PE 9/12 Date Night

It totally slipped my mind. We’re going to see a play, right?

* slip one’s mind: to forget

ex> I’m sure it just slipped your mind, but you need to go pick up Abby from school in 30 minutes.

I’m having one senior moment after another. I’d better go tell the guys.

* senior moment: a temporary failure of short-term memory

ex> My mom always referred to the times she’d put her car keys in weird places like the refrigerator as senior moments.

I’ll leave the monkey suit in the closet. Any other requests, my love?

* monkey suit: the formal clothing one wears to an office

ex> The men in the monkey suits never look very happy on their way to work.

Yes, just one. Treat me like I’m the most important person in the world tonight. I’ve been feeling a little down in the dumps lately.

* down in the dumps: depressed; feeling blue

= blue; depressed; low

ex> When you’re down in the dumps, sometimes doing exercise will make you feel better.

You’re such a smooth talker. I knew there was a reason I keep you around.

* smooth talker: a charming person

ex> As a young man, Carl was quite the smooth talker, dating any

PE 9/11 Johannesburg: Nicknames for Johannesburg

That’s a lot to take in. But if I don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb as a tourist, I’ll pick one to use. Hmm… I kinda like the way JHB sounds.

* stick out like a sore thumb: to be conspicuous; lack the ability to blend in to one’s surroundings

ex> If you don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, you should try to dress more like the locals.

Ha ha! That’s good. Other than your American accent, nobody will have a clue you aren't a local.

* not have a clue: to know nothing about something

ex> The teacher didn’t have a clue that Billy was making faces behind her.

Well, this city seems like such a melting pot of African and Western cultures that it shouldn't matter too much. There even seems to be some Indian and Chinese influences here.

* melting pot: a place in which people of many cultures live together.

ex> Some cities, like London and Los Angeles, are cultural melting pots where everyone is welcome.

They seem to have an open-door policy when it comes to immigration. It’s a truly global city, if you will. With that in mind, what would you like for lunch? I saw a French bistro, an Italian restaurant, an American fast food place, and a small African place.

* open-door policy: a rule that allows people to enter at will

ex> The president of the company kept an open-door policy for all of his employees to speak to him – from the janitor to the top executives.

* with that in mind: considering what was just revealed

ex> I just heard there is going to be a blizzard. With that in mind, we should leave a day early.

PE 9/10 Chef and Sous Chef in Kitchen before the Dinner Rush

Are all our ducks in a row for tonight?

* (all) one’s ducks in a row: being fully prepared for something

ex> Be sure to have all your ducks in a row before you quit your job to start your own business.

Yes, chef, there’s enough trout for 45 meals and enough steak for about 60 meals. Once it’s gone, that’s all she wrote.

* that’s all she wrote: the unexpected or disastrous end of something

ex> When the tornado hit the building, well, that’s all she wrote.

ex> The car went off the cliff and plunged into the lake, and that’s all she wrote.

Why don’t we throw in a bottle of wine, too? We’ve got our best servers on the floor tonight. They’ve done these contests hundreds of times and are probably bored by them.

* throw in: to include

ex> The chef threw in a few extra shrimp and clams for the friendly guests.

Perfect! Those guys are going to be fighting tooth and nail to win. I predict that Cheryl will walk away with both bottles.

* fight tooth and nail: to resist something with all of one’s effort

= fight for their lives; really go at it; go all out

ex> We fought tooth and nail to stop the oil company from digging a gas well on our property.

Hmm… I’m not so sure about that. Brian has a great personality and his guests really trust him. I think he could take the whole kit and caboodle.

* the whole kit and caboodle: a collection of things

ex> For my birthday, my mom bought me a racing bake, helmet, and racing jersey – the whole kit and caboodle.

PE 9/9 Arianna Huffington Speech – Part 2

A key component of wisdom is fearlessness, which is not the absence of fear, but rather not letting our fears get in the way.

* get in the way: when an obstacle or inconvenience slows down one’s progress

ex> My ex-wife always used to get in the way of me pursuing my hobbies.

I remember one of the low points in my life, when my second book was rejected by 37 publishers. By about rejection 25, you would have thought I might have said, “Hey, you know, there’s something wrong here. Maybe I should be looking at a different career.”

