Leigh's Lingua #19: FANFARE!

Fanfare – a sound of joy!

As many of you know, Monday is the “birthday” of the USA.  We celebrate July 4^th as the beginning of America.  Often on July 4^th, Americans hear “fanfares”.   A fanfare is a piece of music that welcomes a king or queen, or tells the world about someone important coming --- or some important event, like the Olympics!  Usually a fanfare is music with trumpet sounds.  Lots of trumpets!  You can hear a very nice explanation of “fanfares” on this week’s (July 2011) “Classics for Kids” (which is NOT just for kids!) at this website:  http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/thisweek.asp  

Any Vermont Adult Learning student who completes the three questions and sends them back to me at:  my e-mail, Amazing.Love@myfairpoint.net, will get a prize!  Please include your full name and mailing address when you write me.  (This is good until December 31, 2011.)

Leigh's Lingua #18: "Wearing the Pants"

Who "wears the pants" in your family?

It is not just an expression about who is actually wearing pants.  It means, "who is in control"?

"Wearing the pants" comes from a time when only men wore pants.  Only men should be in control of their families, was the thought.

But if a woman (mother or wife) seems to have control --- even over her husband -- she might "wear the pants."

Women and men both wear pants (trousers) in American culture.  Women and men can both work in positions that "control" others -- such as being a chef, a fire chief, an office boss, or a mayor.

Can women ever "wear the pants" in your native culture?  Who "wore the pants" in your family when you grew up?  Did your mother seem to have more control, or your father?  Or your older brother or an aunt?

Write about "who wore the pants" when you grew up.  I would love to hear from you.

Leigh's Lingua #17: "On Your Dime" and "On Your Time" - Important Differences!

"Dime" and "Time" sound very close in English.  But one means an amount of money, and the other means an amount of time.

To say something is on [someone's] "dime" means that they will pay for it.  The cost is theirs.  I heard this recently, when my brother called me.  He said the call was on his work place's "dime."  That means I did not have to pay for it.

But if something is on someone's "time," that is on another matter!  Your boss may say, "You must do that on your own time."  You may question your boss:  "Does that mean I get paid or not paid?"  "Must I do it at home, or here at work?"

Another expression in English is:  "Time is money."    So, to do something on one's own time is also to do it on one's own "dime" --- even though it may cost much more than 10 cents (a dime).  

Leigh's Lingua #16 - "On Top of the World" and "Over the Moon"

Everyone wants to be happy, right?

Two expressions in English that mean "very, VERY happy" are:  to be "on top of the world" and "over the moon."  You cannot exchange them.  You cannot be "over the world," or "on top of the moon."

A friend of mine from Africa feels "on top of the world" this week.  He has reached his goals.  He got an education degree from St. Michael's College in Vermont.  He is very, very happy.  He is also "over the moon" because he is going home soon.  He will see his wife and his children.  He has been away a long, long time.

When were you last "on top of the world" or "over the moon"?   Can you tell someone about it in English?  Can you write a sentence or two about it?

Yesterday I was taking pictures with a camera at a college graduation.  Someone was holding a fancy pole called a "mace".  It had a little statue of St. Michael -- who is an angel -- sitting on top of the world.  I wonder what St. Michael was thinking.  He had a sword.  He killed an evil dragon in the world.  Do you think he was also "on top of the world," meaning, happy?

American astronauts were the first men to step on the moon.  Do you think they were "over the moon" (very, very happy) about that?  I think so.  I remember hearing their voices on the radio.  I was a young girl.

Leigh's Lingua #15: "Behind the Eight Ball"

If you like looking up new phrases, this is a wonderful website:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/behind-the-eight-ball.html

I used "behind the eight ball" in a letter last night.  And a friend asked me, "What does that mean?"

I had to go looking myself!  According to the website above, it is an American slang expression that means, "to be in a difficult position."  We could also say, "to be in a tight spot."   In the difficult position, you also see no easy escape.

