Modern English Idiom of the Week: Don’t spill the beans!

“I know you are planning a surprise party for me.” “You do? Who spilled the beans?” To spill the beans is to let out a secret. Another way to say the same thing is “to let the cat out of the bag.” In olden times, people would sell piglets in bags, but they tricked...

Word of the Week #3: exaggerate

“The fish I caught was about a mile long!” “Don’t exaggerate, there aren’t any fish that big!” 「俺が釣った魚の長さは1マイルくらいだった!」「大げさに言わないで、そんな大きい魚はいないよ!」 Sometimes we stretch the truth just a little bit. It’s not really a lie, but it’s not exactly true either. For example, we...

Modern English Phrase of the Week #2: Hold on!

This can mean “Don’t give up!” or “Wait a second!” We say it to encourage a friend who is having a difficult time. We also use it to tell someone to wait a short time. “Can I talk to you?” “Hold on a second while I save my file.”...

TOEIC Practice Question #2

The tour includes neither lunch _________ dinner. A. and B. but C. nor D. or ランチもディナーもツアーに含まれない。ここは「does not include lunch or dinner」であれば「or」でいいのですが、「neither」の後は必ず「nor」になります。よって正解はC norです。   Do more TOEIC practice...