When it rains it pours...

Have you guys heard this saying before? 

We use it when many bad things happen to someone all at once. It means that when it rains it isn't just a light drizzle it is a torrential downpour!  So people use it when suddenly many bad things happen to them at once and they'll just say "When it rains it pours..." meaning that is life, bad things tend to all happen at the same time.

Ah man, my bike chain popped off, I missed my train and now I'm late for work!!~! This sucks! When it rains it pours!

Any questions?

Phil

When in Rome...

Do you know what this famous saying means?

It is the short form of:

When in Rome do as the Romans do

In Japanese, you'd say 郷に入っては、郷に従え (ごうにいってはごうにしたがえ). We use this to say that when you are in a new environment you should do what the local people are doing. It is such a common saying that it is often shortened to "When in Rome..."

The most common usage is you are travelling or somewhere new with your friend and suddenly you see some strange or different behavior and are not sure if you want to join in and try something new.

Al: What kind of meat is this?

Bill: I think it's whale meat...

Al: Whale!? I don't want to eat whale!

Bill: When in Rome...

Al: Well, ok. I'll try a bite.

----

Craig: What!?! Some kid just sprayed water on me!

Sam: Oh, I think it's Songkran the water festival. Just spray him back!   

Craig: Well, you know what they say: "When in Rome..."

Sam: "...do as the Romans do!"

Have a nice Golden Week,

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.

--------

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

You snooze you lose~!

Have you heard this saying before?

Snooze is a casual word for sleep or nap:

I am going to take a snooze.

So we also use it on our alarm clock:

I hit the snooze button and woke up late~!

The snooze button is the button you push to turn off your alarm so you can sleep 5 more minutes.

So we use the saying "You snooze you lose" when someone is TOO SLOW and so they MISS OUT on something.

A: Hey, where's the last donut???

B: You snooze you lose buddy, it was delicious~!

-----------------

Tom: I can't believe you asked Sara out!! You knew I liked her!

Harry: Tom, I gave you 6 MONTHS to ask her out.

Tom: But I'm shy...

Harry: You snooze you lose, sorry now it's my turn.

Tom: ...

Enjoy using your new expression!

Phil

There's no use beating a dead horse...

The other day, after I posted my blog I remembered this similar sounding expression:

There's no use beating a dead horse.

You might also hear someone say flogging a dead horse... have you heard this saying before? While it sounds similar to "There's no use crying over spilled milk" it has a pretty different meaning!

It means it is time to give up, if you are riding a horse and you flog it to make it run faster... once it has died from exhaustion hitting it again will not make it move~!

It comes from the idiom: to beat a dead horse. It means that something is a waste of time since the result has already been decided. If I continue doing it, it will have no result so what's the point?

A: I don't mean to beat a dead horse but you really should see Avatar.
B: I TOLD you, I hate sci-fi movies. Drop it~! You're getting on my nerves...

So do you guys understand? When you beat a dead horse you're doing something pointless, it will have no result!

Have a good week,

Phil

P.S. check out these links for more info

GoEnglish - Beat a Dead horse

Wikipedia - Flogging a dead horse

There's no use crying over spilled milk...

Have you guys heard this idiom before? It's a really common saying we use when someone is complaining or whining about something. It means that you can't change the past so there is no use crying about it. Crying about the past will not change anything...

Another way of saying it is:

What's done is done.

Meaning it happened we can't change it so we need to move on. Anyways, the reason I brought these expressions up is that I'm sorry I didn't post more often on my blog last month but I was too busy planning some trips, studying for my test(which I think went fine) and getting ready for my move... so I'm sorry but:

There's no use crying over spilled milk~!

Phil

P.S. More lessons coming soon, I'm aiming for 4-6 posts this month, wish me luck!

Let's agree to disagree...

Have you heard this saying before? Today, I am gonna teach a short lesson explaining this expression and telling you when and how to use it ^_-

Let's agree to disagree.

This means that you both have different opinions BUT you can't convince the other person to change their mind. SO, you agree to disagree. You have your opinion, I have my opinion-they are different BUT let's stop arguing about it.

You use this expression when you are arguing with someone, you have different opinions and the argument continues for a long time. Finally, you want to drop the subject (stop talking about it) and talk about something else.

