Japanese Maple

This kind of tree is called a "Japanese Maple". It is small, and it has red leaves.

Order of Adjectives in English

The 9 different adjective groups are listed below.

The order of the adjectives is as followed:

1. Determiner- a, an, her, five, many, much several etc.
2. Opinion - pretty, ugly, smart, cheap, etc.
3. Size - big, fat, thin, tall, large, small etc.
4. Shape - circle, square, tall, short etc.
5. Age - old, young 10 years, a year, a week, new etc.
6. Color - yellow, green, pink etc.
7. Origin - American, English, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, European, Chinese etc.
8. Material - cotton, wood, plastic, cloth, glass, gold etc.
9. Purpose/Qualifier - hat box, sleeping bag, computer table,safe island, football field.

When there are 2 or more adjectives that are from the same group "and" is placed between the 2 adjectives.

• The house is green and red.
• The library has old and new books.

When there are 3 or more adjectives from the same adjective group, then place a comma between each of the adjectives. Please note that a comma is not placed between the adjective and the noun. Place "and between that last 2 adjectives.

• We live in the big, green, white and red house at the end of the street.
• My friend lost a red, black and white dog, if you see it please let me know.

eagle-eyed

'eagle-eyed' means someone who can see very clearly, who watches very carefully, who can see small details ...

Life

stonewall

'stonewall' is an expression which means that someone is stubbornly refusing to do something.

for example: He stonewalled the requests for information.

Old houses in Canada were made of stone. Later they used brick. Today it's wood-frame and chip-board.

wise owl

rapids

rapids - means: a place where water in a river flows quickly (rapidly) over rocks.

for example: Don't try to canoe through the rapids.

boardwalk

His name is mud.

... means: "He has a bad reputation." or "People don't respect him."

for example: "Ever since McCain lost the election, his name is mud."

I'd rather be fishing.

"I'd rather be fishing." is a famous bumper sticker.

A bumper sticker is a piece of coloured paper that people stick on the back (bumper) of their cars.

Other bumper stickers are: "I'd rather be sailing. ... etc."

I went on a walking tour today.

The walking tour guide took us around a park.

Most of the leaves have not changed colour yet.

to raise the flag

Snoopy raises the flag.

to lower the flag

The government lowers the flag if someone important has died.

cost an arm and a leg

It cost an arm and a leg. = it was expensive

It didn't cost an arm and a leg. = it wasn't expensive

Star Trek

Star Trek is my favorite TV series.
There are many expressions that come from this show.
For example, "Beam me up, Scotty" --- means "I want to get out of here".

metric

1 inch = 2.54 cm.

1 foot = 12 inches = 12 x 2.54 = 30.5 cm

5 feet 2 inches= 62 inches = 157 cm.

jacket weather

It's jacket weather now. It's not summer any more.

Good Grief!

"Good Grief!" is an old expression. It is famous because it was in this comic strip.

You don't hear this expression much today, except maybe from older people.

OPEN SEA

'open sea' means: in the ocean away from any land; not part of any country

Jacques Plante

Jacques Plante was the goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs when I was a kid. He invented the goalie mask and was the best goalie to ever play the game.

One of his 15 rules for playing goal is: "Never criticize a teammate if he makes a mistake. Your job is to correct mistakes."

09.09

Today is the 9th day of the 9th month. Double numbers are considered lucky in Asia.

Wednesday

not feeling good

Dark Horse

A "dark horse" is a person who wins a contest when they are unknown. For example, Barack Obama was a "dark horse" when he ran for President. The expression comes from an old novel about a horse race.

phrasal verb

There is a typhoon now west of Japan in the "Sea of Japan. (In Korea, this body of water is called "the East Sea").

===

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition, for example:

look + up = look up

"I looked up the meaning in the dictionary."

English is the only language that has phrasal verbs.

The meaning of a phrasal verb is not the same as the verb alone.

Here's a website with a list of phrasal verbs:

click here

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Hurricane Names

Hurricane names come in alphabetical order every year.
The current hurricane is Hermine.

trailer

'trailer' means a preview of a movie. I'm not sure where this meaning comes. 'Trailer' also has several other meanings. The main meaning is a cart on wheels that you pull behind a car. 'trail' means to follow, so a trailer is something that follows something else.

shadow of Snoopy

A 'shadow' is when the sun (or a bright light) makes the outline of a person or object behind them. You can also say that someone or something is "in the shadows" if they're in a dark area where you can't see them well.

silhouette of Snoopy

A 'silhouette' is when you just see the black outline or shape of a person or object because it's dark, or because the light is behind the object. 'Silhouette' is a French word; in the old days, artists used to make silhouettes by cutting black cardboard into the shape of a person.

reflection of Snoopy

A 'reflection' is when you see something reflected in a mirror, window, piece of metal, or other shiny object.

Labour Day

The first Monday in September is Labour Day, a holiday.

The British spelling is "Labour"; U.S. is "Labor".

The Tuesday after Labour Day is the beginning of the school year.

polish

polish - verb/noun: meaning to rub and make shiny, is pronounced with a short "o", similar to 'pot'.

Polish - adjective: meaning people or things from Poland, is pronounced with a long "o", like "pole".

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It's a heat wave in Toronto. The temperature is 31. In New York city, a tennis player fainted at the U.S. Open.