Lesson 336

There are two really good expressions to explain that you have gotten yourself into trouble.  This can be done physically or mentally.  Both of these expressions can be used when you want to explain this.

Paint myself into a corner

Dug myself into a hole

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

examples:

I really dug myself into a hole when I told my teacher I would do my essay early.

Tim painted himself into a corner when he lied about knowing how to fix televisions.  His girlfriend expects him to come and fix her TV.

Grace told her boss that she spoke French fluently and now they are sending her to Paris to negotiate an important contract.  When she tells them she exaggerated, they might fire her.  She really dug herself into a hole.

Lesson 335--Bicycle Trick Vocabulary

As a kid, we did lots of fun stuff on bikes.  We jumped over small rivers, we raced around the streets and forests.  We  had so much fun.  Today, I want to teach you some cool phrases to describe bicycle actions.

 

pop a wheelie:  to put your front tire up in the air while the bike is still moving.  (this can also be done on a motorcycle)

 

skid:  to brake hard and leave a mark on the pavement from your tire. (this can also be done in a car or on a motorcycle)

 

 

biking with no hands:  this one is pretty easy to understand.

 

 

Lesson 333--Stick to Your Guns

She liked it so much she got it tattooed on herself permanently

 

This expression in English sounds a little military, but don't think it really is.  This expressions means stick with your opinion, or don't give up easily.  We often use it when we want to encourage people when they are facing a tough situation.  We want them to know we believe in them and their opinion and beliefs are correct.

examples

Don't give up!  Stick to your guns!

I know he is putting pressure on you, but stick to your guns and this will all work out in the end.

My boss wants me to work on Saturday, but I don't want to.  If I stick to my guns, I might get fired.  However, I feel strongly about this.

You've got to stick to your guns or people will walk all over you.

Lesson 332--expressions used for guests

 

Today, thanks to the fact that I had guests over, I used two important phrases you can use when dealing with guests.  These phrases are used to make the guests feel welcome, and to make them feel at home.  Both of them give permission for them to treat your house/apartment like they're home.

Be my guest

Help yourself

examples

If you want something to drink, just help yourself.

Can I have some of that?  Be my guest.

If you need something, be my guest.

Treat this like your home and help yourself to whatever you want.

Lesson 331--An incredibly useful phrase

 

First off, sorry this blog is late.  I was rushing around a bit this week and didn't get it prepared on time.  I wasn't particularly worried because it seems that most people check these lessons on Saturday or Sunday.  Additionally, it gave me a good idea for today's post.

The phrase I want to teach today is "better late than never".  The meaning of this phrase is pretty simple, but it is a good one to know.   This blog is one day late, but better late than never.

examples

Anthony scolded his students for being late.  They replied, "better late than never."

People criticized Blackberry for taking so long to update their design.  The company responded that it was better late than never.

Since I haven't got a cell phone yet, I am pretty late in joining the trend.  However, better late than never--unless cell phones go out of fashion.

Notes

Now, for all my students, please don't start using this phrase with me.  However, you might want to try it at the office once or twice.  Who knows, it might work.

Lesson 326--tread carefully and tread lightly

 

Today's expression is one you will often hear in movies or on television.  You will hear this in scenes between a judge and a lawyer and you will hear it during very intense scenes between people.

Tread carefully/Tread lightly

The exact meaning is to "walk carefully", but when we use it, we usually mean that the person is talking about something personal and upsetting, or that they are talking about an area which they shouldn't.

examples

The judge warned the lawyer to tread carefully with her line of questioning.

Margot had to tread carefully when talking about her boyfriend with her father.

Daniel couldn't tread carefully and often got into trouble with his coworkers.

Lesson 325--go for a stroll

Two celebrities go for a stroll.

Sometimes we need time to think, or at least get away from everyone and take some time to think.  The following expressions include this idea.  Sometimes they are just meant to explain physical exercise, but sometimes they are meant to explain needing time to think.

go for a stroll

take a walk

go get some air

clear my head

examples

I can't think straight.  I am going to go out and get some air.

I have a lot of decisions to make so I am going to take a walk and sort things out.

Whenever I have a lot on my mind, I go for a stroll.  It helps clear my head.

Lesson 324--Leave!

 

 

If you want someone to leave, you could just ask them to leave.  However, English has lots of other more interesting ways to say the same thing.  Some of them are colourful and some of them are just interesting.  For today's lesson, I would like to share a few with you.

                          

Get lost!

Take a hike!

Hit the bricks!

Scram!

Get out of here!

Amscray (this one is not popular anymore, but is "pig Latin" for scram.

Take off! (very Canadian)

Be gone!

Lesson 323--Describing Mistakes

 

 

crossing the line

gone too far

 

These two expressions are really good for describing a situation in which you have

a)      said something you shouldn't have.

b)      done something you shouldn't have.

c)      said or done something that cause a person so much pain that they will never forget it.

examples

Paul crossed the line when he insulted Julia's weight.

Megan was okay when Philip got drunk, but when he kissed her sister he crossed the line.

Theresa didn't think she had crossed the line by disagreeing with her boss, but she got fired anyway.

Everyone stopped laughing when Daniela went too far with her joke.

Lesson 322--tight schedule

 

In our last lesson, we looked at the phrase "money is tight".  Today, we will look at two related phrases: time is tight, schedule is tight (tight schedule).

definition

We use this phrase to indicate that we do not have a lot of time, or that we have planned things to fit the schedule exactly and there is no extra time.

examples

John couldn't go out to lunch because his schedule was tight.

