執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月02日 | Trivia
A dustbin is the same thing as a garbage can or trash can. A “bin” is not much different from a “can”—cans tend to be round, but we can call something a trash can even if it isn’t round. So is dust the same as trash or garbage? Actually, no. On its own, “dust” is...
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30日 | Words
“Wow, I just barely passed the test. Next time I will study harder!” “Barely” means “almost not”. I passed the test, but if I had missed one more question I would have failed. “He survived, but when they found him he was barely alive.” “I barely ate anything at...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月29日 | Pictures
Here’s a picture of a dandelion. No, wait, something is strange… This isn’t a real dandelion! It’s actually a fountain in Quebec, Canada, that looks like a dandelion....
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月27日 | Phrases
“Dad is making dinner. He says it will be ready in an hour. In the meantime, let’s take the dog for a walk.” “Bob is coming over today, but he won’t get here until 7:00. In the meantime, I’ll start studying for next week’s test.” “Meantime” is the time before...