If you are "behind the eight ball," you might be --- on a train, it's moving, and you realize you lost your ticket.... Or... you get a call from school that your child is sick, but your boss just said YOU MUST GET THIS JOB DONE BY 1:00...... Or... the landlord is at your door, and you do not have the rent money for him or her.  That is being "behind the eight ball."  Not a happy day. 

We think the expression comes from a game called "pool."  In pool, there are balls with numbers on a table that you have to poke with a long stick.  The balls roll and drop into pockets at the corners of the table.  Trouble comes if you hit the ball number "eight."  So, you do not want to be "behind" the eight ball with your stick.

When was the last time you were "behind the eight ball"?  I was behind the eight ball yesterday.  I came to my class and realized... I had done the homework all wrong.  Uh-oh!

Leigh's Lingua #14 - "Handy"

If you think the word "handy" looks like "hand," you are pretty smart.  :-)

American English-speakers use "handy" as an adjective that means nearby (close to your hand!), or easy to work (easy).   People may say that the remote control of a television is "handy".  The remote control lets you sit and watch TV and movies without getting up.  You can just press a button from your chair -- that's easy!  (Except for me.  I like to get out of my chair.)

People may say that an extra bathroom for guests is "handy".  If you have two bathrooms, guests won't be trying to take a shower when you are trying to shave.

In Germany, a cell phone is called a "handy" now.  Actually, they are pretty handy, aren't they?

What do you keep near you -- so your hand can quickly reach it?  A salt-shaker on the table?  A box of kleenex by your bed?  What things also work easily for you, and so are "handy"?  Maybe phoning someone is easier than writing a letter. 

Sometimes being handy is good.  Sometimes, it just makes us lazy. 

Leigh's Lingua #13: "The Big One"

What a lot of snow Vermont had in February... and March!  Shovel.... shovel.... shovel....

I was reminded of the phrase "The Big One" as I shoveled.

Many Americans refer to a heart attack as "The Big One."  It means it is the "big thing" that will cause their death.   Actually, people can die from shoveling too hard, too long.  People can die from working too much.

No one wants to have "The Big One."   Some American TV comedies have had "The Big One" as a topic.  See "Sanford & Son" -- a popular show in the 1970s and 1980s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stdi-1tIUhM

Keep care of your heart.  Don't work or worry too much.  We don't want you to have "The Big One" too soon.  

Leigh's Lingua #12: "It's pending!" Something needs to happen...

Have you ever seen the word "pending" on a form or application?  It comes from the Latin word "to hang" -- as in, to hang a picture.  It means that something needs to happen, or that something is missing until the form is complete.  Until someone does something necessary, the form will never go anywhere.  It will just "hang" or remain "pending."

We get the word "pendulum" also from the Latin word "to hang."  A pendulum hangs from a clock.  It goes back and forth -- tick-tock!

Do you want to see your teacher's eyes pop out?  If you forget your homework... and he asks, "Where is your homework?," you can say (with a big smile), "It's pending!"     Or, if your children ask you for supper, and it is only 4:30, you can say, "It's pending, children."

What is something you have pending now?  A Ukrainian friend of mine is waiting for her son from Russia.  His visa to the U.S. is "pending."  I hope that Mama and Son can be with each other soon.

Leigh's Lingua #11: "Jump Like a Fish, or a......"

My husband tells me a funny poem sometimes. 

It goes:  "Jump like a fish, jump like a porpoise, all join hands and a habeas-corpus!"   (A porpoise is a dolphin, and "habeas corpus" is a Latin legal phrase.)

But I was thinking about the verb, "Jump."

If we jump, we bend our knees and then -- up! into the air we go!

Some people can jump high!  Many animals jump.  Fish can jump.  Who doesn't jump? 

Jumping sounds like a happy thing to do.  "I jump, you jump, he/she/it jumps, we jump....."

But Americans use "jump" in other ways also. 

