Health-related Idiomatic Expressions II

(*source from http://www.learn-english-today.com/idioms/idiom-categories/health/health1-bad-dogs.html)

1.      I’ve been overtraining by logging more than 10 miles a day for a couple of weeks. My ______________________. 2.      The police officer found a body in a dumpster, which was as _____________________________. 3.      You ate up the hot spicy tofu stew to the last drop?!! Are you serious? You must have a _______________________________. 4.      Irene looked totally _________________ after she had cleaned the entire house for two hours. 5.      Patty’s mother is over 80 years old, but she is still full _________________________. 6.      At the shocking news, my grandfather ________________________. 7.      Many people create a bucket list before they ______________________________. 8.      My eyesight is getting worse as I age. Especially at night, I become as ____________________________ while driving. 9.      The actress, who was terminally ill, always said she hoped to die with __________________________. Just like her wish, she passed away on stage. 10.  The high school graduation party was full of booze, which means, kids there will have a bad __________________ the following morning.

a. of beans b. passed out c.  cast-iron stomach d.  dead as a doornail e.  blind as a bat f.   hangover g.  off-color h.  dogs are barking i.  kick the bucket j.   her boots on

<Clues of Each Idiomatic Expression>

a.      full of beans: (adjective)  lively, active and healthy

b.      to pass out: (verb) to faint/ to zonk out

c.       cast-iron stomach: (noun) If you can eat all sorts of food and drink what you like, without any indigestion, discomfort or bad effects, it is said that you have a cast-iron stomach

d.      as dead as a doornail: (adjective) very/ totally/definitely dead

e.      as blind as a bat: (adjective) one’s vision is very poor that he/she can hardly see things

f.        to have a hangover: (verb) to suffer from the unpleasant after-effects of drinking too much alcohol.

g.      off-color: (adjective) very ill/sick

h.      one’s dogs are barking: (phrase) one’s feet are hurting so much

i.        to kick the bucket: (verb) (=pass away or die) a lighthearted way of talking about death

j.        to die with one’s boots on: (verb) A person who dies with their boots on dies while still leading an active life.

<Answer keys>

1. h. dogs are barking

2. d. dead as a doornail

3. c. cast-iron stomach

4. g. off color

5. a. of beans

6. b. passed out

7. i. kick the bucket

8. e. blind as a bat

9. j. her boots on

10. f. hangover

Let’s Practice English Idioms! XI: Expressions containing Food & Drinks

What’s the biggest obstacle in your journey of exploring English? It could be grammar, pronunciation, or huge amount of vocabulary that seems to be endless. Above all, idiomatic expressions that have hidden, figurative meanings. Without understanding the cultural background or conventional usage of idioms, one can hardly imagine what those words are supposed to mean.

Using the given list of idioms and your imagination, try to choose a proper expression to fill in the blank of each sentence below.

a.   milk somebody or something for money/ information

b.   down the hatch

c.   a pick-me-up

d.   Here’s mud in your eye!

e.   not for all the tea in China

f.    binge and purge

g.   bitter pill to swallow

h.   can’t stomach something

i.     either feast or famine

j.    have a sweet tooth

1. I hate those unscrupulous people that have been ____________________________ the welfare system for all it’s worth.

2. The late princess of Wales, Diana had eating disorder. She had been _____________________ and _________________________ for many years and was rail thin back in those days.

3. Are you serious? I’m, not __________________________________________,  going to wear this revealing dress to the party! It is NOT my style at all.

4. Joe has been depressed for the last couple of weeks since he got laid off. I guess he needs some kind of a  ________________________________, such as a hearty homemade stew or a short retreat to Bahamas.

5. I don’t like the way your friend Hanks says. He always sounds like a stuck-up person. I literally can’t __________________________ his arrogant attitude.

6. Enough talk! I’m so hungry and it’s time to _________________________, everyone!

7. Mrs. Kwan has a ______________________________, and she always finds it very challenging to be on a diet.

8. Dion was suffering from a die-hard eating disorder for years. That means, she’s been ______________________ and _____________________ for a long time, which wreaked havoc on her overall health.

