English Language Blog

Are you a leaf-peeper? Do you enjoy sweater weather? Longing for a crisp feel to the air? If you answered “Yes” to all three questions then you’re in luck. It’s autumn! To be honest, I’m really a summer kind of guy. Give me lots of daylight, green grass, and the lazy pace of an afternoon…

One of the things that distinguish the United States from almost every other country is also one of the most basic. We write the date differently. In the U.S., the date is written mm/dd/yyyy, or sometimes mm/dd/yy. For most of the world, this is backward (or, more accurately, sideways.) Why we do this has been…

In English, when you are presented with something that you don’t understand the most normal thing to do is tell someone, “I don’t understand.” Or, “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.” However, we have lots of ways to express that same feeling. And, depending on the situation, another expression may be more suitable. Whenever a…

Songs that tell the stories of workers and laborers seem to have always been a part of American culture. Popular hits include Dolly Parton’s Nine to Five and Billy Joel’s Allentown, to name just two. Bruce Springsteen has made a career out of songs of the American worker. But in the history of American music…

Greetings to all readers! How has life been treating you lately? Well, if you have the blues, cheer up! For today’s post, we’ll have the golden opportunity to learn some color-related idioms. So if you’re looking for a vocabulary boost or a way to expand your cultural knowledge. So let’s paint the town red? to be…

The other day I heard a radio ad in which someone said that he had, “…earned quite a few brownie points” with his girlfriend after sending her a bouquet of flowers. Even if you’ve never heard the expression before, you probably can understand the meaning of the term just from the context of the sentence…

I ate an heirloom last night. Actually, I ate quite a few heirlooms, and I would have liked to have eaten more. No, I did not somehow eat some of my grandmother’s jewelry, or my father’s old watch. I ate some tomatoes. But they were unusual, somewhat rare, and not perfectly beautiful. We now have…