Let's play with PALINDROMES!

 Have you seen the latest talk of the town flick “TENET”? The word tenet is spelled and sounds the same forwards and backwards. Just like “tenet” (meaning “basic doctrine”), there are many English words or phrases that can be read the same way backwards or forwards. Such words are called PALINDROMES. Based on the following definitions, give English words that are palindromes.  Each space represents one letter.

 Example:  baby's napkin

    ______   ______  ______  -> answer: bib

 

1. parent (female)

    ______  O  ______

2. a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle ; an Eskimo watercraft

______  A  ______  A  ______

3.   pertaining or related to cities/ government

C  _____  _____  _____  C

 

4. Twelve O'clock

_____  O O  _____

 

5. a locating device/ airway monitor

R   _____  _____  _____ R

 

6. a term of address for a woman

M _____  _____  _____  M

   

7.   to even out

L _____  _____  _____  L

 

8. to send a patient to a specialist

    R  _____  F _____  R

 

9. a vehicle which is used competitively in wheel-to-wheel racing events

R  _____  _____   E _____  _____  R

 

10. the crime of killing somebody unknown in secret

M  _____  _____  D _____ U  M

 

 

Answer Keys

    1.  mom

    2.  kayak

    3.  civic

    4.  noon

    5.  radar

    6.  madam

    7.  level

    8.  refer

    9.  racecar

    10.  murdrum

 

(picture source: https://time.com/3771063/mark-saltveit-world-palindrome-championship/)

NPR Sunday Word Puzzle with /low/ sound in each word

 Time to solve another fun batch of puzzle created by Will Shortz and aired on NPR last Sunday (August 23, 2020). It is titled "Low and Inside." Every answer is a word or name that has the syllable sound of "low" somewhere inside it (not at the start or the end). The "low" syllable is always accented. 

Example: Like the U.S. before 1776 >> COLONIAL

 

1. Greeting in Hawaii

 

2. House speaker Nancy

 

3. Tennis star Martina

 

4. Spanish city that hosted the 1992 Olympics

 

5. Powerful land in ancient Mesopotamia

 

6. Everyday sandwich meat

 

7. Sounding pleasant to the ear, as music

 

8. Informal, as speech

 

9. Religious scholar

 

10. Kind of tube that a fertilized egg passes through

 

11. Relating to or involved in crime

 

12. Running away to get married

 

Answer Keys

    1.  Aloha

    2.  Pelosi

    3.  Navratilova

    4.  Barcelona

    5.  Babylonia

    6.  bologna

    7.  melodious

    8.  colloquial

    9.  theologian 

    10.              fallopian

    11.              felonious

    12.              eloping

Time to chillax

 Are you suffering from Monday blues or cabin fever these days? Welp, everyone in this world has been badly affected by this damn pandemic. Let us just stop and have a moment for a good laugh. This week, I am sharing some fun jokes/ riddles so we can chilaaaaaax for a minute or two in a loooooooong day.

(source from www.beano.com)  

😆

   1.   Q: What’s a waste of energy?

   A: Telling a hair-raising story to a __________ man.

 

 

    2.   Q: What’s round and dangerous?

    A: It’s a _____________ circle.

 

 

     3.   Q: What do you call a dinosaur fart?

     A: A ___________  from the ____________.

 

     4.   Q: What’s the difference between a well-dressed man on a bike and a poorly   dressed man on a unicycle?

     A: ________________

 

     5.   Q: Why did the newspaper talk to the ice cream?

     A: Because it was looking for the __________ !

 

     6.   Q: How do you get into a mushroom?

     A: Ring the ________________.

 

     7.    Q: What do bus drivers put on their morning toast?

     A: ____________  jam

 

     8.   Q: What do you call someone who can eat candy corn with both hands?

     A: _______________

 

     9.   Q: What do you call a fake pizza?

     A: a pepper_______ pizza

 

 10. Q:   How do pastry chefs get old?

       A: Time _______________ up on them.

 

Answer Keys 

    1.  bald

    2.  vicious

    3.  blast, past

    4.  attire

    5.  scoop

    6.  porta-bell-a

    7.  traffic

    8.  ambidextrose

    9.  phony 

    10.  crêpes

(picture source: http://itsfunny.org/funny-jokes-cartoons/)

 

 

 

 

 

Time for Word Puzzle (from NPR aired on August 16th, 2020)

 Time to solve the puzzle created by Will Shortz from NPR Sunday Word Puzzle. Every answer today is the name of a major foreign city that is not the capital of its country. I'll give you anagrams. You name the cities.

(https://www.npr.org/2020/08/16/902845585/sunday-puzzle-city-shuffle)

(picture source: https://www.pcma.org/london-tops-2019-worlds-best-cities-list/) 

Example: EDSEL, England --> Leeds

 

 

1. ROCK, Ireland

2. AVENGE, Switzerland

3. GOALS, Nigeria

4. REDDENS, Germany

5. PLANES, Italy

6. DRAMAS, India

7. ONLY, France

8. NEW PART, Belgium

9. VALIANCE, Spain

10. APROPOS, Japan

 

Answer Key 

    1.  Cork

 

    2.  Geneva

 

    3.  Lagos

 

    4.  Dresden

 

    5.  Naples

 

    6.  Madras

 

    7.  Lyon

 

    8.  Antwerp

 

    9.  Valencia

  

    10. Sapporo

Slangy Expressions: The West Coast Meets the East Coast!

