Are You Soft-spoken or Straightforward Using Slangy Words?

Are you a user of vulgar language or euphemized version of expressions? Are you a huge fan of politically correct terms to be on the safe side? Whatever dispositions your languages are, you might want to sound like just who you really are. Here are some interesting examples of putting things in English. (*Caveat: Please watch out for vulgar, slangy words so you won’t offend anyone who you’re talking to. LOL)

Euphemized/ Polite Expressions	More Straightforward/Vulgar/ Harsh/Slangy Expressions
Please be a good sport/ Be nice.=>	Don’t be a dick.
Could you please let me finish? =>	Shut up and listen.
We’re letting you go. =>	You’re fired.
She passed away or dearly departed. =>	She died.
He’s on the street. =>	He’s homeless.
My dog has been put to sleep. =>	My dog has been euthanized.
Mom, can I have some potato chips? =>	Hey, mom, just hit me up with a bag of chips.
They are going through poor cash flow these days. =>	They are dead broke these days.
The professor is extremely neat and precise. =>	The professor is just too anal/ anal-retentive. He’s always splitting hairs.
I’m so out of luck!/ It’s so frustrating!=>	FML! (acronym for Fuxx my life!)
They went all the way last night. =>	They did Netflix and chill last night.
Her boy friend is a but vertically challenged. =>	Her boy friend is a migit.
I’m not quite impressed by your choice of friends. =>	Your friends are all scumbags.
She might not have been the sharpest pencil in the box. =>	She was dumb.

Idioms related to School & Education

May is typically the month in a year for family and friends to celebrate the completion of school years. The wonderful sense of achievement, pride, and elation fills the air, and parents have the moment full of tears of joy. This week, let us brush up on interesting English expressions related to school and education.

(source from http://www.idiomconnection.com/education.html)

    

    1.   old boy network/ society: social and business connections among former pupils of male-only private schools. It can also mean a network of social and business connections among the alumni of various prestigious schools

    2.   town and gown: In a college town, the relations between “town and gown” are those between the residents of the town and the students and faculty associated with the school, who in the past wore academic gowns. Such relations are often not friendly or pleasant.

    3.   to live in an ivory tower: to live in a state of sheltered and unworldly intellectual isolation.

    4.   to learn something by rote: to learn something in order to be able to repeat it from memory, rather than in order to understand it

    5.   get through (a course or a set of materials): to complete or finish a course or a set of materials

    6.   to put / get one’s thinking cap on: to engage your mind and think in a serious manner.

    7.   an eager beaver: someone who is a keen/ enthusiastic worker

    8.   to goof off: to slack off or waste time with the implication that the time is better spent at something to hand (like one's job)

    9.   Honor Roll: If we belong to the honor roll, then our names are included in a list of names of people with outstanding performance or achievement

    10.               A for Effort: Giving “A for effort” to students when they try to put in their best in a work, which may or may not necessarily be great, acceptable or successful

Let’s fill in the following blanks with proper idiomatic expressions.

1.    Peter thought that he could use his old_____________________ of the class 2019 in finding the best working position right after graduation from college, but it was harder than he had expected.

    2.   Maria was working at night at two different restaurants, but she went all out to get ______________________ her courses at school with flying colors during the daytime. Everyone of her classmates called her a eager _________________.

    

    3.   Jeffrey’s father told him to stop _________________ off and get a job. He kept telling Jeffrey that he is not living in an __________________ tower anymore.

    4.   When Theresa heard that her daughter had qualified for the ___________________ roll in her final semester, she jumped up and down in joy.

    5.   Our local festivals seem so divisive between residents outside campus and college kids. It doesn’t feel so pleasant to be living in this _____________ and ______________ rivalries.

    

    6.   Ted is a hard-working rookie in his department, but his manager said at the meeting that he’d need to understand the mechanism of how things are going in the upcoming project instead of learning things by ______________.

    

    7.   Wayne: You know what, I’ve been stood up by Amy three times in a row. Guess it’s time for me to put a ___________________________ to figure out this situation.

Jean: Agreed. She doesn’t deserve your love!

    

    8.   This fashion show did not turn out like I had planned, but I’d like to give all the models on my show ____________________________.

Answer Keys

    

    1.   boy network

    2.   through, beaver

    3.   goofing, ivory

    4.   honor

    5.   town, gown

    6.   rote

    7.   thinking cap

    8.   A for effort

English Idioms about the State of Health

Spring is the time of budding and starting your life with a fresh mind. However, not everyone is in perfect shape, either physically or mentally. This week, let us practice some living and health-related expressions/ idioms in English.

1.   keep body and soul together: to have or get enough food and money to survive

2.   hale and hearty: someone, especially an old person, who is hale and hearty is in excellent health (*similar expression: to be as right as rain)

3.   (to be) on one's last legs: to be in a very weak condition or about to die

4.   hair of the dog that bit you: using as a remedy a small amount of what made you ill, for example a drop of alcohol when recovering from drinking too much, is called 'a hair of the dog that bit you

5.   touch and go: If something is touch-and-go, the outcome or result is uncertain.

6.   couch doctor: shrink/ a psychoanalyst or psychiatrist who puts his patients on a couch to talk to them

7.   (to be) in remission: a disease that seems to be getting better

8.   socialized medicine: a system of national healthcare that is funded by taxes and provided to people by the government.

