Hey everyone, for the last lesson of the month I will talk about a few idioms related to the word tongue (舌 - した). The first we'll look at is:
Cat got your tongue?
This is a question meaning "Why aren't you saying anything?" or "Why are you so quiet?" according to thefreedictionary.com it is most often used by adults towards children.
A: Hi Timmy what'd you do today?
B: ...
A: Cat got your tongue Timmy?
B: No, but I was playing baseball and broke a window...
-------
John: Hey Sam, how's it going?
Sam: ...
John: Hello, Earth to Sam... what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?
Sam: Oh, sorry, I was daydreaming and didn't hear you.
So you can use this question anyone is not talking to you or answering your questions. It has a friendly, casual feel.
Ok the second idiom we'll look at is:
It's on the tip of my tongue.
We use this when we are trying to remember something and we feel we are close to remembering it. It's usually used with NAMES...
A: Oh who's that guy that painted the Mona Lisa again?
B:Oh, I know that! It's -
A: No wait! I got it, it's on the tip of my tongue...
B: Yeah, it's Leo-
A: Yeah, yeah I got it! It's Leonardo Da Vinci!
-----
C: Who was that?
D: I forget her name... hmm, it's on the tip of my tongue...
D:...now I remember, she's Kara we went to university together.
Well that's it for this month, see you in February~!
Phil
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Do you get it?
Hey everyone, time for a quick mini-lesson about the phrasal verb:
Get it
Which is pronounced: geddit.
Do you get it?
Means
Do you understand it?
It is most often used when talking about JOKES~!
A: Do you get it?
B: No, I don't get it. Do you?
C: Me neither. Why's he laughing so much?
A: Well, if none of us gets it, it can't be that funny...
It might also be used to simply say you don't understand something like a book or a piece of art, a song, etc... in which case we use don't get X.
I don't get why Britney Spears is so popular.
I don't get this book, it's gibberish.
Gibberish means 珍糞漢 (ちんぷんかん) or 痴れ言 (しれごと).
I don't get this painting...do you?
OK that's it for now. If you like click on the tag for get on the left side of the screen for more lessons about this useful verb!
Have a good week,
Phil
Get it
Which is pronounced: geddit.
Do you get it?
Means
Do you understand it?
It is most often used when talking about JOKES~!
A: Do you get it?
B: No, I don't get it. Do you?
C: Me neither. Why's he laughing so much?
A: Well, if none of us gets it, it can't be that funny...
It might also be used to simply say you don't understand something like a book or a piece of art, a song, etc... in which case we use don't get X.
I don't get why Britney Spears is so popular.
I don't get this book, it's gibberish.
Gibberish means 珍糞漢 (ちんぷんかん) or 痴れ言 (しれごと).
I don't get this painting...do you?
OK that's it for now. If you like click on the tag for get on the left side of the screen for more lessons about this useful verb!
Have a good week,
Phil
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Don't choke~!
The other day I was with my girlfriend watching a TV show and a character said:
"I don't wanna choke"
She asked me "What does choke mean?" So today I will teach you all about a few of the meanings of the verb:
Choke
The main meaning is that you can't breathe well, even to the point of death. But from this meaning you get many variations:
He choked Bill to death.
(squeezed his neck)
My collar is too tight, it's choking me a bit...
(too tight so you can't breathe)
What's with all the smoke? Open the window before we all choke!
(can't breathe)
As Elvis said: "I'm all choked up."
(full of emotion so that you can't speak.)
The meaning from the TV show was to fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation(from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/choke). In other words, you are trying to win or do something but you just can't because of a mental block.
I'm gonna talk to her today. I swear I won't choke.
I can't believe he choked on the penalty kick!
Don't choke! You can do it!
So do you all understand the verb choke? Next time you see a foreigner or go abroad and try to speak English, relax take it easy and just enjoy it. That way you won't choke ^_^
Have a good week,
Phil
"I don't wanna choke"
She asked me "What does choke mean?" So today I will teach you all about a few of the meanings of the verb:
Choke
The main meaning is that you can't breathe well, even to the point of death. But from this meaning you get many variations:
He choked Bill to death.
(squeezed his neck)
My collar is too tight, it's choking me a bit...
(too tight so you can't breathe)
What's with all the smoke? Open the window before we all choke!
(can't breathe)
As Elvis said: "I'm all choked up."
(full of emotion so that you can't speak.)
