Phrase of the Week: Short For

“Hi, I’m Sam.” “Isn’t that a boy’s name?” “It’s short for Samantha.” When a word or phrase is too long, we can abbreviate it or make it shorter. Then we say the shortened version is “short for” the longer version. Do you know what “DNA” is short for? What is short for...

TOEIC Practice Question of the Week

“The customers won’t mind filling out this burdensome form to place an order.” Find the mistake. A. won’t mind B. filling out C. burdensome D. to place 「お客様はこの面倒なフォームに記入する事を気にしないでしょう」...

Trivia of the Week: Qwerty Keyboard

Look at the keyboard on your computer. The letters across the top left say Q-W-E-R-T-Y. That’s why we call this keyboard layout “Qwerty”. This layout dates back to the days of manual typewriters. Some people say the keys are actually positioned to slow down your...

Idiom of the Week: Hot Water

“Here come the police!” “Oh no! We’re in hot water now!” “I’ll be in hot water with my boss if I don’t finish this report today.” “Hot water” means “trouble”. If you are in boiling hot water, you are in trouble, aren’t you? Imagine you have been captured by cannibals,...

Word of the Week: Shiny

“The first place winner will receive a shiny gold medal.” Something that is “shiny” reflects light. Something made of smooth, polished metal is usually shiny. It’s similar to the word “shine”, but something that shines often emits its own light instead of reflecting...