More Apps...

Hey guys, I came across a few apps which are free at the moment:


Cambridge's Business English Dictionary


and


English Thesaurus


A Thesaurus is a special kind of dictionary which gives you synonyms (words with the same or similar meaning) and antonyms (words with the opposite meaning). They're great ways to boost your vocabulary. These apps seem to only be free for a limited time so if you use apple products, download them now~!


Phil

You're walking on thin ice...

...this means that you are in a dangerous, bad or risky situation. Today we are going to have a quick idiom lesson, enjoy!

Ever since I bought my new Porsche, I've been on thin ice with my wife.

This means that his wife is angry with him and he needs to be careful not to make her even angrier!

A: I hear your girlfriend's been around the block.

B: Dude, you're walking on thin ice! Say another word and I'm going to deck you!!!

A: OK, chill man...

A is saying that B's girlfriend has dated many men. So B warns him that if he keeps talking, he will punch him!


Any questions?


Phil

A repost of an interesting post from bakadesuyo.com

Hey guys, I came across a great post on bakadesuyo.com a nice blog that talks about all kinds of pyschological studies. This one goes over many common sayings and ideas that people believe are true...


Check it out here or click through to the original~!


Which old sayings are true and which are false?


"Men think about sex every seven seconds"

Nope. More like an average of every 158 seconds.

"Nice guys finish last"

It depends. Over the long run, being a nice guy can lead to happiness, success and good relationships. On the other hand, they aren't as likely to end up in prestigious positions or to be chosen as leaders when times are tough. Rude people have higher credit scores and jerks make more money. And it can be hell on your love life: young women and women who most enjoy sex prefer bad boys.

"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long"

Probably.

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise"

Morning people are more proactive and happier. On the other hand, night owls are smarter. And male night owls do better with the ladies.

"When you smile the whole world smiles with you"

Smiling makes others more likely to smile.

"Money can't buy happiness"

As a general rule, money does not increase happiness much after our basic needs are met. However, money can increase happiness if we spend it the right way and especially if we spend it on other people. More money can make you less happy.

"Sleep on it"

Yes, sleeping on it improves decision-making.

"Sex sells"

Not in movies.

"Home cooking tastes better"

Comfort food does comfort us and grandmom's cookies do taste better than other cookies.

"Smart people lack common sense"

Possibly.

"Stocks are riskier than bonds"

Only sometimes.

"Think positive"

Only works for some people.

"If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"

There's some truth to it.

"Women talk on the phone more than men"

Women make fewer phone calls but their calls last longer.

"Gaydar"

Yes.

"Attractive women make men stupid"

True. In fact, just thinking about attractive women makes men dumb.

"Flattery will get you nowhere"

Wrong.

"I need my beauty sleep"

Confirmed.

"I don't like the look of his face"

People are able to tell who is kind, trustworthy, a criminal, a psychopath and a Nobel Peace Prize winner at above chance levels just by faces. You can tell a lot about someone by their face.

"Surprise me"

On second thought, don't.

"Porn causes rape"

Actually, it reduces it: "It has been found everywhere it was scientifically investigated that as pornography has increased in availability, sex crimes have either decreased or not increased."

"Long distance relationships never work"

They're more stable.

"We need to get tough on crime"

Harsh prison conditions increase recidivism.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead"

Cheat yourself on sleep and you'll suffer the consequences, even if you don't notice.

"Kids who sit at the front of the class do better"

They do.

"Fast talking salesman"

Fast-talkers can be more persuasive.

"Blinded by jealousy"

Real.

"Play hard to get"

It works.

"Blondes have more fun"

They do make more money.

"Advertising would be better if the models weren't so thin"

Actually, there's no way to win here.

"It's funny because it's true"

If the truth resonates with the listener, yes.

"All _____ people look alike"

For all of us, whenever people are a different race it's harder to tell them apart.

"You can tell a lot about a man by his handshake"

Absolutely. "Results showed that HGS was correlated with SHRs, aggressive behavior, age at first sexual intercourse, and promiscuity in males but not in females. HGS appears to be an honest signal for genetic quality in males."

"Happy wife, happy life"

When the husband is happier than the wife, couples are more likely to divorce.

"You can tell a lot about the author by what they write"

True.

"Giving is better than receiving"

Yes.

"My generation didn't behave like that when we were young"

Wrong. Even grandmom had premarital sex.

"It's the booze talking"

No, actually, that's you talking.

"Spanking is bad for kids"

Kids who were spanked behave better as teenagers.

"Having children makes you more like your parents"

Yes.

"The music you like says a lot about you"

True.

"Men want sex more than women"

Yes.

"Count your blessings"

Absolutely. It's one of the most scientifically validated ways to increase happiness.

"When I'm turned on, I'm like a totally different person"

It's true, and you'll do things you didn't think you ever would.

"Cleanliness is next to godliness"

When your desk is messy it's harder to focus.

"The woman in red"

Women wearing red are seen as more attractive.

"Older and wiser"

Yes, older people are wiser.

"Women find men who are attached more attractive"

True.

"Pricing something at $1.99 instead of $2 doesn't fool anyone"

Yes, it does.

"My soulmate"

Our real life partners rarely resemble our ideal partners and who you end up with is more a function of who is around you than what you want.

"I love all my kids the same"

No, you don't.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend"

True.

"Crazy in love"

There is a connection between love and delusion.

"Life speeds up as you get older"

Yes. Subjectively, once you're 20, your life is half over. "Basically, if you're older than about 30, you're almost dead."

"TGIF!"

Your mood is pretty much the same on Friday as Monday.

"Stress kills"

Those who work the hardest, live the longest.

