. I am off to Tokyo for a few days but will try and continue to post.

Have a nice weekend!

Phil

Numbers...

Hey everyone, here's a quick mini-lesson on how people pronounce numbers in North American English.

First off, there is a difference in word stress between numbers in the teens and regular numbers. In Japan, people often do not stress the correct part of the number or do not have enough stress on the syllable.

So, here is how things should be said:

13 - thir-TEEN

30 - THIR-ty

14 - four-TEEN

40 - FOR-ty

15 - fif-TEEN

50 - FIF-ty

16 - six-TEEN

60 - SIX-ty

That is the basic pattern, with a strong emphasis on the N in TEEN. The word stress between teens and regular numbers are opposite so that people do not get confused.

Now, in North America we also have lots of pronunciation changes so that we can count more quickly. Here is a list of the changes:

20 - twenty - twenny

30 - thirty - thirdy

40 - forty - fordy

50 - fifty - fifty, I don't change it but some change it to fifdy

60 - sixty - sixdy

70 - seventy - sevenny

80 - eighty - eighdy

90 - ninety - ninney

These changes happen so that the numbers become easier to pronounce quickly, fifty is easier to say than fifdy so I don't change it. In, 20, 70 and 90 the T is dropped and we double the N. In the other numbers, the T usually becomes D.

Enjoy counting!

Phil

How long is it? VS How long does it take?

First off, VS means VERSUS and is often used in boxing. For example:

Mike Tyson VS Evander Holyfield

So today I will talk about the differences between these two sentences.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

This is often used to talk about flights, boat trips, train trips, etc. It is short for:

How long does it take (to get there)?

or

How long does it take (to get to ___________ )?

It has no positive or negative connotations or nuances. It is a simple request for information.

HOW LONG IS IT?

When talking about time, this has a NEGATIVE connotation. It means that I have something else to do or I don't really want to do this so I am hoping it will finish quickly.

If you are asking about a tour when traveling and say "How long is it?" the guide will get the feeling you want it to be a short tour.

You can also use this to talk about movies or music albums where it isn't negative just a bit strange. It is not a normal question when talking about movies or CDs...

Be careful!

A: Would you like to see a movie?

B: Sure. Which one?

A: How about Titanic?

B: Uuum, how long is it?

A: ???

In this conversation, person A will get the feeling you don't really want to see Titanic!

Have a good weekend,

Phil

closer...

Hey everyone, today I want to talk a bit about the importance of pronunciation and how changing the sound of a word can change the meaning.

The word I will use as an example is:

CLOSER

1st - closer pronounced "closser"

This is the comparitive form of close, adj.

My house is closer to the station than yours.

I'm closer to finishing the game than you! hahaha

2nd - closer pronounced "clozer"

This is someone who closes things, for example a store or business deal, noun.

He's our company's closer, he will get the contracts signed!

Ah man! I have to be the closer at work tonight!! I won't get home till late...

3rd - closer pronounced "closser"

This is the same pronunciation as the 1st but it is an ADVERB.

Come closer so I can see you better.

We're getting closer to Tokyo.

Have a nice cold day in Kansai!

Phil

Today is a historic day...

Just a quick lesson about the difference between historical and historic. Both are adjectives but the meanings are slightly different.

historic: means that something is important to history or influencing history

Today is a historic day, the U.S. has it's first African-American President.

Okinawa has many historic sites, like Shuri Castle.

historical: means that it is about history, not important to it

Jidai Matsuri shows people in many historical costumes.

I love watching historical dramas.

So be careful!

It's a historic novel.

Means the novel MADE history, for example, The Tale of Genji is the first novel in the world.

It's a historical novel.

Means the novel is ABOUT history, for example, Memoirs of a Geisha which is about the life of a Geisha in Kyoto.

Enjoy your day!

Phil

Fall Vocabulary ^_-

Hey everyone, November is finally here and the weather is getting cooler in Kyoto. Tourists are arriving by the boatload(in great numbers) and the leaves are starting to turn. I thought I would talk a bit about こうよう or もみじ season and fall vocabulary.

foliage: the leaves of trees or in Japanese, このは

The Eastern Townships are a great place to see the fall foliage.

rake: this is a tool like a giant fork used to gather fallen leaves which is the verb, to rake

Marc, go rake the leaves in the backyard!

autumn: the older word for fall or in Japanese, 秋

I am going to USJ this autumn to see the Halloween decorations.

to turn: we use this verb when things change color

That chameleon turned red!

I love seeing the leaves turn.

My maple tree's foliage has turned a beautiful orange.

Oh no! My hair is turning gray!

to see the leaves: this is when we go for a drive or a walk to see the autumn leaves

Are you going to see the leaves this fall?

harvest: to gather a crop or the time of year to gather a crop, in Japanese 穫る (とる)

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival.（Thanksgivingは収穫祭です）

I think it's time to harvest the corn.

I hope that helps you chat a bit about autumn!