The schedule was too tight, so they had to cancel several events.

Because time was tight, the teacher decided to skip some activities.

Lesson 321--Money is tight

 

"money is tight"
 

Phrases that deal with money are always useful.  Today and Friday, I will present some useful ones dealing with your financial picture.

money is tight = you are worried about how much money you have and you are worried about spending it.

examples

When money was tight, Chris brought his lunch to work.

Paul wanted to go to the concert, but money was tight.

Money was always tight growing up, so Martha made sure to be generous to her daughter.

Lesson 318--The Gravy Train

This expression refers to easy money given for little or no work.  It also refers to perks that some workers get.

examples

The mayor said he would end the gravy train at City Hall.

Bruce liked his job.  He called it riding the gravy train because he mostly got paid for standing around and doing nothing.

Lesson 313--more insults in English

 

Just in case you didn't have enough insult words in English last week, and because that post was so popular, I decided to give you a few more words to call people when you want to insult their intelligence.

doofus

nimrod

dumbass

dumb bunny.

I think you could use the following structures (please put your choice of words in the blank).

You're such a ______.

Why are you such a ______?

I've never met a bigger ______ than you.

Do your parents know how much of a _______ you are?

Lesson 312--a half-assed job

Doing a half-assed job

 

When people are lazy, or even unskilled the work they produce or do is obviously not going to be any good.  We have several phrases to describe this.  They include;

doing a half-assed job

doing piss-poor job

doing a crappy job

doing a crap job

examples

Jimmy did such a half-assed job on his homework that the teacher sent a letter to his parents.

The painters did such a piss-poor job that Matthew refused to pay them.

Bruno is so lazy that he does everything half-assed.

The boss warned the workers that doing a crappy job was not what the company believed in.

 

Other words to consider:

subpar

 

Lesson 306: Splurge!!

 

Today's l  That word is splurge.  It means to spend a lot of money on something.  This can be either buying something or paying for something like a hotel room.  This also means that the person could not usually afford something like this.

esson is about an interesting word.

examples

For his son's graduation, Peter splurged on a limousine.

When Maria and Tom were on their honeymoon they splurged on their hotel room and meals, but saved money on the airfare.

If I had money I would splurge and fly business class everywhere I went.

On his girlfriend's birthday, Mark splurged on dinner at the CN Tower restaurant.

Lesson 305--I Feel like I am (just) Spinning my Wheels

 

This expression is kind of like being stuck in snow, and your wheels aren't gripping.  You are pressing the accelerator, but you're not moving.  You are doing things, but nothing is happening and no progress is being made.  You're working but not getting the results.

Jim.  How's the new job?

I feel like I am spinning my wheels.  I go to work every day, but nothing gets done.

We can't keep having this conversation.  I feel like I am spinning my wheels.  Why can't we solve this problem?

Lesson 302--Making the most of it

They're making the most of their vacation.

 

An important English phrase is "make the most of it".  This means to take full advantage of a situation.  People often use this when they want to explain why they are doing so much, often in a short time or when they are on vacation.

examples

George rarely takes vacation, but when he does he tries hard to make the most of it.  He does a lot of activities and tours.

We only have a few days left, so we had better make the most of them.

If your vacation is short you have to make the most of it.

Melanie thought summer was too short in Toronto, so she made the most of it.

Make the most of your trip to EC Toronto.

Lesson 291--two expressions using speak

Are they speaking ill or highly of someone?

I hope everyone did well on the quiz from Monday's lesson.  Don't be shy about posting your scores.  Remember to check your answers (The stats show that nobody did) because there were some tricks.

Today's lesson involves the word speak and two useful, though very different uses of the word.

1.  Speak ill of = talk badly about someone.

examples

Even though it was quite rude, John spoke ill of his former roommate.

It is impolite to speak ill of the dead.

Whenever she had the chance Margaret spoke ill of her ex-boyfriend.

 

2. Speak highly of = to speak positively about someone/something.

                               = to praise someone/something.

examples

Dennis was hired because his ex-boss spoke so highly of him.

The hotel was very popular and all the guests spoke very highly of it.

If her father hadn't spoken so highly of the doctor, Maria wouldn't have made an appointment to see her.

Lesson 288--to conk out

She conked out while eating

Learning useful idioms is an important thing for all of my students.  Today we will look at the idiom to conk out.  It is special because it has a different meaning for people and machines.

The car conked out...obviously

for machines: to stop working

for people: to fall asleep

examples

The car seemed to be working well, but conked out while Peter was driving.

Mary hated her motorcycle because it conked out whenever it rained.

The city had to send a repair crew when all the traffic lights downtown conked out.

Jim was so tired that he conked out while watching TV.

Alana wanted to stay awake, but she conked out anyway.

Philip drank seven cups of coffee so he wouldn't conk out while working the night shift.

Lesson 287--Pull Your Socks Up

The English language is full of interesting idioms.  This is one of my favourites.  I think it is because my parents and teachers often used this phrase when urging me to study more or do more homework.

meaning

To put more effort into doing something.  Usually this meant studying or doing your work.  If you are a teacher or a boss (or a parent) you should be able to use this one a lot.

examples

Jim's grades were slipping.  His teacher told him to pull up his socks.

If he pulls his socks up, maybe they can win.

If she wanted to graduate early, Martina would really need to pull up her socks.

With the deadline approaching, Theresa and her team pulled their socks up and got the job done.