* low point in one’s life: a very bad experience or time in a person’s life

= dark chapters in my life; all-time low points in my life; rock bottoms in my life

ex> The low point in John’s life was when he lost his job and crashed his car on the same day.

Instead, I remember running out of money and walking, depressed, down St. James Street in London and seeing a Barclays Bank.

* run out of: to deplete one’s supply of something

ex> After Joe ran out of money, he gave me a call and I lent him some.

I walked in and, armed with nothing but a lot of chutzpah, I asked to speak to the manager and asked him for a loan.

* chutzpah: audacity; boldness; courage

ex> She showed some serious chutzpah when she sued the big oil company.

In fairytales there are helpful animals that come out of nowhere to help the hero or heroine through a dark and difficult time, often helping them find a way out of the forest.

* find a way out: to escape; discover an exit

ex> After the avalanche, it took all day for the hikers to find a way out.

PE 9/8 New Roommates for the Semester

Since Joe and Susan left, Brie and I advertised for two new roommates. You were in Costa Rica for a class, so we couldn't ask for your input.

* one’s input: an opinion from someone

ex> Even during difficult times, Dave’s boss never asks for anyone’s input.

ex> A good leader asks for his/her follower’s input when making important decisions.

Well, Brie’s dad, who is a police detective, ran a basic background check and we also asked for a letter of recommendation. Nadia and Raoul passed with flying colors.

* pass with flying colors: to do well in some sort of test or examination

ex> You passed your eye exam with flying colors. You’re that much closer to becoming a pilot!

ex> Jake celebrated when he passed the bar exam with flying colors on his first try.

They also aren't against the occasional big bash, like after exams are over.

* big bash: a large party

ex> The night before her wedding, Doris organized a big bash for all of her close friends.

She cracks me up. She’s always so thorough, so OCD about things.

* OCD: stands for “obsessive compulsive disorder”; having too great an attention to detail to the point of disruption in one’s normal life

ex> Because of her OCD, Lauren often woke up at night and remade her bed before going back to sleep in it.

* crack someone up:

Well, isn't that why we love her? Come on, let’s go crash her little tour and make Raoul and Nadia feel at home.

* crash: to go somewhere without an invitation

ex> It’s rude to crash someone’s dinner party, especially if you are underdressed.

ex> Tim’s classmates crashed his pool party on the first day of summer.

PE 9/5 Playing the Same Sappy Song Over and Over

Well, I think the song is a metaphor for loss. I think his new girlfriend is the sea and I’m the boat…

Snap out of it! Turn off this sappy song before I force you to listen to Christmas music for a week straight!

* snap out of it: to cheer up; recover from emotional problems; awake from a daydream

ex> You’re going to have to snap out of it and accept the fact that she isn't coming back.

I know things are really rough, but it’s only been a few days – it will get better. Remember – it’s always darkest before the dawn.

* it’s always darkest before the dawn: a way of suggesting that things will get better

ex> I reminded her that it’s always darkest before the dawn when she showed me her eviction notice.

Well, okay, Nachos and beer are how you and I always celebrated the end of exams back in college. It’s really comfort food for me.

* comfort food: a meal eaten as an emotional salve

ex> My favorite comfort food is chocolate chip cookies – they always make me feel better when I’m sad.

Yeah, I guess you’re right! Hold on. Let me delete that stupid song from my MP3 player. There! Now I can move on.

* There!: a way of focusing attention on something

ex> A few more turns of the bolt and… there! It’s as good as new.

* move on: to put a bad experience behind one

ex> Instead of appealing my expulsion from school, I decided to move on and get a job in a factory.

ex> Sometimes the best choice is to move on when things aren’t going your way.

PE 9/4 Johannesburg: Apartheid Museum

It was a bad time for them and it’s still fresh in the minds of the people in their 40s and older. This museum wasn't even established until 2001.

* fresh in the/one’s mind: something that is still thought and talked about

ex> Although slavery ended 150 years ago, it is still fresh in the minds of blacks in America.

Well, the South African constitution was only approved in 1996. But it’s got the most wide-ranging guarantees of equality anywhere in the world. That’s what those concrete pillars outside symbolized.

* wide-ranging: varied

ex> The wide-ranging choices of tours included both snorkeling and cave-exploring on the same day.

Yeah, the whites, even though they were the minority, had the money and power and really enforced laws that kept the blacks down.