Phil

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Hey everyone, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

So, I decided to write a bit about Halloween. The two key phrases are:

TRICK OR TREAT

and

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Trick or Treat is used by kids to get candy, they ring the doorbell and then say "Trick or Treat" and they will get some candy. They also, sometimes carry UNICEF boxes to raise money for UNICEF by collecting pennies(1 cent coins). If you don't give the kids treats then maybe they will play a bad trick played on you(breaking your pumpkin, throwing eggs on your door, etc.).

When I was a kid we also had this rhyme:

Trick or Treat
Smell my feet
Give me something
Good to eat

Not too big
Not too small
Just the size of
Montreal!

Ok, the two vocabulary words I want to talk about today are; a disguise and a costume.

A costume is when you put on clothes, make up or something to change your appearance for an event like Halloween, Mardi Gras, a party, etc. Often, you dress up to look like someone(Harry Potter, Spider-Man) or something famous(a vampire, a ghost, a princess).

"Hey man, great costume! You look exactly like Frankenstein!"

A disguise is when you put on some clothes or make up to change your appearance TO AVOID RECOGNITION. This means you are hiding your identity, you don't want people to know who you are. For example; you escaped from prison(like in Prison Break) and the police are looking for you so you need to wear a disguise. ^_-

"The police are looking for us! Quick everyone put on your disguises!!!"

Well that is all for now! Enjoy your weekend,

Phil

Stop being so sarcastic!

Do you know what sarcasm is?

Sarcastic is the adjective form of the noun sarcasm.

He's a very sarcastic guy.

Sarcasm is a kind of joke, often not very nice... ...even a bit mean where you want to hurt someone's feelings and make them feel bad.

The way people create a sarcastic sentence is by using INTONATION. When using sarcasm, the intonation tells you that the meaning of the sentence is the OPPOSITE of the words in the sentence.

For example:

You're so smart

This is a complement when using normal intonation but if you use sarcasm you get:

YOU're SOOOO smart.

So YOU and SO are stressed and SO becomes SOOOO.

Or you might hear a "Could you be..." sentence:

Could you be any smarter?

Meaning you are stupid.

Could you be any dumber?

Meaning, no you can't you are REALLY dumb.

Check out this YouTube video from Saturday Night Live a sketch comedy show, this sketch is called SARCASM 101 and is a college course in sarcasm ^_-

The magic of me too!

"Me too" is a REALLY useful phrase! It is the perfect casual way to say that you can also do, own, want to do or did something.



CAN DO:



A: I can swim.



B: I can swim too. = I can too. = Me too.



DID SOMETHING:



A: I went to Canada.



B: I went to Canada too. = I did too. = Me too.



WANT TO DO SOMETHING:



A: I want to go to Fiji.



B: I want to go to Fiji too. = I do too. = Me too.



OWN SOMETHING:



A: I have an ipod.



B: I have an ipod too. = I have one too. = Me too.



So you can see the the most formal is the longest sentence, standard level of politeness is a bit shorter and really casual is the magical ME TOO!



Please remember this is ONLY use when you ALSO want to do, did, own or can do something. So a positive with a positive.



If it is a positive + with a negative - then you have:



A: I can swim. +



B: I can't swim = I can't. -



If it is a negative - with a positive +:



A: I don't have a car. -



B: I have a car. = I do. +



BUT if it is a negative - AND a negative - then you get:



A: I don't want to go to work. -



B: I don't want to go to work either. = I don't either. = Me neither. -



So for positive + and positive + in casual situations use ME TOO and for negative - and negative - situations use ME NEITHER!

There, their, they're review...

Hey everybody, the pronunciation of they are in it's contracted form came up again in one of my lessons yesterday so I thought up a sentence to help you all review:

They're standing over there by their car.

Remember that these all sound EXACTLY the same in North American spoken English.

they're = there = their

同じ発音だよ！＾＿＾

So in my example sentence, they're means they are, over there means あそこ and their means かれらの　or　方々の.

Let's rewrite the sentence now!

They are standing over near the street corner(far away) by the car that they own.

So as you can see, it becomes a much more complicated sentence!

Poems about how crazy English can be!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Whacha doin?

Hey everyone, yesterday I realized that I forgot a really casual way of saying "What are you...?" is by saying:

"Whacha"

Actually, this is REALLY casual English so "whacha" might mean:

what you(ya) (here are is dropped)
"Whacha doing?" = "What ya doing?" = "What are you doing?"

what are you (to me this is the most common and correct use of whacha)
"Whacha gonna eat for dinner?" = "What are you going to eat for dinner?"

what do you
"Whacha do for a living?" = "What do you do for a living?" (job)



what did you
"Whacha do yesterday?" = "What did you do yesterday?"


what have you
"Whacha been doing lately?" = "What have you been doing lately?"


There is also an interesting English word for something that you forget the name for...


A whachamacallit!


This comes from the sentence "what do you call it?". Or according to the Urban Dictionary "what you may call it" from T.H. White's book The Once and Future King.
(http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=whachamacallit)


Ok, that is it for now!


Phil