The meaning from the TV show was to fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation(from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/choke). In other words, you are trying to win or do something but you just can't because of a mental block.
I'm gonna talk to her today. I swear I won't choke.
I can't believe he choked on the penalty kick!
Don't choke! You can do it!
So do you all understand the verb choke? Next time you see a foreigner or go abroad and try to speak English, relax take it easy and just enjoy it. That way you won't choke ^_^
Have a good week,
Phil
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Indian English, Part 3
This is the last lesson in this series and finishes my tribute to India. While I was traveling in India, I often had to go through metal detectors and then get a quick non-invasive pat down.
At the Taj Mahal, security was a bit tighter and they go through everything you're carrying(no food, toys?, etc.). When I was going through it I had my copy of the Lonely Planet book Indian English in my pocket and the security guard asked me to take it out. When he saw the book he just laughed and said Ok. hahaha
Today, I am going to talk about some common misunderstandings between speakers of standard English and Indian English.
latrines
In Indian English it means toilets, it probably came from British soldiers since the only time I've ever heard this word was in a military context, like: "You guys go dig the latrines!".
Where are the latrines?
curd
This means yoghurt in standard English.
bearer
This means waiter, it comes from the verb to bear which means to carry. It isn't used so often in standard English anymore. From the U.S. Constitutions 2nd Amendment:
The right to bear arms.
Where's the bearer?
Ground Floor
Just like in most of Europe the first floor(North America) is G and then the 2nd floor is 1F. It's kind of confusing to me... ^_-
nose cut
This doesn't mean that you cut your nose. It actually means humiliation, in Japanese 凌虐 (りょうぎゃく) .
I was totally nose cut.
Meaning "I was totally humiliated".
tight
In Indian English it means broke or すっからかん.
I'm tight.
Meaning "I'm broke".
Ok that's all for this series, I'll try and post a new lesson this weekend.
Phil
At the Taj Mahal, security was a bit tighter and they go through everything you're carrying(no food, toys?, etc.). When I was going through it I had my copy of the Lonely Planet book Indian English in my pocket and the security guard asked me to take it out. When he saw the book he just laughed and said Ok. hahaha
Today, I am going to talk about some common misunderstandings between speakers of standard English and Indian English.
latrines
In Indian English it means toilets, it probably came from British soldiers since the only time I've ever heard this word was in a military context, like: "You guys go dig the latrines!".
Where are the latrines?
curd
This means yoghurt in standard English.
bearer
This means waiter, it comes from the verb to bear which means to carry. It isn't used so often in standard English anymore. From the U.S. Constitutions 2nd Amendment:
The right to bear arms.
Where's the bearer?
Ground Floor
Just like in most of Europe the first floor(North America) is G and then the 2nd floor is 1F. It's kind of confusing to me... ^_-
nose cut
This doesn't mean that you cut your nose. It actually means humiliation, in Japanese 凌虐 (りょうぎゃく) .
I was totally nose cut.
Meaning "I was totally humiliated".
tight
In Indian English it means broke or すっからかん.
I'm tight.
Meaning "I'm broke".
Ok that's all for this series, I'll try and post a new lesson this weekend.
Phil
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Indian English, Part 2
On aspect of Indian English is the use of Hinglish. Hinglish is a mix of Hindi and English. Today we're gonna look at some common Hinglish expressions.
discount hai
This means discounted and comes from the Hindi "There is a discount". So hai basically means ある in Japanese.
A: Where are you going?
B: To the mall, discount hai bags~!
sale ka maal
This means goods for sale, from the Hindi maal(goods) and ka(for).
rail roko
This is a blockade of trains as a form of political or social protest. From the Hindi, roko meaning stop.
When I was in India there was a rail roko by Gujjars on the Delhi-Mumbai train route.
line maroing
This means flirting. It's from the Hindi, maro meaning to hit.
That guys always line maroing, you shouldn't trust him.
maha idiot
Meaning a mega-idiot. Maha is Hindi for very so I guess it is similar to the Japanese, チョー 《超》(ちょう).
That guys a real maha idiot!
kya problem hai?
What's the problem? From the Hindi kya for what.
love mein
Meaning to be in love, from the Hindi mein for in.
A: Kya problem hai?
B: I'm love mein but she's married.
A: That's terrible yaar.
Yaar means buddy or friend in Hindi.
bahut bore
This means very boring. Bahut in Hindi means alot.
