Idioms related to Shopping

Idioms related to Shopping

Black Friday shopping spree is not just the American culture anymore. The blast-off sale right after Thanksgiving or Christmas has become a major occasion for shopaholics to mark the calendar for in many other countries in the world as well. This week, let us work on some interesting idiomatic expressions related to shopping and spending money.

(resource from https://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/shoppingidioms.html, https://www.learn-english-today.com/idioms/idiom-categories/shopping/shopping.html)  

   1.   to pay over the odds: (verb) to overpay for something/ to pay too much for something

   2.   to shop till one drop(s): (verb) to go on an extremely long shopping trip until one feels exhausted

   3.   retail therapy/ shopping therapy: (noun) the idea that buying things can cheer you up or make you feel better (especially when you’re under pressure or stressed out) as an outlet for frustration and a reliever of stress

   4.   doorbuster: (in retailing) a special discount price available for a limited period, typically during special early-opening hours

   5.   to put (something) on/in layaway: (verb) to purchase something by paying part of the price initially, and not receiving the goods until all the money has been paid

   6.   to slash prices: (verb) to cut/reduce/decrease prices (the cost of something)

   7.   a killer deal: (noun) something of high value has a very great price that is surprisingly low and affordable

   8.   splash out: (verb) to buy something even though it costs a lot of money

   9.   bargain hunting: (nouns) spending time in the shops looking for items to buy at the lowest price

   10.  cyber Monday: (noun created by online retailers) also called as Black Monday, which is an e-commerce term that refers to the Monday following the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend.

Let us practice using the above expressions in sentences by filling in the given blanks now!

   

   

   1.   Terry had her eye on a gorgeous winter coat, but she couldn’t afford to buy it at that price. So, she waited for the time when there’s a _________________ deal on line. Yes, ________________ Monday shopping is her thing!

   2.   Devin has ________________________ out this last Christmas to buy something big for his fiancé. Now he’s dead broke.

   3.   He once saw a woman get smashed against a window and break her nose, and knows what it's like when people get injured in the dash for ________________________ at shopping malls.

   4.   Melissa does not want to pay ________________________ for a designer purse just to distinguish herself through what she buys.

   5.   Quite a lot of women shop ‘till they _______________ at duty free shops, which would often result in breaking their banks by the end of the month of their travels. LOL

   6.   Jeffrey only buys his high-end DIY tools at Home Depot when they _________________ prices.

   7.   When my mom was bummed out about something, she’d go shopping for clothes or cosmetics. Yes, _________________ therapy works for her.

   8.   Mimi put the huge Christmas decoration on _________________, because she can’t afford to buy that pricey ornament at the moment.

   9.   If you wish to get this nice pair of highly cushioned running shoes, just wait until next week. They’ll be on blast off sale as of next Tuesday for shoppers like you who love ___________________ hunting.

Answer Keys

   1.   killer, Cyber

   2.   splashed

   3.   doorbusters

   4.   over the odds

   5.   drop

   6.   slash

   7.   retail

   8.   layaway

   9.   bargain

Dr. Jedidiah's Diary Episode #9: Lovelorn

Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary

Dr. Jedidiah is a psychiatrist who loves traveling, meeting new people, and exploring different cultures. As a single father who lost his wife to drug overdose 10 years ago, he has not been his old perky self for the last decade. During those hard years, he has met hundreds of, thousands of people from various walks of life around all over the world. Meeting new people and listening to their stories outside his office have given him different feelings from the ones through the formal encounter groups or support groups for therapy. These people he has accidentally come across were the paths through which Dr. Jedidiah could look back on his own life, being truly honest with himself. Here is Dr. Jedidiah’s monologue that has left him with some food for thoughts in life….or a fodder to justify his own mistakes in the past.

