English Expression of the Day: touch base (video)

out of shape

example: I'm out of shape.
I've gained too much weight.
I haven't been doing any exercise.
I spend all my time sitting at the computer.

kingpin

'kingpin' means the leader, usually the leader of a criminal organization.

I think that the name comes from bowling, where the first pin is the most important.

Sorry I am not posting photos lately; there's something wrong with my camera.

dead ringer

'dead ringer' is a thing or a person that is an exact copy of something or somebody.

for example:

"I saw a woman in the elevator who was a dead ringer for Angelina Jolie."

"That copy of the Mona Lisa is a dead ringer for the original."

hacker

'hacker' means someone who breaks into computer security (bad)

or

someone who is expert in computers (good)

Good hackers are sometimes called 'white hats' and bad hackers are called 'black hats', because in old western movies, the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats.

good to go

'good to go' means 'ready to use'.

example: The car is good to go. = You can use it. It's working properly.

-phile, -phobe, -phobia, -holic

-phile is Greek for "lover":
"bibliophile" = book lover
"oenophile" = wine lover

- phobe is Greek for "a person who is afraid"
"technophobe" = a person who is afraid of technology

- phobia is Greek for "fear"
"acrophobia" = fear of heights
"claustrophobia" = fear of being in an enclosed space (small place)

alcoholic = person who is addicted to alcohol
shopaholic = person who is addicted to shopping

FAIL

TGIF -- Thank God It's Friday.

It rained a little bit today - first time in weeks.

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English Expression of the Day: Fail

"fail" is slang for doing something stupid, especially in an internet video like this:

Click here to see stupid Canadians

skyscraper

'skyscraper' is slang for a hi-rise building. This one has curved walls.

birdbrain

'birdbrain' is slang for someone who is stupid, someone who has a small brain, especially someone who flies around in a panic instead of stopping to think.

Example: "I took the train, but those birdbrains lost my luggage."

This is a replica of an ancient stele (signpost) at the Chinese mall.

Red / Blue

In the U.S., "blue" means "Democratic Party" and "red" means "Republican Party", but in other countries, "blue" means "conservative" (right wing) and "red" means "liberal" (left wing) or "communist".

heat wave

'heat wave' means that it is very hot.

"just like shooting fish in a barrel"

... means: very easy

another expression with the same meaning is "It was like taking candy from a baby."

jalopy

"jalopy" is old slang for an old car.

Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong, will."

means that the worst possible thing will happen.
For example: They've been trying to cap the oil spill for 4 months, but nothing worked. It's Murphy's Law.

Murphy was an apocryphal engineer.
'apocryphal' means that no one knows whether he was a real person.
This word comes from "Apocrypha", which used to be books of the Bible; but later they were removed because no one knew whether or not they were true.

S.H.I.T.

Sure Happy It's Thursday

"on the beach"

meaning: not working, unemployed

I'll do that when I win the lottery.

means:

I'll do that when I have a lot of money (but that will probably never happen).

or

I can't do that because I don't have money.

hot

It's hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.
It's hot as hell.

incommunicado

I will be incommunicado for a week - unable to communicate.

English Expression of the Week: tied up

'tied up' means: being busy with an unexpected emergency, and unable to keep an appointment or commitment.

Sorry, I will be tied up for the next week. I will probably not be able to post on this blog for a week.

English Expression of the Day: crash

'crash' has several slang meanings.

One meaning is to go to a party that you're not invited to.
For example: NEW YORK (AP) Eating champion Takeru Kobayashi crashed the hot dog eating contest on Coney Island.

Another slang meaning is to sleep at someone's house on a couch or on the floor because you have nowhere to go.
For example: Can I crash here tonight? I don't have any money.

English Expression of the Day: I'll be back.

This line is from the movie "The Terminator".
It was said by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

meaning roughly: I'll come back and destroy this place.

Arnold is also called "The Governator" because of this movie.

blackout

There was a blackout on the subway today, and I was stuck there for hours. Blah!

'blackout' means that the electricity is off.

'brownout' means that the electricity is weak.

English Expression of the Day: It's raining cats and dogs

"It's raining cats and dogs."

... means "It's raining very hard".

This expression comes from the old days in England when houses had thatched roofs (roofs made of straw). Cats and dogs would lie on the roof, and when it rained hard, they would come sliding down.

English Expression of the Day: long weekend

'long weekend' is a weekend that is 3 or 4 days because there is a holiday on Friday or Monday.

Gasoline is $1.04/litre now. There is a new tax in Ontario, so the price went up.

July 1 was Canada Day

Yesterday July 1 was a holiday in Canada. Sunday the Fourth of July is a holiday in the U.S.

English Expression of the Day: cracking up

'cracking up' is slang for 'going crazy' or 'becoming crazy'.