"To be jumped" can mean:   1)  Someone fixed my car's dead battery, or 2) Someone mugged me. (They hurt me and stole things from me.)  In 1), picture the battery "jumping" back to life.   In 2), picture someone "jumping out" in the dark to hurt you.  Everyone likes to "be jumped" in 1).    No one likes to "be jumped" in 2).

I hope you are well and happy.  Can you tell me the last time you "jumped for joy"?  That also is a wonderful English expression to remember.  Write or talk about it.  I will jump for joy with you!  

Leigh's Lingua #10: Never Too Late for Valentine

Last Monday we celebrated Valentine's Day.  Although lovers celebrate romantic love on this day, the day celebrates a man called St. Valentine --- who was never married!

Christian legend offers that St. Valentine was put in prison for his faith --- something many refugees have experienced.

The Roman Emperor Claudius had Valentine killed.  He became a martyr.  But before he died, he was said to marry several couples in prison.  And to perform miracles, such as cure blindness.

In English, we get the word "valor" (which is a noun, meaning courage) and "valiant" (an adjective, meaning courageous or strong) from the same root as Valentine.  Valentine showed strength and courage in prison.  I want to be like Valentine.  And not just on Valentine's Day.

Leigh's Lingua #9: "Viral"

Have you been sick this winter?  If so, you may have had a "virus."   A virus moves very, very quickly.  It can go very fast from person to person -- or even from computer to computer.  Have you ever heard of a computer "crashing"?  If so, it may have caught a "virus" -- something bad another computer sent to it.

"Viral" is related to "virus." It means something moves very, very fast.  Did you watch the American football game, the "Super Bowl"?  The newspaper said that some commercials, or advertisements, from the Super Bowl "went viral" even before Sunday.  That meant the ads traveled very quickly over the Internet (over computers).  They probably were on "You-Tube".  People saw the ads on computers even before the Super Bowl on TV.  The commercials went "viral" or "became viral."

What is something you know that "went viral"?   Would you like to share it with us?  Please do!  We can make it viral! 

Leigh's Lingua #8: "Great"

English speakers make it very hard for English learners sometimes.  When English speakers say, "Great!" they can mean:

• Hey, that's wonderful! or
• Oh no, it's terrible!

"Great" has a root in the German word "Gross" --- which means "large."   Strangely, in English slang, "gross" now means "quite disgusting"!   But you can also buy things "in gross" --- that is, in larger amounts for a cheaper price.

To understand the exclamation "Great!" in English -- you have to look at your speaker.  Is he or she smiling -- happy and contented?  Then it means "Hey, that's wonderful!"  But if he or she is frowning... unhappy... then it means, "Oh no, it's terrible!"

Tell me about the last time you heard the exclamation, "Great!"  --- Was it with a smile?  Or was the speaker unhappy?

I think you are doing "great" to read this far in my blog.  I am smiling.  "Great, ESL learners!"

Leigh's Lingua #7: Groundhogs & Other Mammals

Tomorrow is February 2nd -- "Groundhog Day".  Groundhogs are furry little animals -- rather like big, fat brown squirrels.  They sleep during the winter -- or "hibernate."  People say if a groundhog comes out and sees its shadow from the sun on Groundhog Day, then there will be six (6) more weeks of winter.  I don't know if I want six more hours of winter!  How about you?

Groundhogs are "mammals."  Mammals are animals that give birth to live young.  They do not lay eggs.  Mammals' babies suck milk from the mamma animal.  Did you know that "mamma" is the Latin word for "breast"?  So a baby's word for its mother, or "Mama," may be a call for a drink!  In English, you also see the word "mammogram" -- which is a kind of x-ray of the breast. 

What is a baby's word for "mother" in your original language?  Does it have anything to do with the word for "breast" or "breast milk"?   You don't have to be a groundhog to wonder!  Write me and let me know!

Leigh's Lingua #6: "Split"

To "split" is to cut something.  If you "split" a piece of wood, you can put it on the fire.

A slang word that means "leave" is "split."   If you have to leave a group, you might say, "I have to split now."  Use it with friends and co-workers or family.  Not with your boss or teacher.