9.   One’s back teeth are floating/or swimming!: to need to go pee/ urinate right away! When somebody has to pee so bad that the urine has filled their whole body all the way up to the back of the mouth and makes the back teeth float in urine

10.             (to be) down in the mouth: to be visibly sad, depressed, and unhappy

Now let’s use the above expressions in sentences.

    

    1.   Jill has been so down _________________________ for the past 5 weeks since her beloved cat died.

    2.   Drew was advised by his friend to go see a _______________ doctor about his depression.

    

    3.   Americans are fed up with their medical expenses, which made them even wish to move to another country like Korea where they have good _____________________ medicine.

    

    4.   Ashley had to get another job to keep _________________________ together, because her existing job as a janitor was chicken feed.

    5.   Everyone thought Mr. Smith was on his ______________________ after the recent surgery, but thank goodness he is hale and ___________________ at the moment!

    

    6.   It was really _____________________________ after the surgery whether she would survive, but she’s been in _________________.

    

    7.   Jack couldn’t understand when his uncle gave himself another glass of Whiskey to cure his hangover from last night’s party. Jack’s uncle says it was the hair of the ______________________.

8.  Jordan was looking everywhere in the building for a restroom. His ___________________________________  at that moment.

*Answer Keys*

1. down in the mouth

2. couch

3. socialized

4. body and soul

5. last legs, hearty

6. touch and go, remission

7. dog that bit you

8. back teeth were floating

Basic English Expressions at Hair Salons

Is it time to get a new haircut or highlights? Giving your hair a bit of change from time to time could make you feel much lightened up and help you snap out of bad mood. Let us go over some basic English expressions  that we can use in hair salons this week.

Match the following vocabulary with each of their proper definition. 

(*source from https://www.myenglishlanguage.com/essential-vocabulary/hairdressing/)

1.   trim	a.   hair cut in different lengths, shorter on the top layer and longer underneath
2.   thinning	b.   hair at the front that comes down over the forehead
3.   balayage	c.   a small amount of hair cut off the ends of the hair to neaten your current style
4.   layers	d.   a long bob style
5.   fringe	e.   hair that is cut short all over using electric clippers, normally very short like in the army
6.   lob	f.    a highlighting technique where dye is painted on directly, without using foils or cap, to create a graduating color effect
7.   buzz cut	g.   parting at the side of the head or at the center of the head
8.   parting (side or center)	h.   Thick hair is cut with scissors to make it more manageable
9.   up do	i.     a hair style, especially among Rastafarians, in which the hair is worn in long, ropelike locks.
10.  dreadlock	j.    any hair style that is pulled up and back off your face – common for formal events, such as weddings

<Answer Keys>

    

     1.  c

     2.  h

     3.  f

     4.  a

     5.  b

     6.  d

     7.  e

     8.  g

     9.  j

    10. i

Learn the following expressions as well to say what you want or need at a hair salon.

<1> When asking for a service you want:

I’d like or Can I get a haircut/ some highlights please.

I’d like it straightened/ colored please.

<2> When making an appointment or a change of appointments:

Can I make an appointment for my hair color with (the name of your hair stylist)

Are you available this Saturday?

Can I see you this afternoon?

Can I possibly cancel the appointment for the haircut?

Can I put it off until next Wednesday?

<3> When asking about the cost:

How much do I owe you?/ How much do you charge for (a haircut/ a perm)

Will that cost extra?  (=Do you charge for that?)

Is that complementary? (=Is this service or product free?)

Allergic to Studying English Idioms? Hope not this week. ^^ Various Expressions related to Physical Allergic Symptoms

Spring has sprung! It is one of the most welcomed seasons after a long, brutal winter time. However, to some people out there who are suffering from a variety of allergies, Spring is not such a pleasant phase in a year. This week, let’s brush up on some idiomatic expressions related to allergy symptoms.

     

     1.      hay fever: a seasonal allergy to airborne particles characterized by itchy eyes, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, itchy throat, and excess mucus

     2.      wheezing: producing a hoarse whistling sound when one breathes with difficulty

     3.      flare-up: a sudden appearance or worsening of the symptoms of a disease or condition

     4.      splitting headache: terrible headache

     5.      to feel under the weather: to feel sick or ill

     6.      to break out in a rash: to experience visible skin irritation

     7.      runny nose: (opposite to stuffed-up nose) A runny nose is excess nasal drainage. It may be a thin clear fluid, thick mucus or something in between.

     8.      to be on the mend: to be getting better/ recovering after an illness or an injury

   

     9.      to be out cold: unconscious or deep asleep

Time to practice!

     

     1.      Jack has been hospitalized for the last two weeks and now dismissed. He is on ____________________________.

     2.      Melinda is addicted to taking selfies. Although she knows even getting near flowers would make her break _______________________, she still takes her own A-cut selfies in the middle of dandelions.

     3.      Just hearing weather forecast about today’s pollen index makes me feel _____________________________________. I even got a ________________ nose now.

     4.      At this time of year when flowers are in full bloom, I become miserable suffering from hay __________________ and ____________________ headaches.

     5.      As Doug was heading into the trail, he started to feel the ____________-up of  _____________________ cough.

     6.      Patricia was __________________ for two full hours after the surgery was done. Now her doctor says she needs to take three weeks off from swimming practice so she would  recuperate.

<Answer Keys>

     1.      the mend

     2.      out in a rash

     3.      under the weather, runny

     4.      fever, splitting

     5.      flare, wheezing

     6.      out cold