PE 9/24 Copenhagen on Two Wheels

* thin out: to become less

ex> Let’s wait until the crowd has thinned out and see if we can get her autograph.

* mind-blowing: amazing; very impressive; difficult to comprehend

ex> That new gelato place has a mind-blowing assortment of flavors, including your favorite.

Note> This became a commonplace saying and slogan in the 1960s hippie era which meant to expand your mind by use of hallucinatory drugs.

* foresight: the ability to predict or anticipate future events or situations

ex> Matilda’s foresight enabled her to see that an economic crisis was coming.

* mental note: a special effort to remember something for future use

ex> He made a mental note to never use water to extinguish an oil or grease fire.

ex> Let’s make a mental note of this park’s location because I want to come back here.

* shell out: to pay (an excessive amount) for something (without wanting to)

ex> Because of your cat, I had to shell out $300 to replace our roommate’s feather duvet.

Note> Even though seashells were used as money by civilizations all over the world for millennia, this early 19^th century American expression doesn’t appear to originate from that practice. Instead, it may equate the act of removing money from one’s pocket or purse with removing nuts or peas from their shells.

* noble cause: a worthwhile and respectable principle

ex> When he sold his company and became wealthy, he began to look for a noble cause to contribute to.

* skeptical: 회의적인

In English publications from outside of North America (e.g. those from Britain, Australia, and New Zealand), this word will usually be spelled skeptical. Either way, it is pronounced with the hard “k” sound.

ex> Why are you being so skeptical? Tim’s predictions are almost always accurate.