 A lot of my EFL students used to ask me if they’d need to learn about slangs. I found it a good question. Are language students supposed to learn about the slangy expressions of target language? My answer to the question have always been “well, yes, you don’t need to use the expressions, but it will certainly help you to understand the meaning, usage, and contexts of those slangs for the sake of LIVING and LEARNING the language and culture as well.”

Here are some of the slangs mostly used in the West coast and the East coast of the United States.

(source: http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t7748.htm and Urban Dictionary, picture source from http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t7748.htm)

 

West Coast Slangs

1.   hella…..meaning “really/ very”

 

    2.   gansta…..meaning “gangster/ rapper”

 

    3.   chill….meaning “cool/ awesome/ or to calm down”

      

    4.   stoked….meaning “excited/ happy/ enlivened about something”

 

    5.   gnarly….meaning “excellent/ wonderful/ or dangerous/ difficult”

 

    6.   the animal style fries (from the famous In N Out hamburger place)

….meaning “fried golden brown, topped with melty American Cheese, buttery melted caramelized onions and a signature fry sauce”

 

7. the best coast…meaning “the West Coast” because

-       The weather is damn near perfect. ...

-       Coffee tastes better there...

-       Hidden beaches are around every corner. ...

-       Highway 1 can take you anywhere. ...

-       Burritos come with fries inside them. ...

 

    8.  grom/ grommet/gremmie

….meaning “(derogatory connotation) surfers/ young children”

 

    9.   gouda…meaning “money”

East Coast Slangs

1.  wicked/ mad….meaning “really/very/totally”

 

   2.  down-home

….meaning “related to simple and unpretentious way of life”

jawn (originated in Philadelphia)…meaning “a person/ place/thing”

 

   3.   No doubt (about it!) … meaning “For sure!/ Certainly!”

 

   4.  OD (abbreviated form of Overdoing)

….meaning “used when someone does something excessively”

   

    5.  guido ….meaning “Italian guy

  . 6. beat ….meaning “ugly”

 

    7.   busted….meaning “broke”

Time to solve the word puzzle from NPR! (aired on August 9, 2020)

Time to solve the NPR weekend word puzzle created by Will Shortz. Every answer today is the name of a famous person whose first initial and last name, in order, spell a word. For example, take Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence. The B of Benjamin + his last name spells BRUSH. I'll give you clues to the parts. You give me the names.

 https://www.npr.org/2020/08/09/900450455/sunday-puzzle-famous-names

1. Oscar-winning actor (3,5) — expression of appreciation

2. Singer with the Supremes (5,4) — worthless stuff

3. Former baseball star (4,4) — writing that's not poetry

4. Comedian and former host of the Oscars (5,4) — earthenware pot

5. Singer with the group Hole (8,4) — garlic bulb

6. Oldtime comedian with a radio show (4,5) — opposite of risen

7. Co-star of "Desperate Housewives" (4,7) — former British prime minister

 

Answer Keys

   1.  Tom Hanks - Thanks

   2.  Diana Ross - Dross     

   3.  Pepe Rose- Prose

   4.  Chris Rock- Crock  

   5.  Courtney Love – Clove  

   6.  Fred Allen- Fallen

   7.  Terry Hatcher - Thatcher

Are you saying these phrases right?

Are you saying these idioms the right way? Quite often times, even native English speakers use some of the idioms wrong. Let us get clarified with the following idiomatic phrases by choosing the right one.

(source from www.dictionary.com and https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/phrases-people-say-wrong/) 

    1.   We are living in the (A. doggie-dog world    B. dog-eat-dog world).

…….meaning “We are living in the highly competitive world where people would do whatever it takes to reach their goals even if that means harming others.”

 

    2.   I (A. couldn’t care less       B. could care less).

…… meaning “I really don’t care at all.”

3.   To (A. all intensive purposes      B. all intents and purposes), the local trail has been closed.

……meaning “for every practical/ important reason”

 

    4.   Sports injury should be (A. nipped in the butt          B. nipped in the bud) before it forces you to take a hiatus from active life.

…….meaning “solving a problem before it becomes a serious issue”

 

 

    5.    Whoa…do you really think I would lend you that much money? You got (A. another think coming         B. another thing coming)

………meaning “what you think is wrong/ incorrect”

 

  

    6.   Sorry, we do not take reservations. It’s (A. first come, first serve        B. first come, first served).

………meaning “a situation whereby customers are served in the order in which they arrive, those who arrive first are served first”

 

 

    7.   Which comes first? Chicken or eggs? It is a (A. mute point    B. moot point).

………meaning “….. is still open to a debate or …..is not an important question/ discussion”

 

 

    8.   I’ll (A. plead the fifth            B. take the fifth) if you ask me who I was with last night.

………meaning “I will not answer to the question because it might make me look guilty.”

 

 

    9.   Mr. Miller has a keen eye and is not easily deceived by magicians’ (A. sleight of hand        B. slight of hand) performance.

……….meaning “a gimmick or trickery”

 

 

 10. Time to dig in! Are you ready to (A. wet your appetite     B. whet your appetite) and (A. wet your whistle        B. whet your whistle) now?

………meaning “make yourself hungry and take a drink”

 

Answer Keys

    1.  B. dog-eat-dog world

    2.  A. couldn’t care less

    3.  B. all intents and purposes

    4.  B. nipped in the bud

    5.  A. another think coming

    6.  B. first come, first served

    7.  B. moot point  

    8.  B. take the fifth 

    9.  A. sleight of hand

    10.              B. whet your appetite,   A. wet your whistle

 

*picture source: http://iesalvaroyanez2011.blogspot.com/2013/04/english-idioms-looking-for-hidden.html