9. It is a _________________________________________ , but I have to admit that I should forgive his mistake this time.

10. Laura and Alan, here’s _____________________________________________________! I hope and pray that both of you will always be happy and healthy!

Clues

a. to milk somebody for something: (verb) to pressure someone into giving information or money

b. to down the hatch: (verb) to swallow/ drink/ eat something

c. a pick-me-up: (noun) something that you have or do to make you feel better

d. Here’s mud in your eye!: (phrase) Drink up! (Something that you say in order to wish success or happiness to someone who is drinking with you)

e. not for all the tea in China: (adjective) not for anything

f. binge and purge: (verb) to overeat and then to vomit

g. bitter pill to swallow: (noun) something unpleasant that one must accept or endure

h. can’t stomach something: (verb) to dislike or hate someone or something/ cannot endure or accept

i. either feast or famine: (noun) either too much or not enough of something

j. have a sweet tooth: (verb) to have a desire to eat sweet foods

Answer Keys

1. a. milking

2. f. binging and purging     

3. e. for all the tea in China

4. c. pick-me-up

5. h. stomach

6. b. down the hatch

7. j. sweet tooth

8. f. bingeing, purging

9. g. bitter pill to swallow

10. d. mud in your eye!

Moms are Every Child’s Super Hero in their Hearts.

I still remember those miniature airplanes soaring high and low up in the spotless blue sky. It was a huge competition among the aircraft lovers, but to me, it was more of a personally joyful and exciting outing that had made me feel joyful as a skylark. Not because I was one of the contestants who took part in the annually held RC Model Airplane Contest but just because I was able to stay right there next to my mom all day long. It felt more than happy and special to be with mom without worrying about her leaving for other countries to attend the international conferences of pilots.

My mother is the first female pilot in the Republic of Korea. Back in the old days of the severely conservative society, she was ahead of her time dreaming to fly and had forged ahead with her passion to become a pilot. Despite her parents’ strong opposition to her daffy goal and threatening to repudiate her, she did not give up on her dream. Yes, she is the woman of conviction and indefatigable will power. Growing up with her life story in my mind, I have built thoughts that one’s dream would never need imprimatur or approval of any social systems or beliefs as long as he or she put her earnest mind to it.

When my older sister and I were little, there was a famous TV character called Wonder Woman who is perfect in every way: beautiful, smart, physically strong, and warm-hearted. I thought of my own mother each time I watched the series of Wonder Woman. Mom had always been such an invincible and bonzer figure to me. The image of the Rosie the Riveter type of woman had been stamped on my mind as a perfect lady that was embodied through my own mother. However, in the back of my mind, I was just a little girl who always yearns to have some more time with mama. I liked the perfectly riveting look of mom, but preferred her cooking for us in her kitchen. I loved her sublime stilettos and spiffy dresses for the international aviators’ conferences, but preferred her comfy and boxy T-shirt saturated with the smell of stew and kimchi. I was always fascinated by the old pictures of mom with the unfaded smile in her gorgeous flight suits, but felt happier and more comfortable with our childhood family pictures in which my sis and I were sticking to mom.

Years and years had passed, and I also obtained one of the proudest titles for a woman: MOTHER. Looking at the twinkling eyes of my baby son, I made up my mind to be right there as his best friend, number one supporter, and the best listener in his life. Although I am not even close to a perfect mother at all, I know I’ve always been making sure that I will never ever make my child feel lonely or tossed in this heartless world alone. With this strong determination growing in my mind, I used to have some misunderstandings of working moms. According to my own beliefs, working moms had to be negligent of their duty as a housewife or a mother. I was so focused on my own loneliness as a child who had a busy celebrity mother that I wasn’t able to realize working moms are trying hard to make the best use of their time with children whenever they have a chance. Staying away from home for many hours a day because of their work cannot be the curve ball that ruins the quality of their playtime with children. No need to or rather should not play the role of a soccer mom or a helicopter mom who chase after their kids all the time to be a good mom! 

