Blog
Idiom of the Week: Chewed Out
“Dad chewed me out for forgetting to feed the dog this morning.” To chew someone out is to yell at or scold them for something they have done (or not done). There might not be any other punishment, but the angry yelling is a punishment in itself....
Word of the Week: Bake
“We are baking Christmas cookies!” “Baking” is a kind of cooking that usually involves heating something for a long time in an oven. We bake cakes, cookies and bread. To be specific, baking is cooking using a dry heat without a direct flame. We also bake clay to...
Picture of the Week: Christmas Lights
Many homes and businesses are decorated with elaborate lights and ornaments for the Christmas season. Have you seen any Christmas light displays this year? ...
Phrase of the Week: Stop at the store
“I’ll stop at the store for milk on the way home.” “Can you stop at school on the way to work and get my homework for today?” “The train bound for Osaka stops at Kyoto.” This is a useful phrase when you go somewhere for a short time on the way to somewhere else....
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“I couldn’t have improved so much without guidance from my mentored.” Find the mistake. A. couldn’t have B. improved C. without D. mentored 「メントルの導きがなければここまで進歩しませんでした。」...
Trivia of the Week: RIP
“Rip” means to tear or pull apart. So why do gravestones say “RIP”? This “RIP” stands for “rest in peace”. “Rest” or sleep is often compared to death—death is like a permanent sleep. We wish peace for the person who has died. We also want the dead to...
Idiom of the Week: No Skin Off My Nose
“You’re going to play video games all night even though the test is tomorrow? Oh well, it’s no skin off my nose.” If someone is doing something that might cause harm to them, but won’t affect us, we say it’s “no skin off our nose”. The speaker won’t be hurt—the skin...
Word of the Week: Feast
“Wow, what a feast! You must have been cooking all day!” A feast is a big, luxurious meal that includes many dishes. In the U.S. many people have a big, elaborate meal on Thanksgiving at the end of November. But Christmas dinner is also an important holiday meal!...
Picture of the Week: Horse-drawn Sleigh
Do you know the song “Jingle Bells”? The bells are on the harness of a horse pulling a sleigh like this. This sleigh is pulled by two horses, but the sleigh in the song is a “one-horse open sleigh”. ...
Phrase of the Week: Rub It In
“Rub the sunscreen into your skin.” “Rub it in” means to rub a liquid onto a surface until it is absorbed. But we often use this phrase to mean drawing attention to someone’s failure. “You failed the math test?” “Yes.” “After you studied all night? Your...