To say "split" must assume we like being together!  If we go away, we are "cutting" something away from the group by "splitting."

When was the last time you had to "split" from a group you enjoyed?  What were they doing?  Why did you have to leave?

Leigh's Lingua #5: "It's so cold out..."

Americans like to joke about the cold.  As I write this, it is nearly -10F. 

One joke is:  "It's so cold, I saw a chicken crossing the road with a capon."  The joke is that a "capon" is special kind of male chicken.   But the speaker wants you to hear "cape on."   A "cape" is a piece of clothing.  It has no sleeves and no legs.  You wear it around your neck and arms to keep warm.  "Superman" has a red cape.

Another joke is:  "It's so cold, the snow is asking to come inside." 

Another joke is "It's colder than a witch's behind."   A witch is an evil woman who does magic.  In the famous book Dante's Inferno, the center of hell is very, very cold indeed.  Just right for witches.  But not for us.  Or for chickens, either!  :-)

Leigh's Lingua #4 - "Under the Weather"

Have you had the flu this year?  The Vermont Department of Health says that flu is happening fast all across Vermont right now. (Burlington Free Presss, 1/22/11)    If you have the flu, you may feel "under the weather."

If you were a new sailor, you might get seasick.  I used to live in Maine, where new riders on lobster boats, sometimes got seasick. 

If they got sick, people told them to go beneath the decks -- or "under the weather."   If sea-sick people went under the decks, they did not feel the wind or waves so much.  (I Didn't Know That; K. Evins).

I hope you are not "under the weather."  But if you are -- I hope you get well soon.  If you let me know, I will send you a get-well card! 

When was the last time you felt sick?  What or Who helped you when you were sick, or "under the weather"?

Leigh's Lingua #3 - "Stool" steals more than one meaning.....

What do you like to sit on?  A chair, in German, is a "Stuhl" ---- the word that we get "stool" from.

But a "stool" in American English can have several meanings....

The first is related to a chair.    It is usually a chair without any back or sides.  It can sit high or low.  We can stand on it to reach things high up.  Or we can sit on a stool at a "counter" to eat things.  When someone goes to the bathroom, he or she also uses a "stool."

The second meaning is a medical term from the bathroom object.  If a doctor or nurse asks you for a "stool sample," he or she is not asking about your chairs.  He or she wants you to provide a sample -- a little bit -- of something that comes from your body naturally, every day.  

There is also an American slang term called a "stool pigeon."  But that is for another day.....

Leigh's Lingua #2 - "Baptized by Fire"

The word "baptism" comes from the Greek word meaning "to dip" -- like, to dip under water.

The practice of baptism is associated with the Christian faith.  Followers of Jesus Christ, or Christians, are "baptized".   The act is a symbol for the believers: Going down into the water symbolizes Jesus's death and burial; and coming up out of the water symbolizes His resurrection on Easter Day. 

Jesus Himself was baptized by his cousin, John (known as John the Baptist, or John the Baptizer).  John said in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 3, verse 11, that he (John) baptized "with water for repentance" but he added something curious about Jesus:  "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

To be "baptized by fire" has become a saying meaning, "to be tested severely" --- "to be tried with no other helps at all."  It can also mean "to have a very difficult start at something."  Some might say that arriving in a new country and a new culture without knowing the language, without having a single friend, is a kind of "baptism by fire."

Have you ever felt "baptized by fire"?

Leigh's Lingua #1 - "Hardware Store"

This is the first of a "blog" post for Upper Beginner ESL students at Vermont Adult Learning.  Welcome all, as it evolves!  I hope to explore the meanings of words, slang terms, and idioms over time.  I welcome your comments!

#1  Hardware Store:  Until New Year's weekend, I thought this was just a place like Home Depot and Aubuchon's, where you bought things like pipes and paint and..... [What do YOU buy at a hardware store?]

It is also a slang expression, however, for "losing all your equipment" when you ski or snowboard down a hill.  If your boots and poles fly off when you fall --- there's a "hardware store" to pick up.