New Year Tradition from the World

The new year has arrived! Do you have a family ritual or traditional way to celebrate the new year’s day? Here are some fun facts about new year traditions of many different countries.

 

    1.   In the early American colonies, the sounds of ___________ shots rang through the air, and black-eyed ______________ and pork foretell good fortune in southern United States.

 

    2.   The Irish enjoy pastries called _______________.

 

    3.   In India and Pakistan, rice promises _________________.

 

    4.   _____________ dipped in honey are a Rosh Hashanah tradition.

 

    5.   In Swiss homes, dollops of __________________ cream, symbolizing the richness of the year to come, are dropped on the floors and allowed to remain there.

 

    6.   “Wassail”, the Gaelic term for “good ______________”, is served in some parts of England. Spiced “hot pint” is the Scottish version of wassail. Traditionally, the Scots drank to each other’s prosperity and also offered this warm drink to neighbors along with a small gift.

 

    7.   In Rome, gifts of gilded nuts or ______________  marked the start of the new year.

 

    8.   ___________, the symbol of fertility, were exchanged by the Persians.

 

    9.   Early ___________________ traded earthenware flasks.

 

    10. In Scotland, coal, shortbread and silverware were traditionally exchanged for ____________________________.

 

 

*Source from The Old Farmer’s Almanac

 

 

Answer Keys

1.  gun/ pistol, peas

2.  bannocks

3.  prosperity

4.  apples

5.  whipped

6.  health

7.  coins

8.  Eggs

9.  Egyptians

10.              Good luck

A Piece of Poem dedicated to All the Cooks at Home in the Quarantined Year of 2020 by Jean Lee

 The 12 Days of Christmas Ode to All the Cooks at Home in 2020

by Jean Lee

 

On the 1^st day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

A spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 2^nd day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 3^rd day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 4^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 5^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Five muffin rings, four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 6^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Six cheese I’m saving, five muffin rings, four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree.

On the 7^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Seven naans a burning, six cheese I’m saving, five muffin rings, four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 8^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Eight drinks for sipping, seven naans a burning, six cheese I’m saving, five muffin rings, four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 9^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Nine licorice for licking, eight drinks for sipping, seven naans a burning, six cheese I’m saving, five muffin rings, four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 10^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Ten gourds of pumpkins, nine licorice for licking, eight drinks for sipping, seven naans a burning, six cheese I’m saving, five muffin rings, four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 11^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Eleven griddles for frying, ten gourds of pumpkins, nine licorice for licking, eight drinks for sipping, seven naans a burning, six cheese I’m saving, five muffin rings, four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

 

On the 12^th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Twelve cutters for cookies, eleven griddles for frying, ten gourds of pumpkins, nine licorice for licking, eight drinks for sipping, seven naans a burning, six cheese I’m saving, five muffin rings, four tubs of curds, three dozen eggs, two tons of flour, and a spare fridge instead of a tree

Time to Play the Puzzle with Christmas related sentences!

This is the latest Sunday Word Puzzle from NPR! Here are some sentences about Christmas. For each one, change one letter in one of the words to reveal a state capital.

Example: I'm a lover of the whole Christmas season. --> DOVER (Delaware)

 

1. The kids made a lot of noise unwrapping their presents.

 

2. Did you hear Santa Claus landing on the roof?

 

3. Christmas is a season of traditional sacraments.

 

4. The little sock hanging by the fireplace is my baby brother's.

 

5. You'll have to pierce the packaging to get out the Christmas ornament.

 

6. Julys and Augusts are when stores place their Christmas orders.

 

7. Is this the same Santa we ran into at the other mall?

 

8. I can't wait for the after-Christmas sales.

 

Answer Keys

    1.  Boise (Idaho)

    2.  Lansing (Michigan)

    3.  Sacramento (California)

    4.  Little Rock (Arkansas)

    5.  Pierre (South Dakota)

    6.  Augusta (Maine)

    7.  Santa Fe (New Mexico)

    8.  Salem (Oregon)

Finding Phrases with First 2 Letters of Each Given Word (from NPR Sunday Puzzle)

Time to play the puzzle! This is the latest NPR Sunday Puzzle (created by Will Shortz) aired on December 13^th, 2020.

Every answer today is a familiar phrase in the form "___ & ___," in which the first two letters of the first word plus the first two letters of the last word themselves spell a word. I'll give you that word as well as a definition of the phrase. You tell me the phrase.

 

Example: SODA — combination performance --> Song & dance

 

1. BOAR — Native American weapon

 

2. CAMO — cunning game that a feline and rodent might play

 

3. EVAN — old-fashioned phrase meaning "occasionally"

 

4. ABBE — more than could possibly be expected

 

5. LASE — amphibious

 

6. SHAW — overwhelm through a show of force

 

7. BACH — heavy restraint to keep a prisoner from escaping

 

8. HOVE — like the positions of the x and y axes on a graph

 

 

 

 

Answer Keys

    1.  Bow and Arrow

    2.  Cat and Mouse

    3.  Ever and Anon

    4.  Above Beyond

    5.  Land and Sea

    6.  Shock and Awe

    7.  Ball and Chain

    8.  Horizontal and Vertical

Finding Proverbs

 It’s time for this last Sunday’s (December 6^th, 2020) ‘on-air challenge of Word Puzzle by Will Shortz’ on NPR!!

Three consecutive words somewhere in each sentence to be read are the first three words of a familiar proverb or saying. Tell me what it is.

 

Example: Put out a saucer of milk when the cat's hungry. --> When the cat's away the mice will play.