Episode #9 Lovelorn

It was back in the early 70s when my auntie Ann first met the famous actor Steve. Steve had already been the most sought-after film star unmatched by any of his contemporary actors. He also had a picture-perfect family with two children. As might be expected of a handsome womanizer, he could not let a beautiful woman named Ann pass him by at the shooting set in that local college campus in Southern California. She was on her way to class in a hurry, trying to find the way around the cameras. The moment Steve took a glimpse of her, he became totally blown away by this breathtakingly gorgeous young lady. He was like ‘Not a second to waste!’ and came up to Ann to ask her out. She smiled back. Day one of their secret liaison began that way in broad daylight.

Auntie Ann and Steve’s non licet love story had kept on like an easy sail until Steve’s family found out what had been going on behind the curtain. Ann wanted him to leave his wife and children for her, but the word ‘DIVORCE’ wasn’t in his vocabulary. As the most convenient but base means to cut off a relationship, he chose ghosting after all those years of being together. That was how their burning love affair came to an end, with the lady Ann feeling like a trash flung out into the street where everybody could see.

No shrinks or mental therapists were able to help auntie Ann. She was turning to booze and even abusing OTC pain relievers with alcohol, which had lasted for so long until the deplorable incident took place. She hanged herself in her walk-in closet in the year of 1984. There was a note found right next to her, on which only one word was scribbled. ‘Lovelorn’.

I still remember that my mom, grandparents, uncles, and aunts all seemed reluctant to make a fuss about auntie Ann’s untimely, tragic end of life. On her demise, a coroner and police officers came for investigation. Few weeks later, family obtained the autopsy result: No voluntary and/or involuntary manslaughter and foul play involved. Clear evidence of suicide. No one in family set forth a counterargument or requested further investigation to stop auntie Ann from being a talk of the town. They all seemed so ashamed to have a family member who left an indelible blemish on their family name. Yes, obviously, auntie Ann did not die an honorable death or her hidden relationship with a married man was never a shiny, valorous act of a level-headed person. However, the same old question in my mind that has been repetitively coming up since I became aware of her story is WHY she wasn’t able to survive the bittersweet love, while Steve had lived a peaceful life back in his own family just as if nobody like the lady Ann had been there at all. Could it be because she loved him more than he did? Was there ever such a thing as ‘true love’ between Steve and Auntie Ann? Was it just no more than illusions about each other?

They say “Love is a many splendored thing.”, but it costs a lot of heartaches, tears, and even treated with contempt. Although it was not a proud relationship to be known, auntie Ann had a time of her life being with Steve and had the full feeling of love inside of her to the last moment of her life. R.I.P, auntie Ann. Your life was not wasted because you were in love.

Expressions

   

   1.  unmatched by: (adjective) unequalled, supreme, unparalleled, paramount, greater than any other thing/man in the field

   

   2.  picture-perfect: (adjective) completely perfect or flawless

   3.   liaison: (noun) illicit affair

   4.  non licet: illegal

   5.  base means: contemptible, mean-spirited, or selfish lack of human decency method/way

   6.  ghosting: the practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication

   7.  turn to: to go to someone or something to get help with a difficult situation

   8.  lovelorn: unhappy because of unrequited love

   9.  valorous: courageous/ brave

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 [SH1]

Poem by Jean Lee: Trees

Trees

By Jean Lee

Are you the one that has been in my yesterday?

Am I still in your memory?

You know my stories and quiet moments of silence in somber overlay

That from time to time emerge in a way so peremptory.

In the morning, you whisper sounds of hopes through balmy sunray

At dusk, you bring me to tears pointing toward the sky where my father is so gingerly.

Trees, you are listening when I pray

Then keep me stay peaceful in my trajectory.

Each time I get lost in a maze to my dismay,

Your changing colors of leaves have taught me life is full of mystery.

Will you be there for me in my twilight years in the same way?

I know you won’t judge me and say “now you’re an old lady who’s so peppery”.

Leaning on your wide and sturdy trunk as I lay,

I’d ask for a long, long whispering of the good old time so savory.

The stories would never seem dull or bewhiskered to me.