A: Obama is a great president.
B: Are you crazy? He's a terrible president. George W. Bush was a much better president.
A: WHAT??? You like George W. Bush? He was a total idiot and a liar!
B: No way, he kept our country safe!
A: Huh? He stole an election! Ok, Ok, let's just agree to disagree.
B: Ok... so where do you wanna go for dinner?

So you can see the two friends are arguing, they can't agree about who is the better president. Finally, they just want to talk about something else and they agree to disagree.

Have a nice day,

Phil

You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover...

Hey everyone~! Have you heard this saying before??? We use this often when talking about people but it can also be used to talk about places, books(of course) and things.

Don't judge a book by it's cover

or

You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover

means that you SHOULDN'T JUDGE people/things based on their APPEARANCE. A book might have an amazing cover but when you read it, it's as boring as dirt. Or the cover might be old and ugly but the story is incredibly interesting~! Also, a handsome man might be horrible person and ugly/scary looking people might be super kind! It's not what is on the outside that counts but what's on the inside.

For example:

A: I went on a date with Sally last night.

B: With Sally? She's not your type. How was it?

A: You know what they say "Don't judge a book by it's cover" even though she looks kind of plain we had a lot of fun! It was a terrific date!

or

A: I don't like the looks of my sisters new boyfriend.

B: You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. You haven't even met him yet!

I hope that is clear enough for everyone. If you have any questions just ask and I'll be writing more lessons next month!

See you in July,

Phil

P.S. Remember it's what's on the inside that counts!

What's the catch?

This is the last in what has turned into a 3 part series about proverbs & sayings talking about money. When someone offers you something that sounds too good to be true most western people become skeptical(start to become suspicious and not believe it) and then ask:

What's the catch?

The catch is the hidden negative point. People are wondering why is this deal so good? There must be something wrong~!

Which is why people might then ask something like:

What's in it for you?

So if someone is offering you something great maybe they will get some kind of benefit. In Cuba, some people will offer to show you a nice guesthouse... BUT they get a kickback~! The owner of the guesthouse then has to pay the guy who brought you there a fee for each night you stay--so your hotel will cost you more money~!!!

Here's an example dialogue:

A: Hey do you want my tickets to tomorrow's concert?

B: What's the catch??? I thought you loved that band!

A: No catch. I can give you them at cost.

B: Huh? Seriously, what's in it for you?

A: Well, actually I got some better seats so if you take these tickets off my hands you'll be doing me a HUGE favor.

B: Ah ok then, wanna meet up for drinks after the show?

A: Sounds good~! I'll text you.

I hope that helps, enjoy this rainy Sunday!

Phil

There's no such thing as a free lunch!

The other day when I talked about the saying "You get what you pay for" I was reminded of another common proverb about money:

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Have you ever heard this before? You can see thefreedictionary entry HERE. This simply means that even when someone gives you something for "free" eventually you have to pay for it in SOME way. For example:

-you get a free lunch BUT you have to sit through a talk about a time-share

-you get a free sample BUT you have to answer a survey

-your friend invites you out for dinner BUT then asks you to help him move!

So as you can see, everything costs something, nothing is free--you will always have to give or do something in return.

We use this saying when something you THOUGHT was free turns out to require some kind of payment-either money or you have to do something for it.

A: Man, I was offered a free trip to Las Vegas but then I got stuck listening to a 7 hour time-share sales seminar!!! It really, sucked! What a waste of my time...

B: Well, you know there's no such thing as a free lunch.

A: Yeah, I know. I should've known there'd be strings attached!

Do you know that last idiom? It comes from the expression "with no strings attached" meaning there are NO CONDITIONs or obligations involved. Actually, it goes against the saying "There's no such thing as a free lunch" which means there are ALWAYS strings attached! You always have to do/pay something to get something!

Have a good week,

Phil

You get what you pay for.

Here's a quick lesson before I got to work. Do you know the saying/proverb:

You get what you pay for.

It means that if you buy something cheap or get something free you shouldn't be surprised when it turns out the quality is low. Or in other words:

If it's free/cheap it must be of low quality.

You'll often hear someone say this when you buy something REALLY cheap and then an hour later it breaks.

(B is playing with his new toy he got at the 100 yen shop)



A: Oh no! My toy broke!!!

B: Well, you get what you pay for.

In Japanese it is:

安物買いの銭失い (やすものがいのぜにうしない)

Ok that's it for now, have a nice day~!

Phil

That's like the pot calling the kettle black...

