Idioms from Farm Animals
HORSE: “Horsing around” – means to be fooling around, wrestling or playing physical games. Little kids are often told to stop this by parents. E.g. “You boys stop horsing around outside and come eat your dinner!” “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse” – means to be so hungry that you can eat a […]
Textbooks are the Beginning, Not the End
I love books. I enjoy flipping through the pages and seeing if the style of the book matches my learning style. In that way I will know if I will read it and understand it, or if I will be bored and waste my time and money. I have taught ESL (English as a Second […]
Important Idioms from Baseball
I love baseball, especially watching my Toronto Blue Jays team. It’s my favourite part of summer. I was preparing some baseball idioms and expressions for one of my clients soon, when I thought that I should at least add a few here, on this blog, for you too! 😉 It is easy to find lots […]
Acronyms for Crime and Policing
To continue from a previous blog entry, here are some popular acronyms that you may hear on cop shows or cop films. Plus, if you apply to become a police officer, you should be aware of these acronyms. Our company proudly helps YRP – York Regional Police – with communication skills assessments and training of […]
Cop Talk – Learning the Idioms and Slang of the Police
Do you enjoy watching police TV shows like COPS, CSI, Law & Order etc. and police films in English? There are lots to choose from for sure. Or perhaps you want to apply to become a police officer? I have the pleasure of working directly with a local police service (YRP – York Regional Police) […]
Idioms from Snow
Well it is the season for this topic, at least here in Canada and the northern U.S. (I have modified these from http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/snow) To be (as) pure as the driven snow: Pure and chaste (Often used ironically.) E.g. Jill: Sue must have gone to bed with every man in town. Jane: And I always thought […]
Swimming Idioms Part 1
(from http://www.business-english.com/swimmingidioms/menu.php with some modifications) If you are ‘out of your depth’, you don’t have the necessary knowledge, experience or skill to deal with a particular situation or subject. In North America, a common replacement is ‘out of your league’, as in major league baseball. • When she started talking about quantum physics, I felt […]
Swimming Idioms Part 2
If you ‘make a splash’, you get a lot of public attention. • We need to make a splash by holding a cocktail party for journalists. • She made quite a splash when she wore such a small dress to the film premiere. If a noise is ‘drowned out’, you cannot hear it because of […]
The Complexity and Power of Words
The interesting thing about words is that they have different meanings to different people, even when using the same language, due to the way we process, filter and finally understand information. What does a word mean to you? Does it mean the exact same thing to every member of your family, community, country or language […]
English Idiom Ebook, If You Like
Hello my friends, Someone emailed me and asked where I got the “Dead Idioms” from (previous post). I sell a downloadable ebook called “Everyday English Idioms”, and that is where they came from. I would be happy if you wish to purchase this ebook. Click here to see it, preview a few pages, and then […]