 

    1.   As meteorologists know, every cloud has water droplets.

 

    2.   Variety is the daily publication of show business.

 

    3.   The surgeon put a stitch in the gaping wound.

  

    4.   Through the mountains the road to the next town is very twisty.

 

    5.   On average the proof of most whiskey is 80.

 

    6.   In this motel a picture is hanging over every bed.

 

    7.   The joke starts: a priest, a fool, and a lawyer walk into a bar.

 

Answer Keys

   1.  Every cloud has a silver lining.  

   2.  Variety is the spice of life.   

   3.  A stitch in time saves nine.

   4.  The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

   5.  The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

   6.  A picture is worth a thousand word.

   7.  A fool and his money are easily parted.

Finding Compound Words - NPR on-air challenge of Sunday Puzzle!

Here’s another batch of NPR Sunday Puzzle created by Will Shortz. Ready to solve the puzzle? With given three words starting with "F", you give me another word that could follow each of the three words, and in each case it has to form a compound word OR a familiar two-word phrase.

 

Example: Full, Flex, Father (four letters starting with T) --> TIME (full-time, flextime, Father Time) 

 

1. Fly, Fifth, Ferris (5, W)

 

2. Fresh, Flood, Fire (5, W)

 

3. Fun, Full, Fraternity (5, H)

 

4. Flash, Focal, Freezing (5, P)

 

5. Fuel, Firing, Finish (4, L)

 

6. Feed, Flight, Flea (3, B)

 

7. Foul, Foot, Fur (4, B)

 

8. Fig, Fir, Family (4, T)

 

9. Fat, Fair, Fighting (6, C)

 

10. Fish, Funnel, Fruit (4, C)

 

11. First, Free, Farm (4, H)

 

Answer Keys

    1.  wheel

    2.  water

    3.  house

    4.  point

    5.  line

    6.  bag

    7.  ball

    8.  tree  

    9.  chance

   10. cake

   11. hand

2020 Slangy Expressions

Popular Slangy Expressions Today

When you study a foreign language, one of the most challenging things is to know and tell the phrases or expressions that are most up-to-date from the ones that have become outdated or even archaic. Let us go over some slangy expressions that are currently in today.

 

   1.   to be apocalypsing: to treat every single relationship just as if it were one’s last (or final in this world) and get very serious with someone he/she just started to see

 

   2.   to cap: to tell a lie (used as a verb or a noun) No cap!= No lies!

 

   3.   fit: meaning ‘outfit’/ ‘clothes’ (The “out” was hastily removed at some point, for reasons that remain somewhat unclear)

 

   4.   basic: an insult describing someone or something that is boring and just goes with the flow rather than makes his/her own decisions or develops his/her own taste

   

   5.  Ok, boomer!: The cheeky "OK boomer" response has become a rallying call for millennials and other younger generations across the world when they are dismissing older generations. *Warning: Don't use that phrase to your boss or higherups at work. LOL

 

   6.   tea: gossip/ hot news circulating in town

 

   7.   What’s good: meaning “What’s up?”/ “What’s Gucci?”/”How’re you doin’?”

 

   8.   to bail: to fail to meet a commitment/ to cancel or ditch a plan

 

   9.   snatched: adjective meaning ‘Cool!’, ‘Very good!’

 

   10. a third wheel: Someone who is not needed or wanted in a situation, typically with a romantic couple

 

Time to put the above into practice in sentences!

   1.  OMG! How I love your new ashy blonde highlights! That’s ____________!!

 

   2.  Uncle: Hey, Jo, when I was your age, I had to walk all the way to school and back home. It was literally 10 miles in total. Why would you need a car to commute?

   Jo: Ugh, ok, ______________! I’m not living in your primitive ages.

 

   3.  I hate to join that afternoon tea party held by those gossip mongering moms. They meet twice a week just to spill the ___________. Pathetic!

 

 

   4.  A: Sorry, guys, I need to ____________ tonight ‘cause my paper is         due tomorrow.

   B:  Don’t worry about the party. We’re not going to the lame           birthday party. It’s gonna be so ___________ and boring.

 

 

   5.  Luke is such a womanizer who keeps ________________ each time he dates a new girl.

 

   6.  Where did you get that cute ________, Jess? It’s a perfect match      with your purse.

 

   7.  You know who I ran into at the mall yesterday? No _______,  I saw the legendary Michael Jordan!

 

   8.  A: Hey, what’s ________? 

   B: Just doing well. How about yourself?

    

   9.  A: Wanna join us for dinner tonight?

   B: Are you kidding me? I hate being a ____________ wheel! Two’s           company, but three’s a crowd.

 

Answer Keys

    1.  snatched

    2.  boomers

    3.  tea

    4.  bail, basic

    5.  apocalysing

    6.  fit

    7.  cap

    8.  good

    9.  third

Time to play the NPR Sunday Puzzle (aired on November 15th, 2020)

This last weekend’s puzzle was a tribute to Alex Trebek, the longtime host of "Jeopardy!," whom we lost last Sunday. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name with the initials

A-T.

 

Example: 180-degree reversal --> ABOUT TURN

1. Part of an orchard

 

2. Something controlled by a tower at O'Hare or LAX

 

3. Clumsy

 

4. Appreciation for something that you get only through repeated exposure

 

5. Clock setting in Anchorage or Fairbanks

 

6. Something you can hike from Georgia to Maine

 

7. LSD experience

 

8. Band of tissue that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone

 

9. Sticky material for fastening things

 

10. Worker with tigers and elephants at old circuses

 

11. Author of "The Joy Luck Club"

 

12. Something affixed to a wall or ceiling in a sound studio

 

Answer Keys

    1.  apple tree

    2.  air traffic

    3.  all thumbs

    4.  acquired taste

    5.  Alaska time

    6.  Appalachian trail

    7.  acid trip

    8.  Achilles tendon

    9.  adhesive tape

    10.  animal trainer

    11. Amy Tan

    12.  acoustic tile