The movie Kiss of Death is bahut bore! It sucks man.
Well, I think that's enough for now, time to make dinner. Have a nice weekend yaar~!
Phil
discount hai
This means discounted and comes from the Hindi "There is a discount". So hai basically means ある in Japanese.
A: Where are you going?
B: To the mall, discount hai bags~!
sale ka maal
This means goods for sale, from the Hindi maal(goods) and ka(for).
rail roko
This is a blockade of trains as a form of political or social protest. From the Hindi, roko meaning stop.
When I was in India there was a rail roko by Gujjars on the Delhi-Mumbai train route.
line maroing
This means flirting. It's from the Hindi, maro meaning to hit.
That guys always line maroing, you shouldn't trust him.
maha idiot
Meaning a mega-idiot. Maha is Hindi for very so I guess it is similar to the Japanese, チョー 《超》(ちょう).
That guys a real maha idiot!
kya problem hai?
What's the problem? From the Hindi kya for what.
love mein
Meaning to be in love, from the Hindi mein for in.
A: Kya problem hai?
B: I'm love mein but she's married.
A: That's terrible yaar.
Yaar means buddy or friend in Hindi.
bahut bore
This means very boring. Bahut in Hindi means alot.
The movie Kiss of Death is bahut bore! It sucks man.
Well, I think that's enough for now, time to make dinner. Have a nice weekend yaar~!
Phil
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Indian English, Part 1
Happy New Year everyone! I am now back in Japan after my trip to India. Overall, it was a good trip with some amazing sights. So in honor of my trip, I am going to have three mini-lessons on:
Indian English
Indian English is an English dialect spoken in India. It is a mix of English and other Indian languages with some local grammatical structures which sound wrong or strange to speakers of standard English. I learned about it from Lonely Planets, Indian English: Language & Culture which is a fun little book.
I am going to start today's lesson with the different uses of the word black in Indian English.
black = a dark complexion
Complexion means: skin color/texture/appearance, especially of the face.
blacker = darker
A bit strange but understandable in standard English.
blackened = reputation dragged through the mud
It is more natural for me to say you tarnished my reputation. Tarnish means to lose luster, to discolor. It is most often used with metals like brass which slowly turn black if they aren't polished regularly.
black-black = jet black, 漆黒 (しっこく)
It's a very deep rich black.
black heart = having wicked thoughts
This is old English meaning someone is evil/mean. He has a black heart.
black deeds = cruelty
In old English it means a bad action.
Redbeard the pirate's black deeds were infamous.
black face = ashamed
In standard English, black face is when a white actor would use black make-up to paint himself to pretend to be a black person. This is considered racist these days but was quite common in early cinema/TV.
blackout = power failure or fainting
This is pretty much the same in standard English:
There was a blackout yesterday.
She drank so much she blacked out.
Notice in standard English when using blackout to mean fainting it is the phrasal verb black out NOT the noun blackout.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this lesson I will try and post 6 times this month. Wish me luck~!
Phil
Indian English
Indian English is an English dialect spoken in India. It is a mix of English and other Indian languages with some local grammatical structures which sound wrong or strange to speakers of standard English. I learned about it from Lonely Planets, Indian English: Language & Culture which is a fun little book.
I am going to start today's lesson with the different uses of the word black in Indian English.
black = a dark complexion
Complexion means: skin color/texture/appearance, especially of the face.
blacker = darker
A bit strange but understandable in standard English.
blackened = reputation dragged through the mud
It is more natural for me to say you tarnished my reputation. Tarnish means to lose luster, to discolor. It is most often used with metals like brass which slowly turn black if they aren't polished regularly.
black-black = jet black, 漆黒 (しっこく)
It's a very deep rich black.
black heart = having wicked thoughts
This is old English meaning someone is evil/mean. He has a black heart.
black deeds = cruelty
In old English it means a bad action.
Redbeard the pirate's black deeds were infamous.
black face = ashamed
In standard English, black face is when a white actor would use black make-up to paint himself to pretend to be a black person. This is considered racist these days but was quite common in early cinema/TV.
blackout = power failure or fainting
This is pretty much the same in standard English:
There was a blackout yesterday.
She drank so much she blacked out.
Notice in standard English when using blackout to mean fainting it is the phrasal verb black out NOT the noun blackout.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this lesson I will try and post 6 times this month. Wish me luck~!
Phil
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