Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

Let’s have fun with NPR Sunday Word Puzzle from this last week! (This show was on the air on September 29 th , 2019) Question:   Every answer today is a word, name, or familiar phrase in which the only consonants are D and N — repeated as often as necessary. All the other letters are vowels. Example: Had a fancy meal --> DINED 1. Poet John who wrote "No man is an island" 2. The Hoosier State 3. Cul-de-sac (2 words) 4. Signaled at an auction 5. Any of the celebrated 1930s quintuplets 6. Movie "Crocodile ___" 7. Epic poem by Virgil 8. Brand of yogurt 9. Supplementary parts of books 10. Oblique remark about someone that casts aspersion on them 11. Verily or without a doubt 12. Relating to the lymph glands 13. Girl in the musical "Oklahoma!" (2 words) 14. "Beats me!" (2 words) 15. Interminably (3 words) 16. Like zombies Answer Keys        ...

This week, let me share the Sunday puzzle from the On-Air challenge on the National Public Radio. Every answer is a holiday that goes by "____ Day." With the given anagrams of the words that go in the blanks, you name the holidays. Example: ROAR + B => ARBOR (Arbor Day)               GAL + F => FLAG (Flag Day)   1. HARE + T => _____________   Day 2. BOAR + L => _______________ Day 3. RESHOT + M => _______________ Day 4. STRAFE + H => _______________ Day 5. SERVANT + E => _________________ Day 6. IMMORAL + E => _______________ Day 7. DISPENSER + T => _______________ Day 8. VENETIANS + L => ________________   Day 9. INDENTATIONS + U (2 words) => ______________    _________________   Day Answer Keys 1. Earth Day 2. Labor Day 3. Mothers Day 4. Fathers Day 5. Veterans Day 6. Memorial Day 7...

The back-to-school season is here! I bet all students and teachers are excited about going back to their major stomping ground. Hopefully….. This week, we are going to cover some school-related expressions in English.       1.   to call the roll/ to take the roll : to call the students’ name on a roll to check if they are present in class     2.   honor roll : a list of students who have earned grades above a specific average during a semester or school year     3.   to get/ have a leg up (on the competition) : to be in a position of advantage over another person or in a situation/ to headstart on ….     4.   to keep one’s ear (close) to the ground : to be well-informed about what will be happening     5.   to cover a lot of ground : to go over/ present a lot of information     6.   an eager beaver : a person who is excessively diligent or overly zealous ...

This week, let me share the NPR weekend puzzle (that was on air on August 25, 2019). It is a bit challenging but fun brainteaser. For each question, give the name of a famous person with only one name, either because they literally had only one name or because they're generally known by one name. For example, if the question is “usual - U-S-U-A-L - minus U for a biblical king”, the answer is “Saul”. <1> video - V-I-D-E-O - minus E for a Roman poet. <2> chrome - C-H-R-O-M-E - minus C for a Greek poet. <3> Leader - L-E-A-D-E-R - minus R for a singer. <4> S-H-A-K-E-N - minus N for a singer. <5> Titanic - T-I-T-A-N-I-C - minus C for an Italian artist. <6> Pearlash - P-E-A-R-L-A-S-H - minus S for a painter. <7> Optician - O-P-T-I-C-I-A-N – minus one I, a Native American leader which is also the name of a bygone car. <8> Palacetour - P-A-L-A-C-E-T-O-U-R - minus U for an Egyptian queen. <9> ...

Let go over some interesting English expressions which have but do not mean food items!           1.   to take ….   with a grain/pinch of salt : to accept that …..might be exaggerated    2.   like chalk and cheese : opposites    3.   to go pear-shaped : to fail or to turn out unexpectedly wrong    4.   …doesn’t cut the mustard : ….doesn’t meet or live up to the required standard    5.   a hard nut to crack : a difficult person to understand or difficult problem to solve    6.   a bad apple or a bad egg : a bad influence or someone who brings trouble    7.   to butter someone up : to flatter/ brownnosing someone in the hopes of receiving special    8.   to egg someone on : to push or urge someone to do (something mischievous or bad)    9.   a smart cookie : a clever person who makes go...

It is not impossible but very hard to get your ideas across in English, using incorrect grammar. Why don’t you test out your grammatical competence? One word is missing in each sentence. Find and rewrite the sentence with the Missing Word .     (source from http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/mw001.html )               1.    When visitors come, don't forget keep these chipped dishes out of sight. ð     ________________________________________________________.     2.    The car wasn't a success, so they decided to work a new model. ð   _________________________________________________________.     3.    The books used in our school published in the USA. ð   _________________________________________________________.     4.    If you don't know the meaning of a word, look up in the dictionary. ð   _____________________...