Wednesday, December 28, 2011

First Snow



-7 degrees today

blah

Sunday, December 25, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS



MERRY CHRISTMAS

A lot of people use artificial (plastic) Christmas trees now, because the real trees are a fire hazard.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

irregular superlative: northernmost, southernmost, westernmost, easternmost



These are irregular words in English:

Texas is the southernmost state in the U.S. (irregular)
or
Texas is the most southern state in the U.S. (regular)


Maine is the easternmost state in the U.S.

Alaska is the northernmost state in the U.S.

Hawaii is the westernmost state in the U.S.,
but California is the westernmost state in the continental U.S.
(the part of U.S. in North America).

Friday, December 23, 2011

mailbox


There's no snow yet this winter, but the ground is frozen because the temperature is below zero.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

ice


There's ice on the ground in the morning. It's below zero now.

'ice' can also be a slang verb meaning: to finish or defeat something

for example: Our hockey team iced the team from New York.

I think this expression comes from the idea of catching a fish and throwing it onto ice.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

As ...


"As" can mean: at the same time as

For example: As I was walking on the street, a car hit a pole.

-or-

"As" can mean: because of (reason)

for example: As it's raining, I'll use an umbrella.

This is more British English.

---

As I was walking, I saw a grocery store selling Christmas trees.

As I live in an apartment, I won't buy one.

Monday, December 19, 2011

splash page


'splash page' means: the first page of a website.

A lot of times, the splash page will have some kind of animated picture.
It kind of looks like paint splashing. That's where the expression comes from.


http://www.herostratus.ca/

Sunday, December 18, 2011

POTUS

This is slang for "President Of The United States". It came from the Secret Service.
Similarly, "SCOTUS" means "Supreme Court Of The United States".

Thursday, December 15, 2011

drizzle


'drizzle' means: it's raining off-and-on

for example: It's drizzling.
or
It was a light drizzle.
It's been drizzling all day.

You can also say: I drizzled syrup on my pancakes.

---

I talked to some friends on Skype today.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

feel like (doing something)

... means 'to want' (to do something)

I feel like staying home.

I don't feel like going out. It's cold.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

new expression: to give (someone) the stinkeye


... an expression meaning: to glare at someone with hatred

for example: the cashier short-changed me, so the next time I saw her, I gave her the stinkeye

---

Snow is forecast for tonite, blah.

Friday, December 2, 2011

F

Kyoto 2005





Kyoto 2005





Kyoto 2005





to rock (slang verb)



I rock. = I am great.
You rock. = You are great.
He rocks. = He is great.

from 'rock & roll', 'rock music', 'rock star' etc.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

sunshower


In the U.S. South, if it is sunny and raining at the same time, it is called a 'sunshower' or 'devil shower'. However, I have never heard this in the north.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

3 degrees

It's 3 degrees Celsius today. -- coldest day so far, I think.

'degrees of separation' is an expression.
If you have a friend, and the friend knows Obama, then you are 2 degrees of separation from Obama. They say that everyone is six degrees of separation from anyone on earth.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Xmas decorations



The shopping malls start putting up xmas decorations around the middle of November. 'xmas' or "Xmas" is short for 'Christmas'.

Some people say "Holidays" instead of 'Christmas' if they are not Christian.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Friday, November 25, 2011