Here's a little something to tide you over...

Hey everyone, I am out enjoying the cherry blossoms in Kyoto for a few days so here's a lesson to tide you over until I get back!

Do you know what "to tide (someone) over" means?

I think it comes from the days when sailors depended on the tides (the movement of the ocean going in & out in time with the moon) and after landing somewhere they often had to wait for the tide to come in again before they could leave.

These days it is used whenever someone must wait for something and to help them survive the wait they will get a snack or sample to help them pass the time.

Ed: I can't believe we have to wait 4 months for new episodes of Dexter~!

Pat: Well, if you need something to tide you over there is a series of animated Dexter webisodes online.

Ed: What?! I had no idea cool!

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Tommy: Mom, I'm starving~!

Mom: We're having dinner in 3 hours...

Tommy: But Mom I'm really hungry. I can't wait so long!

Mom: Ok, ok. Here's a granola bar to tide you over.

Tommy: Thanks Mom ^_^

Any questions?

Have a great day,

Phil 

It's all up in the air...

Hey everyone, do you know what up in the air means? It is a pretty basic idiom meaning that things are on hold or undecided. You are basically waiting to find out what will happen.

The easiest way to imagine the situation is to think of two people flipping a coin "heads or tails" to decide something. When the coin is spinning up in the air no one knows what will be decided! 

Here's a situation where you might hear up in the air being used:

Beb: Hey Tom, aren't you leaving for China soon on business?

Tom: Nah, the whole things up in the air right now. Labor costs have been going up a lot in China recently so the company's in the middle of double checking the numbers to see if outsourcing to China is still worth it.

Beb: Well that's good news for the US economy. 

Tom: Yeah, that's true but I was really looking forward to the trip as I've never been.

Beb: Well, you can always go there on vacation.  

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Gladys: I hear your wedding's on hold?

Maria: Yeah, our wedding plans are up in the air. We're not sure if we should do it now or wait because Terry's getting transferred to India.

Have a nice weekend,

Phil


 

 
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I need a good excuse vs. I need a good reason

Hey everyone, do you guys know the different nuance between these two sentences?

I need a good excuse

This means that you WANT TO DO something but you need a pretext (託つける - かこつける) to do it. 

A: I want to see what Terry's new girlfriend looks like.

B: She's at his place right now just go over and say hi.

A: But I need a good excuse to go over there, if I just suddenly show up it'll look strange.

B: Why don't you return that book you borrowed?

A: Good idea! That's a great excuse.

I need a good reason

This means that you DON'T WANT TO do something so someone has to persuade ( 説き付ける - ときつける) you do to it. You might also hear people say "give me a good reason".

C: I need your help.

D: Why should I help you? You're always mean to me~!

C: Please, I really need to pass this test.

D: Give me a good reason why I should help you?

C: If you help me pass I promise I'll stop being so mean to you.

D: That's not good enough, how do I know you'll keep your promise? Try again, I need a good reason.

C:  OK, I'll apologize to you in front of the whole school will you help me then?

D: You got a deal!

Any questions?

Have a good week,

Phil  

足が地に付かない

Do you know what this means in English? I was studying japanese idioms using the kanji for leg and came across this idiom which reminded me of my recent lesson about daydreaming (空想する). This idiom literally means that your feet don't touch the ground. It has two meanings, one positive and the other negative.

The positive meaning in English is:

I'm walking on air.

It means that you are so happy you are floating above the ground. 

You might also hear someone say:

I'm on cloud nine.

Which has the same meaning.

A: Hey why's Ted so happy?

B: He's walking on air because Jen said yes when he proposed!

A: No wonder, he's on cloud nine!

The structure is the verb to be + walking on air/on cloud nine. 

The negative meaning is where you say someone's thinking is not based on reality. In English we'd say:

He's living in a fantasy world!

This means that he is fooling himself into believing a fantasy.

A: Did you hear Kelly took Dylan back?

B: What!?! After he cheated on her three times?!

A: Yeah, Dylan apologized and said he wouldn't do it again.

B: Kelly's living in a fantasy world if she thinks he won't cheat again...

Have a nice week,

Phil   

Tips on using THE

Many Japanese English speakers struggle with using THE correctly. It is used to specify a specific thing, person or place.

I am going to the post office.

In this case, both the speaker & the listener know which post office the speaker's talking about. It is the one he always goes to. In the past, small towns only had one post office, bank, store, etc. So people just used THE+place and this continues today.

Of course, this causes confusion to people knew in town. Someone says "Party at the beach" and all the local people know that they are talking about the popular beach everyone goes to but someone from outside that group has no idea which beach they're talking about!

Here are a few more tips for using THE:

It is ALWAYS THE + musical instruments. 

I play the drums.

He plays the violin.

My niece can play the flute.

When I was young I wanted to play the guitar but I gave up.

When talking about musical instruments, you are specifying which one you play so we use the!  

BUT when talking about games we don't use the. It is unnecessary. Games don't need the!

I play basketball.

He likes to play baseball.

Do you play soccer?

Al: What sports can your daughter play?

Helen: She can play volleyball. 

If you are talking about a SPECIFIC match you should use the:

I played in the soccer game last weekend. Did you see me score the winning goal?

I have to go to the stadium to see my son play in the tennis match.

Any questions?

Have a nice weekend!

Phil    

Stop daydreaming! Get your head out of the clouds!

Hey everyone, for the first lesson this month I will take my inspiration from my Japanese studies. I recently learned the word 空想 (くうそう). For example:

 あの人はいつも空想してばかりだ！

That guy is always daydreaming!

The kanji mean sky + idea so this made me think of another possible translation:

That guy always has his head in the clouds!

This sounds a bit more poetic. It is made using the idiom to have one's head in the clouds. Here's a sample conversation:

Harry: Hey Tom!

Tom: ...(staring off into to space)

Harry: HELLo?!!? Earth to Tom...

Tom: Oh sorry, I had my head in the clouds.

Harry: What were you daydreaming about?

Tom: Marrying Jessica ^_^

Harry: What? She's way out of your league!

Tom: Yeah, but it's fun to daydream about. 

Have a nice week,

Phil