執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月08日 | Idioms
“My new phone is state of the art!” “Whatever. It’ll be outdated next week.” If something is “state of the art”, it has the latest technology and features. It reflects the current “state” of its field (e.g. the “art” of making cell phones). 「私の新しい携帯は最新型だ！」...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月01日 | Idioms
To butcher something is to do a very bad job. You can butcher a performance, assignment or project. Originally it meant to kill and cut up the body of an animal. 「信じられない、あんなに歌が下手なんて」 「大丈夫、カラオケで誰も期待してないから」...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月24日 | Idioms
“I’m sure the senator will vote for our bill. We have information he wouldn’t want to be made public, and we have the power to support his own pet issues. We hold all the cards.” “Holding all the cards” means having a great advantage. In some card games, having more...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月17日 | Idioms
“I bet I can beat you at this game even with a handicap.” “Ooh, big words. You’ll regret them in a minute!” This is a taunting phrase we use to suggest that someone’s words may be big but their abilities do not match. It’s easy to say grand things, but much harder to...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月10日 | Idioms
“I know the test is next week. You don’t have to harp on about it.” If someone keeps talking about a subject you don’t want to hear about, you can say they are “harping on”. Perhaps the talk is unnecessary, reminding you of something you haven’t forgotten, or perhaps...
