Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

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.   poin...

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things is to know and tell the phrases or expressions that are most up-to-date from the ones that have become outdated or even archaic.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   ...

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 ...

Let’s solve another batch of NPR Sunday Word Puzzle! This last week’s on-air challenge (aired on November 8 th , 2020) was as follows:  Add the letters Q-U and rearrange the result to get a new word. The Q-U can appear anywhere in the answer. Example: ITALY + QU --> QUALITY  1. CRONE + QU 2. TREAT + QU 3. BEETS + QU 4. A ROBE + QU 5. BIBLE + QU 6. REBUS + QU 7. RECTO + QU 8. INNIE + QU 9. DIALS + QU 10. CLEAR + QU 11. I RULE + QU Answer Keys    1.   conquer    2.   quartet    3.   bequest    4.   baroque    5.   quibble    6.   brusque    7.   croquet    8.   quinine    9.   lacquer    10.   liquor

We are witnessing the unprecentedly nerve-wracking and bizarre presidential election in the States in the year of 2020. This week, let’s go over some election-related expressions that you might have frequently heard on the news.       1.    Race remains too close to call in (a State) : Resulting in too narrow a margin to make a decision. This expression originates from sports, where call has signified "a judgment" since the mid-1600s. In the 1960s it began to be applied to pre-election polls and then to the outcome of elections.       2.    runoff : two-round system, a voting system used to elect a single winner, whereby only two candidates from the first round continue to the second round, where one candidate will win. When an election is too close to call, they decide to have a runoff.       3.    to tabulate (votes/ ballets) : to count or record votes systematically, putting into tabular form ...

Let’s find the names of cities or towns in the U.S.  Every answer today is a well-known U.S. city or town that has a two-word name. I'm going to give you rhymes for the respective parts. You name the places. (from NPR Sunday Word Puzzle by Will Shortz aired on November 1 st , 2020)   Example: Lodge Kitty, Kan. --> DODGE CITY    1. Short Girth, Texas   2. Wrong Peach, Calif.   3. Brittle Lock, Ark.   4. Rolling Scene, Ky.   5. Paint Ball, Minn.   6. Gun Rally, Idaho   7. Banned Storks, N.D.   8. Heavy Trace, Md.   9. Quaker Sites, Ohio   10. Mouth Trend, Ind.   11. Milks Dairy, Penn.   12. Tan Barber, Mich.   13. Moral Fables, Fla.   14. New Walls, S.D.   Answer Keys 1.   Fort Worth 2.   Long Beach 3.   Little Rock 4.   Bowling Green 5.   Saint Paul 6.   Sun Valley 7.   Grand Forks 8...