Hey everyone, I came back from my trip to Europe and am ready to post some new lessons ^_^ I hope you all had a Happy New Year and good luck in your studies in 2010!

Today, I was talking to my friend at a cafe and asked her if she liked my new tuque(winter hat in Canadian English pronounced Two-ku), she said she didn't like it... then when we were leaving I saw her tuque and said:

"That's like the pot calling the kettle black!"

She had no idea what I was talking about so I had to explain the idiom and thought it would make a nice post for my blog~!

First, let's go over the vocabulary:

pot - a deep round container used for cooking, usually made of metal and often having a lid.

kettle - a metal pot with a lid used for boiling water, often called a teakettle

A teapot is used to serve tea BUT is NOT used to boil water, whereas a teakettle is used to boil water to make tea and may or may not be used to serve it.

Now, when people use pots and kettles to cook over a fire over time they turn black. So, normally BOTH pots and kettles are black. So the expression "That's like the pot calling the kettle black!" is used when someone says something about someone else BUT it is also true about them!!!

Fat guy: I had to break up with my girlfriend.

Friend: What?!?! Why? You seemed happy together...

Fat guy: She got fat so I dumped her.

Friend: What? That's the pot calling the kettle black buddy!

So as you can see it is often used when someone say something negative about someone which is also true about them!

Have a nice week and I hope you enjoy my new lessons in 2010,

Phil

Jamaican Patois Part 3

Hi everyone, last time I forgot to wish you all a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY so I hope you all had a nice time with someone special ^_- I also wanted to mention one more Jamaican word but I forgot. It is duppy which means ghost~! I think it is a pretty cute word for ghost...



Today, I will be going over some Jamaican phrases and proverbs which I found on this website: http://www.ddg.com/LIS/InfoDesignF97/malyce/phrases.htm So here goes!



Phrases:


"Dat is fe mi bredda" = That is for my brother.


"Galang bout yuh business" = Go along about you business.


"Coo pon dat bwoy!" = Look at that boy!


"Me bleach hard lass night" = I partied hard last night.


"You too red eye" = You're too envious. あなたは羨まし過ぎる。


"Tan tedy" = Stand steady, which means: hold still.


"Unnu can come wid mi" = You can all come with me.


"Choble nuh nice" = Trouble's not nice.

"Yuh ina big choble" = You're in big trouble.

"Did yuh see dat?" = Did you see that?

"A who dat?" = Who is that?

" Yuh no dun yet?" = You're not done yet? meaning, You haven't finished yet?

" Is the dutty duppy man dweet" = The dirty ghost did it.

Proverbs:

"Mi come here fi drink milk, mi noh come here fi count cow."

I came here to drink milk, I didn't come to count cows.

This is a reminder to do business in a straightforward manner. Do what you say what you will do, don't just talk about it.

"What sweet nanny goat a go run him belly."

What tastes good to a goat will ruin his belly.

This is a Jamaican proverb which is used to warn people. It means that, the things that seem good to you now, can hurt you later...

"I no come to hear about how horse dead an' cow fat."

I didn't come to hear about how the horse is dead and the cow is fat.

This is used when you want to tell someone to stop giving you useless details. Just tell me the important stuff~!

As you can see, Jamaican Patois is a very rich and complex dialect of English. If you are interested in learning more check out these websites:

Jamaicans.com Speak Jamaican
http://www.jamaicans.com/speakja/

Jamaican Dictionary
http://www.ddg.com/LIS/InfoDesignF97/malyce/dict.htm

Have a nice day,

Phil

English proverbs

Hi everyone, today I will show you four Japanese proverbs
(日本のことわざ) and how to say them in English.

The first one is great because it is EXACTLY the same in Japanese and in English. I hear it is probably a translation from English which is why they are the same ^^

一石二鳥 isseki nichō

Literally: one stone, two birds
Meaning:　Killing two birds with one stone; Doing 2 things with one action.

言わぬが花　Iwanu ga hana

Literally: Not-speaking is the flower.
Meaning: Silence is golden; some things are better left unsaid.

十人十色 jūnin toiro

Literally: ten persons, ten colors
Meaning:　To each his own.

水に流す mizu ni nagasu

Literally: let flow in the water
Meaning: I like "Forgive and forget" but "It's water under the bridge" is closer to the Japanese I think.

If you want more information about Japanese proverbs in English check out:

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/5623/kotowaza.html

and

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Japanese_proverbs