Phrase of the Week: I Stubbed My Toe

“Ouch! I stubbed my toe on the table leg.” It’s easy to catch your toe on the leg of a table or chair. Sometimes it’s very painful. We call this “stubbing your toe”. 「痛!テーブルの脚で足の指を打ちつけてしまった。」...

TOEIC Practice Question of the Week

“When my roommate came home very late, I mistaked him for a robber and almost called the police.” Find the mistake: A. my roommate B. came home very late C. mistaked him for D. almost called 「ルームメートが遅く帰ってきたとき、泥棒と間違えて警察を呼ぶところでした。」 間違いはどこでしょうか?...

Trivia of the Week: Funny Bone

The funny bone isn’t so much an actual bone as a way of hitting your elbow that feels strange. If you hit your elbow against a hard surface at the correct angle, it doesn’t exactly hurt, but it also isn’t pleasant. In English we say you “hit...

Idiom of the Week: Strong Suit

“Argh! What’s that awful yowling?” “Sorry. I guess singing isn’t my strong suit.” Your “strong suit” is your special talent, or something you’re good at. It comes from playing cards, which have four suits. In some...

Word of the Week: Stem

The long tall part at the center of a tree is a “trunk” but on a flower it is thinner, more flexible, and usually green. The “stick” part of a flower is a “stem”. 木の中心にある高くて長い部分は trunk(幹)ですが、花の場合はもっと細くて曲がりやすく、通常緑色です。花の「棒」みたいな部分を...