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Trivia of the Week: Practice Makes Perfect
"Practice makes perfect" is an old saying that encourages people to practice a lot in order to improve. It takes a lot of practice in order to become perfect! "Practice makes perfect" is by far the most common version, but a few other versions exist. Short phrases...
Idiom of the Week: Shanghaied
"Wait a second. You said we were going to visit Grandma, but this isn't the way to her house. We're going to the doctor, aren't we? I've been shanghaied!" "Shanghai" as a verb means "kidnap". It came into use meaning to kidnap someone and force them to serve as a...
Word of the Week: Maybe
"Did you eat the cake?" "Maybe I did, and maybe I didn't." "Maybe" means it's possible something is true or not true. It can be used when the thing is unlikely: "Maybe I'll win the lottery." It can be used when the thing is very likely: "Maybe I'll stop at the store...
Picture of the Week: Cherries
You've probably seen cherries in the store or on top of a dessert. Here they are growing on a tree. You might be surprised the first time you see a pineapple or a bunch of bananas as they grow, but cherries look just about how you would imagine....
Phrase of the Week: Knock Out
"The explosion knocked him out, but he was not seriously injured." When someone loses consciousness, usually due to being hit by something, such as a punch, we say they are "knocked out". In an organized fight, such as a boxing match, it can be abbreviated to KO....
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"Unfortunately, when we copied the document, the error was duplicitous." Find the mistake. A. Unfortunately B. copied C. document D. duplicitous 「残念ながら、ドキュメントをコピーした際に間違いも複写されてしまった。」 「複写された」の意味の「duplicated」が正しいのですが、騙したりウソついたりする人のことを表す形容詞の「duplicitous」になってしまいました。答えはDです。...
Trivia of the Week: Canine Teeth
"Canine" means "of a dog", so canine teeth are dog teeth. Actually, humans have canine teeth—the pointed teeth to either side of the incisors (front teeth). They're pointy, a little bit like a dog's fangs. In Japanese, they are called kenshi., Canine は「犬の」という意味ですので...
Idiom of the Week: Wear and Tear
"I've been taking it everywhere with me for almost two years and it's starting to show some wear and tear." "Wear" is signs of age and use. If you use something until it can't be used anymore, it gets "worn out". "Tear" actually means ripping or pulling apart, but in...
Word of the Week: Slurp
"In Japan, you have to slurp your noodles to show that you're enjoying them." Foreigners visiting Japan are often told that they must slurp their noodles, or suck them in noisily. This would be considered rude back home, but it makes sense when eating noodles in a hot...
Picture of the Week: Raspberries
The raspberries we eat are usually red, but other colors do exist. Some people say raspberries have too many seeds. What do you think? Is the taste of fresh raspberries worth getting seeds caught in your teeth?...
Phrase of the Week: Pass Out
"He passed out from lack of oxygen, but he's okay now." If you lose consciousness for a reason such as illness or overexertion, we say you pass out. Normally this phrase isn't used for sleep, but occasionally you might hear something like, "I was so exhausted I just...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"We really need this contract. Do whatever you have to _____ them to sign." A. persuade B. engage C. renounce D. pronounce...
Trivia of the Week: Stick Bug
Stick bugs, stick insects, or walking sticks, are a kind of insect that is camouflaged as a small stick. Some insects in the same family also look like leaves. They look like sticks or leaves so that predators will not notice them. However, some kinds also use bright...
Idiom of the Week: I Don’t Have All Day
"Would you hurry up? I don't have all day here!" You can say this when someone is taking a long time to do something and you feel impatient. For example, you are waiting in line at the grocery store and the person ahead of you is very slow to pay. Or you ask someone a...
Word of the Week: Missing
"My favorite pen is missing. Have you seen it?" "We can't finish the puzzle. One of the pieces is missing." "We went into the maze together, but when we got out, Steve was missing." Although "missing" can mean "lonely" in a sentence like "I'm missing you a lot...
Picture of the Week: Mint
Mint is a popular flavor for candy and gum. There are actually many kinds of mint in this family of herbs. Some people find it too sharp unless it's only a mild mint flavor accompanied by plenty of sugar. It also goes well with chocolate!...
Phrase of the Week: You Have Only Yourself to Blame
"I didn't do very well on the test." "Well, you have only yourself to blame. I know you never studied and stayed up all night playing video games before test day." When something goes wrong, people want to know whose fault it is. When something bad happens to someone,...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"All students must abide to the school rules." Find the mistake. A. All students B. must abide C. to the D. school rules 「全ての生徒は学校のルールに従わないといけません。」...
Trivia of the Week: Praying Mantis
The "praying mantis" gets its name from the way it holds its front legs as if it were praying. Sometimes female praying mantises decapitate and eat males during mating. However, this seems to be more common in the laboratory than in nature. カマキリは祈っているような姿から praying...
Idiom of the Week: A Field Day
"If this photo gets out, the journalists will have a field day! You'd better destroy every copy." "A field day" brings to mind a day of fun and activities outdoors (i.e. in a field), or a festival. But we use it as an idiom to mean a frenzy of activity and excitement,...
