Archive for February, 2020
Expecting a baby in English Posted by carol on Feb 29, 2020
Good morning, dear readers! We all know how important and delicate it can be to express ourselves in a foreign language. Even simple, everyday things in our native language become more complex when we try to communicate them. And it so happens that a couple of my students over the past couple of months had…
The Many Ways of Anyway Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 27, 2020
As you probably know, Americans are very good at abusing the English language. We fall into habits of misapplying words when speaking and, if we do it often enough, the wrong word becomes part of common speech. This is called a colloquialism. The problem with some English colloquialisms, though, is that they can confuse anyone…
English Idioms Inspired by Blacksmiths Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 20, 2020
With only an estimated 500 – 1000 professional blacksmiths in the US today, chances are excellent that you don’t think about the craft all that often. It is likely, however, that you have heard some of the most common phrases associated with blacksmiths sometime in the last month. In fact, these idioms are so widely…
Love Songs in English Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 13, 2020
Many of the greatest songs of all time are love songs. If you’ve ever been in love, or wanted to be, you’ve probably been touched by a love song. Oh, yes, you might say, that’s exactly how I feel! This is why couples often say, “They’re playing our song!” They found a song that perfectly…
English Words in the News: Primary Posted by Gary Locke on Feb 6, 2020
I live in New Hampshire, which means that every four years, media from all over the world stumble over each other in an effort to learn what my neighbors are thinking about. This is not an exaggeration. I was once interviewed on Danish television! The reason for this quadrennial (meaning every four years) fascination with…