All mothers’ love for children is warm and deep. All mothers’ painstaking effort to support their children is not always proportionate to the actual time they spend with them. As long as mothers remain the closest distance at heart between themselves and their kids, they are all super heroes. More powerful, wiser, and stronger than Wonder Woman or Rosie the Riveter!

Expressions

joyful as a skylark: (phrase) happy and excited

to forge ahead: (verb) to advance rapidly, progress quickly, make rapid progress

daffy: (adjective) crazy, lunatic

imprimatur: (noun) a person's acceptance or guarantee that something is of a good standard

bonzer: (adjective) excellent/ first-rate

Rosie the Riveter: (phrase) Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II

riveting: (adjective) enchanting/ bewitching/captivating/ charming

to be negligent of …….: (verb) ailing to take proper care in doing something

proportional to…: (adjective) corresponding in size or amount to something else

Wisdom of Life Found in the Native American Proverbs

Have you guys reached the definition of life? Some of you might have already decided or nailed it while most are still working on it. There are sunny days, somber days, funny days, painfully boring days, healthy days and morbid days…..At one moment we fly like a skylark, but the other we fall down in bitterness. We are getting tired of ups and downs full of switcheroos in life, feeling like a ragged cloth in the kitchen. Until the final day, the meaning of life will be constantly processed in every minute, and my primary thoughts on “what it truly is” are also being shaped and molded at the moment. It is too early to despair and give up, because there are many more songs of our lives unsung waiting in store for us.

Today, I would like to share many words of wisdom found in the old saying from Native American culture. These quotes have been excerpted from the book “The Soul Would Have No Rainbow If the Eyes Had No Tears” written by Guy A. Zona.

Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future. (by Lumbee tribe)

ó Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you.(by Hopi tribe)

Poverty is a noose that strangles humility and breeds disrespect for God and man. (by Sioux tribe)

If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove. (by Cheyenne tribe)

The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears. (by Minquass Tribe)

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy- myself. (by Tribe unknown)

The bird who has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry. (by Omaha tribe)

The smarter a man is the more he needs God to protect him from thinking he knows everything. (by Pima Tribe)

Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way. (by Blackfoot tribe)

It is good to be reminded that each of us has a different dream. (by Crow tribe)

Do not allow anger to poison you. (by Hopi tribe)

Life is as the flash of the firefly in the night, the breath of the buffalo in winter time. (by Blackfoot tribe)

Expressions

to nail something: (verb) to perform or complete something perfectly or impressively

switcheroo: (noun) an unexpected and surprising variation or reversal

to mold: (verb) to give shape to something

noose: (noun) a trap or snare

Are these words English?!! Interesting Words that Might Puzzle You

 

Navigating through the journey of studying a foreign language takes much time and patience, because learners need to work on not only the currently used expressions, but the old and the newly coined ones as well. This week, we would like to go over some funny vocabs that you might or might not have heard.

(source from dictionary.com)

1.   to bumfuzzle: (verb)  to confuse (*originated from Southern US dialect)

e.g., Did you figure out the question #4 on the Math test? It totally bumfuzzled me!

2.   to canoodle: (verb) to be touchy feely/ caress/ fondle/pet amorously (* British English)

e.g., In Paris, it is easy to find young couples and lovers canoodling in the street.

3.   cattywampus (or catawampus) : (adjective) askew/ awry/ diagonally located/ kitty-cornered

e.g., Joshua’s house is cattywampus from my studio apartment.

4.   diddly-squat (or doodly-squat): (noun) something that is minimal/inconsequential,  the least amount, anything at all

e.g. I don’t know diddly-squat about Economics.

5.   diphthong: (noun) two vowel sounds joined in one syllable to form one speech sound The sounds of “ou” in “out” and of “oy” in “boy” are diphthongs

e.g., Practicing the sounds of English diphthongs is really fun and easier than working on tong twisters like “She sells seashells at the seashore.”