* keep someone down: to prevent a person from reaching their potential; subjugate

ex> Dictators spend much of their efforts keeping their people down.

He earned his stripes as a lawyer in South Africa and even spent time in prison here. This is where he really developed his philosophy of nonviolent confrontation.

* earn one’s stripes: to gain valuable experience

ex> If you want to earn your stripes as a mountain climber, you have to conquer Mt. Everest.

I hope humanity has finally seen the light.

* see the light: to have a sudden realization; acknowledge the error of one’s ways

ex> I saw the light after my brother had a sudden heart attack and began to exercise daily.

PE 9/3 Running a Cat Café

No, I did some brainstorming with a few friends of mine. One is a writer and the other works in advertising. I couldn't have found a better mastermind group than them!

* brainstorm: to share ideas with others in an effort to come up with a plan or solution to a problem

ex> My wife and I sat at the kitchen table and brainstormed how we could come up with money to buy a house.

I’m sure you guys had more than a few Eureka moments!

* Eureka moment: an instance of sudden realization

ex> The discovery of electricity must have been quite a Eureka moment, albeit a shocking one.

My friend’s cat had seven kittens and he couldn't give them away for almost six months. I told him I’d do him a favor and take them from him, but really, he did me a solid by giving me those kittens.

* do someone a solid: to perform an important favor for someone

ex> My brother did me a solid by buying me a plane ticket to attend my elderly mother’s birthday party.

Well, a few of them never went to finishing school and like to get on the table, but our clients are generally animal lovers, so they know how to deal with that.

* finishing school: a place where one learns manners and social graces

ex> From the look of your clothes and shoes, you may need to go back to finishing school.

Look at those two cats sleeping on that old man’s lap over there. That kind of thing makes my heart sing! Definitely a stress-reliever.

* make one’s heart sing: to be filled with joy or happiness

ex> Seeing old couples holding hands makes my heart sing.

PE 9/2 Arianna Huffington Speech – Part 1

I would literally cut out his columns, underline them, and learn them by heart. When I finally met him, I was petrified and tongue-tied.

* learn by heart: to memorize something

ex> As a boy Scout, I had to learn the Scout’s Credo by heart.

Note> “Learn by rote” means to memorize something without thinking about what you’re memorizing.

* tongue-tied: not being able to speak because of nervousness

= speechless; at a loss for

ex> Adults often get tongue-tied while trying to speak another language.

Nevertheless, he invited me to dinner, and I prepped for the date not by going to the hair dresser but by reading everything he was writing. I read every detail about Northern Ireland.

* prep for: to get ready for something

ex> Tyler and Betty prepped for the test by asking each other questions.

Then I hit 30 and I desperately wanted to have children. He wanted to have cats. So I did something that I was terrified to do: I left the man I deeply loved.

* hit 30 (40, 50, etc.): to reach a certain age

ex> Mr. Simons had just hit 70 when he decided to run his first marathon.

In life, the things that go wrong are often the very things that lead to other things going right. Or as Max Teicher, who is graduating today, put it to me last night

* put it to someone: to tell someone in a certain way

ex> As the king put it to his general, “Win the war or our head is coming off!”

ex> The way she put it to me made it seem like she was only leaving for a vacation, not forever.

PE 9/1 It’s a New Academic Year!

Are you planning on taking graduate-level courses? I was considering it, but with my internship, I would be running myself into the ground.

* run oneself into the ground: to overwork oneself to the point of exhaustion

ex> I ran myself into the ground while preparing to move to France from Korea.

ex> Many students run themselves into the ground while in medical school.

Wow, you've really set your sights high!

* set one’s sights: to have a clear goal or outcome

ex> I set my sights high when negotiating my income for my first job.

True, but don’t dig yourself an early grave in the process.

* dig oneself an early grave: to lead and unhealthy life

ex> She dug herself an early grave through years of 80-hour workweeks and a poor diet.

I’m hoping to win the lottery between now and then and just be a filthy rich and well-educated beach bum!

* filthy rich: excessively or obscenely wealthy

ex>Although Bill Gates is filthy rich, he presents himself as a humble man.

Note> As an adjective, the word “filthy” means disgustingly dirty.

* beach bum: a person who spends all his/her time relaxing by the sea

ex> Most people think surfers are just beach bums, but many of them are serious athletes.