Snow Day!

It's snowing in Downtown Washington D.C. and I thought I would introduce some snow themed English expressions.

What is a snow day? A snow day is when the school or office is closed because of dangerous wintry conditions. "I was so happy when I was a kid when we had a snow day."

What does it mean to be snowed in? This one may seem obvious to most of you, but if you hear about someone being snowed in that means they are trapped where they are because of the snow. This usually does not mean it's impossible to move but more that it would be unsafe to drive or take a lot of effort to walk. "I couldn't get to the store because we were snowed in all weekend."

The most fun I had as a kid during a snow day was going outside to sled. I also liked to drink hot chocolate when I got back inside to warm up. Memories like that make me all warm inside!

Michael

Week 2 Day 2

I'm on week 2 of my 100 push up challenge. I have not given up yet!

Part 1:



And Part 2:

Summer Vacation Starts Tomorrow!

Hello from Washington D.C. I am getting ready for my summer vacation and will leave for Colombia tomorrow. I have never been to South America before so this is very exciting for me. I will try to post pictures to this website while I am there.

I have a few new expressions that I would like to share.

Preaching to the choir: When making an argument to someone that already agrees with you. "I was telling Frank why I think Obama should be the next president when he told me I was preaching to the choir. He was going to vote for Obama as well."

Pretty [adjective]: When you add pretty in front of an adjective it means "very." For example. "The tornado was pretty scary", means the same as "The tornado was very scary."

Tunred the page: To go from one stage of life to the next. "Sarah looked like she has finally turned the page and gotten on with her life after the divorce."

Death is on my mind....

Hello and welcome back. I have had morbid thoughts all day. I think it's because Halloween is right around the corner. That in mind I would like to go over some idioms that have more of a macabre theme.

In today's podcast I go over a few dark idioms. Try them out the next time you have an English conversation. You can always leave me a comment on this blog or email me if you want to try some practice sentences.

deader than a door nail - to be deceased with no chance of coming back to life. Can refer to a person or also something inanimate. For example:
"Do you think the proposal can be pitched again?"
"No way, that proposal is as dead as a door nail."

dead set against something - to be completely, adamantly against. For example:
"I wanted to visit Saudi Arabia but my mother was dead set against it. She thought it was too dangerous."

dead on one's feet - to be extremely tired while still standing, walking around. For example:
"These double shifts are killing me. I'm dead on my feet and I still have three hours left before I can go home!"


over my dead body - to not give permission to do something. For example:
"You can buy that sports car over my dead body! We can't afford that!"