Saturday, March 29, 2014

bear


A bear - in slang, means: a big dangerous person, or a big dangerous problem

In business slang, a "bear market" is when the stock market goes down. Bears are slow and dangerous.
The opposite of a bear market is a bull market. That is when the stock market goes up. Bulls are fast and powerful. A "bear" is someone who thinks that the stock market will go down. The adjective is "bearish". For example: "He's bearish on gold." means: He thinks that the price of gold will go down.


Friday, March 28, 2014

in a stew / to stew ...

... is an expression which means: to be worried or upset

It comes from the idea of being hot and bubbling for a long time.

for example: He was stewing over the lost lottery ticket.


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

"carrot and stick"

... is an expression meaning: to motivate someone to do something by using rewards (carrots) and punishment (stick). This expression comes from the idea of making a donkey walk by holding a carrot in front of its face (or hitting it with a stick).

for example: You want your child to do their homework. The carrot is: going out to a movie. The stick is: no dinner.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

small potatoes ...

... is an expression that means: not important, or not a lot of money.

For example:
 "He made $40,000 playing hockey in 1969, but today that's small potatoes."

Friday, March 21, 2014

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Last Day of Winter

It's the end of winter, sort of.

This is a Hindu temple.

Monday, March 17, 2014

triskaidekaphobia

"triskaidekaphobia" means "fear of the number 13".


In North America, the number 13 is bad luck.
Elevators do not have a 13th floor.


Some people also believe that the day "Friday the 13th" is bad luck (for example, March 13).


Black cats are also bad luck.







Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Mickey Dee's ...

... is slang for: MacDonald's



It's spring today, but it will be winter tomorrow.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Daylight Savings Time

DST starts in North America today.
Spring forward, fall back.
In the spring, we put our clocks forward one hour.
In the fall, we put our clocks back one hour.




http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

base camp

'base camp' is an expression in mountain-climbing. It means: the buildings or tents at the bottom of the mountain where you start climbing.



Sunday, March 2, 2014

March comes in like a lion, but goes out like a lamb. ...

... is an old expression that means: The weather is cold at the beginning of March, but will be warm at the end of March.