I recently reached a milestone on the Duolingo app. I completed 1,000 days of studying consecutively. I must admit that I have been cheating a little bit lately. When I am tired from work, I go back and do the introductory lessons just to keep my streak alive. Is it cheating? A milestone is an … Read More
A spring chicken is simply a chicken born in the spring. So, “not a spring chicken” is a chicken NOT born in the spring. In particular, this phrase is referring to chickens born in the winter. Farmers in the early 18th century found that people were more willing to buy the younger spring chickens. If … Read More
The phrase beyond the pale should only be used in extreme situations. It means that something is beyond what is normal and decent. You are telling the other person that their behavior is unacceptable. Example: You can’t say that fascism is good. That is beyond the pale. Debate me, Bro! Recently, I learned about a … Read More
Have you ever argued with someone that you care about? Even though you don’t agree, you still want to remain friends with the person. A good phrase to use is agree to disagree. It means that the only thing you CAN agree on is that you CAN’T agree. It is a way of ending an … Read More
Off the hook means to be removed from danger, difficulty, or responsibility. It has been around since at least the early 1800s. The phrase is an allusion to fishing. Think about a worm on a hook. If the worm can get itself off the hook, it will be out of danger and can get away. … Read More
To get the gist of something means that you understand the essence of what the person is saying. That means you understand the main points they are saying. The gist is not concerned with the details. Example: I have heard your argument. I don’t understand all of your points, but I get the gist. The … Read More
I don’t remember a lot of the things from my 9th grade (1st grade of high school) English class. I don’t even remember the teacher’s name, but I do remember this line from her. I don’t think a teacher should ever say this to her students, but it was memorable. Beauty fades means that over … Read More
Deganawideh A hatchet is a small axe (or ax). So, why would someone bury it? Well, this idiom comes from indigenous North Americans. The Iroquois leaders, Deganawideh and Hiwatha convinced the Five Nations to form a confederacy. The Five Nations was a collective of five nations united under the Iroquois Confederacy. The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, … Read More
Recently I bought a gift for a friend online. The website had interesting titles for its categories. One was called, “Interesting Little Product.” However, I ended up purchasing a product from “Sell like hot cakes.” I think that might have influenced my decision. I thought it was funny and cute. The term, selling like hotcakes … Read More
My friend and I were talking about rhetoric and logical fallacies. One of us brought up cherry-picking. I think it was me. Cherry-picking is when you only use data that helps your point, but you disregard the rest. You only use the best data for your point. Cherry-picking can be found in many logical fallacies. … Read More