6.   dongle: (noun) a little piece of computer equipment/  a small device that plugs into a computer and serves as an adapter or as a security measure to enable the use of certain software

e.g., My grandma says she feels dizzy when she looks at all the tinny-tiny dongles scattered on my desk.

7.    doohickey: (noun) something unspecified whose name is either forgotten or not known “gadget; a dingus; a thingumabob; whatchamacallit”

e.g., Our garage is filled with a variety of electronic parts and other valuable doohickeys.

8.   fartlek: (noun) Swedish word meaning a system of training for distance runners in which the terrain and pace are continually varied

e.g., For fun and flexible speed work try fartlek training.

9.   gobbledygook: (noun) wordy and generally unintelligible jargon/  speech or writing that is complicated and difficult to understand

They may wish to sound impressive and fancy. They may use it as a technique of avoidance or obfuscation, if they want to hide the truth or are unsure of what they’re talking about

e.g., All the explanation about the geometric shapes sounded like total gobbledygook to the students.

   

     10. jackalope: (noun) totally fictional portmanteau word, but fun. As anyone who’s traveled the American West will inform you, a jackalope is a jackrabbit with … antelope horns

e.g., Children invited to Mr. Suess’ house was somewhat scared by taxidermy owls and jackalopes on the wall.

Newly Coined English Words

English words are being developed, newly coined, clipped, and mixed into brand new words while we are sleeping. The following words are one of those popular additions in use today, which are collected and organized by the Oxford dictionary team. Let’s check them out.

1. bling (noun): Expensive, ostentatious clothing and jewelry.

e.g., Look at all those blings the Jamaican rapper’s wearing!

2. bromance (noun): A close but non-sexual relationship between two men.

e.g., Ted and Roger have been such close buddies for all those years. Their full-on bromance will never fade.

3. chillax (verb): Calm down and relax.

e.g., Chillax, dude! Losing a part time job is not the end of the world!

4. crunk (adjective): Very excited or full of energy. (This word is a blend of crazy and drunk)

e.g., It’s time to get crunk with some nice hip hop tune!

5. funk or blue funk (adjective) : state of depression

e.g., I’ve been in a blue funk since I lost my best friend.

6. D'oh (exclamation): Exclamation used to comment on a foolish or stupid action, especially one’s own.

e.g., D’oh!  I was looking for my car key that’s in my own hand!

6. droolworthy (adjective): extremely attractive or desirable.

e.g., The drummer's spectacular skills were droolworthy at the concert!

7. Frankenfood (noun): Genetically modified food.

e.g., My Vegetarian friend always helps me make healthy choices of food, showing me how to avoid harmful Frankenfood.

8. hater (noun): a person who greatly dislikes a specified person or thing.

e.g., I always become tired of dealing with haters in meaningless debates on twitters.

9. Illiterati (noun): people who are not well educated or well informed about a particular subject or sphere of activity. Not so secret society of people who seemingly know something about Every subject, but somehow never grasped the basic concepts of the English language. (ó Illuminati)

e.g., An Illiterati takes pride in the fact that they are ignorant and refuse to learn (adjust their paradigm)often to the severe detriment of those around them.

10. infomania (noun): the compulsive state in which you desire to check or accumulate news and information, typically via mobile phone or computer.

e.g., Phil is spending too many hours of a day gathering and checking up with news updates on line. It seems to me that he got infomania.

13. La-la Land (n): A fanciful state or dream world. Also, Los Angeles, Hollywood, or a state of mind that is out of touch with reality, focusing on dreams

e.g., C’mon! Just wake up and get out of your own la-la land!

15. locavore (noun): A person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.

e.g., As a kimchi lover, it is hard for me to live as a locavore here in the outback area of the States!

16. mankini (noun): A brief one-piece bathing garment for men, with a T-back.

e.g., What’s with the big idea of his wearing a mankini!!! That is gross!

17. mini-me (noun): A person closely resembling a smaller or younger version of another.

e.g., I really digged the little boy’s acting in that film! He is mini-me!

