執筆者 Modern English | 2016年12月15日 | Trivia
“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...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年12月14日 | Idioms
“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...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年12月13日 | Words
“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!...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年12月12日 | Pictures
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”. ...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年12月10日 | Phrases
“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...
