It's freezing cold today

HATA

If these birds were white, they would be called 'doves'. Doves are the symbol of peace.

If they are not white, they are called 'pigeons'. Most people don't like pigeons.

There are a lot of pigeons in the photo.

'a lot of' is a casual way of saying "many".

"old school"

This is a picture of an old school.

'old school' is an expression meaning: to do things the old-fashioned way, the hard way

For example: He is an old-school writer. He uses paper and pen, not a computer.

yo-yo

The weather is like a yo-yo; one day it's up, the next day it's down.

Today it's about 10 degrees. You never know what to wear.

idealist

'Idealism' is the philosophy that life is perfect, or that life can be perfect.

An idealist is someone who believes that life can be perfect.

For example: Jimmy Carter thought that North Korea would not develop nuclear weapons if he was nice to them. He was too idealistic.

0 degrees

On Thursday it was a record high of 25 degrees, and today it's 0 degrees!
I almost turned into a popsicle.
At least there's no snow.

Things change fast in the big city.

K

There are a lot of Korean stores around here ...

PW

"PW" is slang for a policewoman, but you shouldn't say that to a policewoman.

"A man's home is his castle."

... is an old expression meaning: A man can do whatever he wants in his own house.

tension

Transmission towers carry high voltage lines to transmit electricity over long distances. The normal wires in your house or apartment have electricity at lower voltages.

High tension wires are wires that are used to support a tower. Tension means that the wires are tight.

Ivy League

'Ivy League' is slang for the 7 oldest and most famous universities in the U.S. (Harvard, Yale, and so on).

Ivy is a plant that grows on old brick walls, so the Ivy League universities have a lot of ivy-covered buildings.

There is no Ivy League in Canada, but the closest thing is the University of Toronto. It is the oldest, biggest, and most famous university in Ontario.

totem pole

A 'totem pole' is a tree that is carved with figures of animals.
Native people on the west coast of North America used to do this.
This one is inside a building.

A 'totem' is an object or a symbol that has religious meaning or importance.
For example, a crown is a totem that symbolizes European monarchy.

like talking to a brick wall

is an expression meaning that someone doesn't listen to you.
for example:
Talking to him is like talking to a brick wall.

hanging gardens

'hanging gardens' are gardens where plants are hung on pots above the ground

or

where vines are climbing on strings or wires overhead.

They are building hanging gardens in the park, but there are no plants on them yet.

facade

'facade' is a French word meaning: face, or 'false face'

The word is also used in English.

For example: He is smiling, but he is angry inside. His smiling face is a facade (false front).

Sometimes they tear down an old building, but they leave some walls standing. Then they build a new building inside and above. This is also called a 'facade'.
See this photo here.

double-decker

... meaning: a bus with 2 levels (used in London, England)

also: a train with 2 levels (as here)

or

a sandwich with 3 pieces of bread and 2 layers of filling

absent-minded

adjective / expression: meaning : not paying attention, not focusing on what you are doing; present in body, but absent in mind

for example: I absent-mindedly put down my glasses and now I don't remember where they are.

Albert Einstein was so absent-minded that he once forgot his own name.

Expression: (something) is the high point of my day

... means: (something) is the best thing that happens to me during the day.

For example:

Lunch is the high point of my day.

cop shop

cop shop
- is slang for 'police station'.

cop
- is slang for 'policeman'
but don't use it when you are talking to a policeman.

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doo-hickey
is slang for a small piece of equipment.
I don't have the doo-hickey to transfer photos to the PC now.

DST

Daylight Saving Time started at 2 a.m. today.
Now EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) is 13 hours behind Japan.

eki

Kyoto -- EKI (train station) - 9 years ago

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expression: deja vu

(from the French) means: already seen

for example: When I saw the train station, I had a feeling of deja vu.
Meaning: I have seen it before, or I have seen a similar train station before.

Daylight Saving Time - spring forward

Expression: spring forward, fall back

means: in the spring, we move the clocks FORWARD one hour for Daylight Savings Time

and in the fall (autumn), we move the clocks BACK one hour.

In the winter, we are 14 hours behind Japan.
In the summer, we are 13 hours behind Japan.

vegetable expressions

'as cool as a cucumber' - meaning calm, unexcited
'tomato' - old slang for a female
'cauliflower ear' - boxers and fighters have ears damaged from being hit

graffitti

'graffitti' means words that are written or spray-painted in public places.
It is a Greek word borrowed into English.
It is plural in Greek, used as a non-count noun in English, for example:
That graffitti is funny.

bears

Bears are big wild animals (KUMA).

'bear' also has many slang meanings:

a 'bear market' means that the stock market is moving slowly; that is bad. This is because bears move slowly. The opposite is a 'bull market; that means that the stock market is moving quickly. This is because bulls move quickly.

'bear' can also mean:
- a big, violent person
- a big problem; for example: That last customer was a bear.

Super Tuesday

... is an expression in the U.S.

Today is Super Tuesday.

10 of the 50 U.S. states vote for the Presidential candidate.

The other states vote on different days.

to stir up a hornet's nest

is an expression meaning: to make someone mad, to start a fight

TREE

Some trees fell down in the big windstorm recently.

An old saying is: "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a noise?"
This means: If no one knows something, does it exist?

rock

A "rock" is a big stone. This is the main meaning.
It is also slang for "rock n' roll music".
It is also a slang verb meaning: to be great
for example: Obama rocks.

"March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb."

... is an expression that means: The weather is bad (cold) on March 1, but it will be spring weather on March 31.

...

This is a picture of men digging a big hole in the ground for the foundation of a new building in downtown T.O.
It looks scary because the church next door could fall into the hole.