18. upcycle (verb): to reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.

e.g., For his art project, Matthew upcycled 600 used paper cups and plastic water bottles.

19. muggle (n): definition #1 (noun) a person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill.

                            Definition #2 (verb): colloquial term for smoking marijuana

e.g.,#1: I felt like a muggle at my new work place when my colleagues were exchanging their ideas on the upcoming project.

#2: The actress was caught on the spot of muggling last night.

20. noob/ newbie (noun): a person who is inexperienced in a particular sphere or activity, especially computing or the use of the Internet.

e.g., Some games and gaming forums are crawling with annoying noobs.

24. Purple State (noun): a US state where the Democratic and Republican parties have similar levels of support among voters. It also refers to a swing state  or battleground state where both Democratic and Republican candidates receive strong support without an overwhelming majority of support for either party.

e.g., Racial diversity is the dominant feature of most purple states.

25. screenager (noun): a person in their teens or twenties who has an aptitude for computers and the Internet.

e.g., Young ones today are required to be a computer expert in most fields of work, which is why they are called screenager.

How to Make It with Flying Colors on Job Interviews

There are many things in life that would make you feel jittery and fidgety, sweat bullets, and sit on the edge of your seat. Job interview might be one of those mind-blowing, nerve-racking experiences.  Like it or lump it, the day for the job interview comes on the appointed day, and your interviewer can be an ultracrepidarian or a heartless curveball who would put on the spot by shooting a fusillade of tough questions. However, it could be a golden opportunity for you to shine! Be prepared. Be confident. And Smile.

Here’s the list of  top 10 ways to nail the interview written by Vicky Oliver, the award-winning copywriter at brand-name, top-tier advertising agencies in NYC. Let’s take a look. (source: 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions)

1.   Breathe deeply, and try not to panic.

2.   Try to set up your meeting for one full week (i.e., 5 business days) from the time that you first receive the call to come in.

3.   Do your homework. Get on the Internet, and pull every article you can find about the company. Don’t just read the articles; study and dissect them. Start crafting a list of questions of your own about the company, based on the information that you unearth.

4.   Go wider and deeper. Look up the company’s website. Obtain past Annual Reports from the organization, and review them as if your life depended on it. Also, brush up on what the company’s competitors have been doing.

5.   Call any contacts that you have from the company, and start gently picking their brains about your upcoming interview.

6.   Review the questions you have collected (#5) and prepare your answers to them.

7.   Write down you goal. Phrase your goal in a way that is very specific to the company.

8.   Lock yourself in a quiet room in your house or apartment if you have to, and ask yourself the questions (collected and created by you) and state the answer aloud.

9.   Decide which outfit you will wear to the interview to avoid any tough decisions at the last minute.

10. Fifteen hours before your interview, force yourself to stop studying for it, and try to relax. Lay off the caffeine so that you can get a good night’s sleep.

Expressions

1.   Jittery/ fidgety: nervous/ restless/ uneasy or unable to relax

2.   to sweat bullets: be extremely anxious or nervous

3.   to sit on the edge of one’s seat: in suspense; waiting eagerly or anxiously for some resolution

4.   nerve-racking/wracking: causing stress or anxiety

5.   like it or lump it: like it or not/ one must accept a situation they do not like, because it cannot be changed

6.   ultracrepidarian: one who is presumptuous and offers advice or opinions beyond one's sphere of knowledge

7.   on the spot: force someone into a situation in which they must make a difficult decision or answer a difficult question.

8.   fusillade of ….: a series of shots fired or missiles thrown all at the same time or in quick succession

9.   to dissect…: analyze (something) in minute detail

10.  to unearth…: discover (something hidden, lost, or kept secret) by investigation or searching

11. to brush up on….: improve one's previously good knowledge of or skill at a particular thing.

12. to pick one’s brains: obtain information by questioning someone who is better informed about a subject than oneself

13. to lay off: to stop doing something,or using something