as red as a lobster

... meaning: very red

for example: He came out of the sauna as red as a lobster.
---> means: his skin was very red.

Other similar expressions include:
- as green as grass
- as blue as the sky
- as black as night
- as white as a sheet
- as brown as a nut

I don't know art, but I know what I like.

... is an expression meaning: I'm not an expert on art, but I like this.

snowstorm

A 'snowstorm' means that it is snowing heavily. This makes driving slow. When you are walking, you have to be careful that you don't slip and fall. A lot of people hurt themselves by falling in this kind of weather.

... I'm still having problems with my internet off-and-on.

I'm having problems with my internet connection now

I'm having problems with my internet connection now ... my internet service is off-and-on ...

snow tires

snow tires are tires that you put on your car in the winter.
They have a bigger tread than normal (summer) tires.

wrench / spanner

The tool at the bottom is called a 'wrench' in American English, but a 'spanner' in British English.

The long things are bolts. The round things are washers. The hexagonal (six-sided) things are nuts. You might have to click on the picture to see the blow-up (bigger picture).

freeze / froze / frozen

The verb 'to freeze' means: when water turns into ice.

It is also slang for when a personal computer stops working, for example:

My PC freezes for no reason.
My PC froze at the worst time.
My PC was frozen yesterday.
My PC keeps freezing for no reason.
My PC is frozen. I can't email you.

salt

The government puts salt on the roads. They salt the roads. It is called 'rock salt' because it is in big pieces. Rock salt comes from salt mines underground.

The salt that we eat is called 'table salt'. It is in small grains of salt. Each grain is in the shape of a small cube. We salt our food.

I don't use salt because it causes high blood pressure.

quack

'quack' is the sound that ducks make.

It is also a slang word for a bad doctor, a doctor that doesn't know what to do and gives the wrong medicine.

It snowed yesterday and it's cold today.

icicle / icicles

Icicles are long pieces of ice formed by dripping water which freezes.

Some idiot in the apartment above mine had a waterbed that broke in the middle of the night. So water dripped down into my apartment and icicles formed running down the side of the building. It is extremely cold now, about -6 to -10 degrees C.

snow flurry / snow flurries

It's snowing heavily today.

'snow shower' means: It's snowing lightly.
'rain shower' or 'shower' means: It's raining lightly.

'There is a snow flurry.'
or
'There are snow flurries.'
or
'It's flurrying.'
means: It's snowing heavily.

'flurry' can also be used to mean: a lot of other things

for example, in boxing: a flurry of punches or a flurry of blows

more examples: a flurry of attacks, a flurry of complaints, a flurry of activity

Rock vs. Stone

A "rock" usually has sharp edges.

A "stone" is usually smooth.

If it's too heavy to lift, it's a rock, not a stone.

planets

The planets orbit the sun. (The planets go around the sun.)

The names of the planets are:

1) Mercury
2) Venus
3) Earth
4) Mars
5) Jupiter
6) Saturn
7) Uranus
8) Neptune
9) Pluto

All of the planets are named after ancient gods, except Earth.

-15

Holy Crapoli - It's minus 15 degrees today.

EXPRESSION: SANCTION

'sanction' means: a rule from the Pope or from the highest authority, about whether something is allowed or not allowed.

for example: allowed - NATO sanctioned the bombing in Libya.

not allowed - The U.S. is seeking sanctions against Iranian oil.

My YouTube computer videos

You can see my YouTube computer videos here:


http://www.youtube.com/user/EnglishSpaceDog?blend=1&ob=video-mustangbase

whiteout / blackout

'whiteout' is an expression that means: you can't see because there is a lot of snow.

'blackout' is an expression that means: the electricity is not working (and/or you can't see because the lights are not on).

It's snowing today. There is about 2cm (1 inch) of snow on the roads and the driving is very slow.

Expression of the Day: "former" and "latter"

The words 'former' and 'latter' are used in formal writing.
'former' means: the first of two persons or things;
'latter' means: the second of two persons or things (the two things are usually mentioned in the previous sentence).

For example:

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are running for President. The former is from Massachusetts and the latter was born in Hawaii.

Year of the Dragon

Expression of the Day: lion's share

means: the biggest part, the best part

for example: Romney took the lion's share of the vote in New Hampshire

This expression comes from the idea that the lion is the biggest, fiercest animal.
So when an animal dies, the lion takes the lion's share of the meat, that is, the biggest and best part of the meat. The smaller animals wait until the lion is finished eating, and then they get the leftovers.

fire-engine red ...

... means: bright red, like a fire-truck (fire-engine).

Similar expressions are:

sky blue
pitch black
hot pink
blinding white
navy blue

6.8 Richter earthquake south of Japan

There was an earthquake south of Japan. It was 6.8 on the Richter scale.
(The big one last year was 9.0 on the Richter scale.)

Here's a cool link that shows you a list of recent earthquakes:


http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html

space cadet

'space cadet' is an expression like 'nerd', 'geek' or OTAKU.
It means: someone who is good at technical things, but not good at talking to people.

moose

This is a statue of a moose. Moose live in the wild part of Canada.
They like to stand in the middle of the road.
If a car hits a moose, the car will be severely damaged or destroyed.
A lot of people are killed this way in Canada;
but there are no moose in the city -- except statues.

"coming of age"

The second Monday in January is Coming of Age Day, a holiday in Japan to celebrate people who have their 20th birthday and become adults.

"coming of age" is an old English expression meaning:

to become an adult

or

to reach a special age

For example: The Cuban Missile Crisis was JFK's coming of age. = This was the time when people first respected JFK as a real President.

When you become an adult, you can vote ("age of majority") and you can sign legal contracts.
In Canada and the U.S., the age of adulthood is 17 or 18 in most provinces and states.

--- Wikipedia ---

Coming of Age Day (成人の日 Seijin no Hi)

This national holiday was established in 1948 as a day to congratulate and encourage people who have reached the age of majority (20) during the year. Cities and towns throughout the nation hold ceremonies for these people.
Originally held on January 15, in 2000 it was changed to the second Monday of January in accordance with the Happy Monday System.

grey / gray

grey - is the British spelling
gray - is the U.S. spelling

A lot of words are different between British and U.S. English.

sitting on the fence

... is an expression meaning: unable to make up one's mind

for example:

43% of the voters support Romney, 13% support Ron Paul and the rest are sitting on the fence.

change

'change' or 'small change' means: coins (money)

'Do you have any change?' means: Will you give me some coins?

'Can you change a 5-dollar bill?' means: Will you give me 5 dollars in coins for a 5-dollar bill?

'Can you change a quarter?' means: Will you give me 2 dimes (2 x 10 cents) and a nickel (5 cents) for a quarter?

On the left are 2-dollar Canadian coins, called "two-nies".
Next to them are 1-dollar Canadian coins, called "loonies".
The 1-dollar coin has a picture of a bird called a 'loon' on one side.
All Canadian coins have the face of the Queen of England on one side.

U.S. coins are the same shape, but they have a picture of a U.S. President on one side.

stele

A 'stele' is an ancient sign-post for marking a road or border.
This one is at the Chinese mall.
It's a copy of a stele in Taiwan.

---

It's -12 degrees today. There is an 'extreme cold warning'.

2012