Idiom of the Week: A Bridge Too Far

“There was no way I could learn a new language in a week. It was a bridge too far.” 「1週間で新しい言語を覚えるなんて最初から無理だったんだ。」 「遠すぎる橋」は無理・不可能な目標です。できないことをやろうとすることがあります。頑張っても最初から成功する方法がなかった場合があります。無理な目標を立てないように促すとき、目標が過ぎたと後で説明するのに便利なフレーズです。由来は第二世界大戦で失敗したミッションです。 “A bridge too far”...

Idiom of the Week: Knock ‘em Dead

“Good luck in your school play. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.” To “knock them dead” sounds like killing people by hitting them, but it actually just means to impress the audience with a good performance. 「文化祭の演劇頑張ってね。きっと大成功だよ。」 「Knock them...

Idiom of the Week: Jump the Gun

“He jumped the gun by assigning blame before seeing the evidence.” To “jump the gun” is to start running before the starting gun of a race. We can use it to describe any situation in which someone does something too soon. 「証拠を確認する前に犯人を決めつけたのは早とちりだった。」 「Jump the...

Idiom of the Week: A Bun in the Oven

“She has a bun in the oven.” This sentence means that she’s pregnant! The bun is not actually a small piece of bread, but a baby. The oven is the mother’s belly. This phrase first appeared around the 1950s. 「She has a bun in the oven. (直訳すると:オーブンにパンがあります。)」...

Idiom of the Week: In My Book

“80%? That’s a pretty good grade in my book.” “He saved that dog. That makes him a hero in my book.” “In my book” means “in my opinion”. Imagine you wrote down everything you believed in a book. The book would explain all your opinions and judgments....