"A dog is a man's best friend"

Maybe.

"The love of money is the root of all evil"

Loving money does make people unhappy.

"Power reveals people's true colors"

Not exactly.

"Artists are more likely to be crazy"

Yes.

"Opposites attract"

More often than not, no, they don't.

"Be yourself"

Close. Be your best self.

"The good die young"

No, they live longer.

"You only use 10% of your brain"

False but the idea is so prevalent even 6% of neuroscientists agreed with it.

"Clothes make the man/Dress for success"

Definitely.

"Six degrees of separation"

Pretty much true.

"We regret most the things we didn't do"

Absolutely.

"Women marry men like their father/Men marry women like their mother"

There's some truth to it. Looking at photos, research subjects were able to tell (at a rate above chance) who was married to whom by looking for a resemblance between the bride and the groom's mother, or between the groom and bride's father. Interestingly, women are more likely to be attracted to men who look like dad - only if they had a good relationship with their father.

"Mid-life crisis"

It may be a total myth.

"Women are more romantic than men"

False. Studies show that, in general, men are actually more romantic than women. Men also say "I love you" first, have more positive recollections of their first kiss, and are more likely to end a relationship because it lacked "magic." Saying "I love you" means the most to men and women at different times.

"Stand up straight"

The military makes soldiers stand up straight for a reason; there's an implicit connection between posture and power that has been demonstrated time and time again. Want to increase confidence? Make yourself tougher? Write a better self-evaluation? Impress others? Stand up straight.

"Don't give in to peer pressure"

Wrong. More often than not kids are pressured into good things, not bad things. Kids who felt more peer pressure got better grades and had better relationships. Kids who were more independent had lower GPA's and were more likely to smoke, drink and shoplift.

It's time consuming...

Hey guys, do you know what this expression means? It means that something takes too much time.

I don't like making pasta from scratch it's too time consuming. That's why I use instant pasta from Italy.

To make from scratch = homemade, in this case out of flour, eggs, water, etc.

Time consuming comes from the verb to consume which means to eat or use up. This is also where we get the term consumption tax (消費税 - しょうひぜい) and consumer (消費者 - しょうひしゃ).

Driving to work is so time consuming with all the traffic jams, I am thinking of moving closer to my office...

This sounds a bit more high level or formal than:

Driving to work takes too much time with all the traffic jams, I'm thinking of moving closer to my office...

 So time consuming is a great phrase to sound smart, to use at work or even whenever you want to complain about something taking too long.


Have a nice day,


Phil

It's on me.

Today we will look at the expressions my treat and it's on me. These have the same meaning, I will pay. I briefly talked about treat in an earlier lesson. 

When people go out for drinks they often buy rounds. This means that each person takes a turn paying for a round of drinks (everyone's drink).

Ted: Whose round is it?

Bill: I think it's Tom's.

Tom: Ok, the next round's on me but then it's Bill's turn! You always try to leave before buying your round!

Bill: Ok, I promise to get the next round.

 People often offer to pay so that someone will accept an invitation.

John: Hey Jill, wanna go to the car show on Saturday?

Jill: Car show? That's not really my thing...

John: C'mon it'll be fun! My treat.

C'mon = come on

Jill: Your treat? Sure, it could be fun.

Any questions? Have a good week!


Phil


  

Bootlegger? Scofflaw?

Hey everyone, I was watching the excellent documentary Prohibition by Ken Burns this week and learned about the origins of a few English words. Prohibition refers to the period of time when alcohol was illegal in the US. It is a good documentary you should check it out!





A bootlegger is someone who makes, sells or transports alcohol illegally. It came from the U.S. state of Maine (where they had banned alcohol) , where some men would stand on street corners with a bottle of alcohol in their boot down their pant's leg. They would offer people a quick drink and pull out the bottle and pour them a glass~!


Nowadays, it means someone selling or making anything illegally. Often, you will hear about bootlegs. This usually refers to illegal recordings of live concerts, music or movies.

I love going to music festivals but it is so expensive I have to make bootlegs to pay for my tickets...

A scofflaw apparently was invented in a newspaper contest where they wanted to make a word for someone who blatantly ignored the law. 

It comes from the verb to scoff, meaning to laugh at something because you think it is stupid or ridiculous. Scoff was combined with the word law, so scofflaw literally means to laugh at the law.

A: Jane's such an innocent girl.

B: Hrmf. (suppressed laugh)

A: What was that? What are you scoffing at?

B: Um, Jane's had like 20 boyfriends...

A: What?!?! REALLY!?!? She looks so sweet....

B: Yeah, she's a total player.

So a scofflaw is someone who laughs at laws they think are stupid. They ignore it and break the law all the time.

Edgar's a real scofflaw he's always speeding.

 Speeding = driving over the speed limit

These are old words, scofflaw is still sometimes used as is the noun bootlegs but I rarely hear bootlegger as these days alcohol is legal in the US again.

Have a nice weekend,

Phil

She's a real clothes horse!

Lately, I've been seduced by online shopping and have been buying too many new clothes...


...so I thought I'd teach you guys the meaning of:

a clotheshorse

This has two meanings:


1- a frame that is used to dry clothes.


I had never heard about this meaning until I researched this lesson. In Canada, we usually use a clothesline or a clothes dryer.


2- a person who is REALLY into clothes.

Actually, in my mind it's not only someone who loves clothes but who has A LOT of clothes~!

Sally's a real clotheshorse she's always going shopping and reading fashion magazines.

I'm a bit of a clotheshorse so a walk-in closet was a must when I started house-hunting.

Lately, I've become something of a clotheshorse!

Have a good night,

Phil