Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

I'm going to give you two three-letter words. Think of another three-letter word that can follow my first one and precede the second one, in each case to complete a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase.   Ex. RED, LID --> EYE (red-eye, eyelid) 1. FAT, NAP 2. PEA, MEG 3. WET, HOP 4. BOW, DYE 5. BAD, NOG 6. HOT, LEG 7. POP, ROD 8. OLD, TIP 9. TEA, PIE 10. PIG, PAL   Answer Keys     1.   cat:   fat cat & cat-nap     2.   nut: peanut & nutmeg     3.   bar: wet bar & bar hop     4.   tie: bowtie & tie dye     5.   egg: bad egg & eggnog     6.   dog: hot dog & dog leg     7.   fly: pop fly & fly rod     8.   hat: old hat & hat tip     9.   pot: teapot & pot pie     10.  pen: pigpen & penpal

The month “MAY” is named for the Roman goddess “Maia”, who oversaw the growth of plants. Also from the Latin word maiores (meaning “elders”), who were celebrated during this month. This U.S. federal holiday is observed on the last Monday to honor the men and women who have died while serving in the military. It was formerly known as Decoration Day . Memorial Day will be observed on May29th this year (2023). (*source from the old farmer’s almanac)   <MEMORIAL DAY & VETERANS DAY> Do you know the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day ? On both Memorial Day and Veterans Day, it is customary to spend time remembering and honoring the countless veterans who have served the United States throughout the country’s history. However, there is a distinction between the two holidays:   Memorial Day commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, particularly those who passed in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in...

Every answer today is an animal whose name contains an R. I'll give you an anagram of the name without the R. You tell me the animal. Ex. ABE + R = BEAR   1. SHOE + R 2. TOTE + R 3. HEWS + R 4. PITA + R 5. DEBAG + R 6. GUACO + R 7. BILGE + R 8. THAMES + R 9. NUNCIO + R (imaginary animal) 10. NEEDIER + R 11. TOOTSIE + R   Answer Keys      1.   horse     2.   otter     3.   shrew     4.   tapir     5.   badger     6.   cougar     7.   gerbil     8.   hamster     9.   unicorn     10.    reindeer     11.    tortoise

Here are six-letter words given in each question below. For each one, add the same letter of the alphabet twice — without rearranging any of the other letters — to make a common eight-letter word.   Ex. STURDY — A --> SATURDAY   1. RESENT — C   2. COLLIE — D   3. LATISH — F   4. SEATED — H   5. FESTER — I   6. ASSORT — P   7. WANGLE — R   8. MALLET — S   9. HEDGER — A   10. REARED — P   11. TREBLE — U (hyphenated)   Answer Keys 1.   “C”: c res c ent 2.   “D”: colli d e d 3.   “F”: f lat f ish 4.   “H”: s h eat h ed 5.   “I”: fe i st i er 6.   “P”: p ass p ort 7.   “R”: w r angle r 8.   “S”: s malle s t 9.   “A”: he a dge a r 10.               “P”: p re p ared 11.             ...

  Have you heard or are you using these slang expressions at work? Quite often times, the office jargon delicately masks the reality, exaggerates or in some cases expresses irony for the purpose of making the truth sound more palatable or euphemizing the impact of actual words. Some might use the office jargon to “seem like an intellectual; hide their incompetence; sugarcoat the words; express irony; impress their boss and colleagues.” Let us work on these expressions that are often used in your office.       1.    nepo baby : The word nepo is an informal shortening of nepotism, which refers to favoritism that a person receives due to a family relation. The word baby indicates the familial relationship (in a way that can be intended to be mocking or infantilizing).       2.    (more/all) power to one’s elbow : an expression said to wish someone luck and to encourage them to be successful       3. ...