PE 11/7 How Hard Is It to Pick Out a Pair of Shoes?

Patience is a virtue, Jason! I’m trying to pick a pair of shoes to wear.

* patience is a virtue: it is better to be patient than impatient

ex> I know that patience is a virtue, but I’m just no feeling very virtuous today!

Oh, that’s so cute, Jason! Guys are clueless when it comes to women’s fashion. I can’t just slip on the first pair I see and run out the door like I’m heading out to check the mailbox.

* clueless: not understanding basic things

ex> Although Tom was a math genius, he was pretty clueless when it came to talking to people.

It’s not as easy as matching colors. It has to be the right kind of heel for the occasion. I couldn't wear stilettos to the movies. And wearing sandal to the opera would be a no-no.

* no-no: something that is forbidden

ex> We knew that sneaking out at night was a no-no, but we always did it when we were kids.

Well, I've narrowed it down to two pairs that I’ll want your opinion on…

* narrow down: to limit the choices

ex> Ted and Jill narrowed down their possible vacation destinations to Hawaii and Antarctica.

Bingo! I’ll wear these red ones. Why didn't you say the strappy Steve Madden’s were down here?

* Bingo!: an exclamation of success

ex> Bingo! I think I just solved the theory of everything.

PE 11/6 San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

That’s true, but you can’t be this up close and personal with Cape buffaloes or rhinos in the regular zoo. Look! A pair of lions resting under that tree!

* be/get up close and personal: to be intimate: be in close range of something or someone

ex> We waited behind the concert hall to try and get up close and personal with Tony Bennett as he left the venue.

Wow! Look way over there! A hyena. It’s like they’re coming out of the woodwork.

* come out of the woodwork: to appear seemingly out of nowhere

ex> After she won the lottery, distant relatives began to come out of the woodwork.

Note> This phrase is based on the idea of insects that suddenly come out from under boards in a house where they have been hidden.

It looks like they aren't hurting for money, unlike some other zoos I've seen in my travels.

* hurt for: to suffer from lack of something

ex> We weren't hurting for ideas, only the money to implement them.

I feel ya, Brad. Of all the safari parks I've ever been to, this one has got to be the biggest.

* I feel you: to suggest that you empathize with someone

= I understand you; I get you; I can relate.

ex> Listen, I feel you, but I can’t let you cut in line just because you have to use the toilet.

Don’t look now, but there’s a giraffe poking his head into the tour bus!

* don’t look now: a warning to someone that something/someone is approaching from their blind side and to suggest they don’t turn around

ex> Don’t look now, but I think that girl over there is checking you out.

PE 11/5 A Funny Way to Give Someone a Promotion

I must admit that when this came to my attention I was completely taken aback.

* come to one’s attention: to be made aware of something

ex> It had come to her attention that the bottom of her dress was in a puddle of water.

* taken aback: surprised and/or confused

ex> I was taken aback by the policeman’s rude response when I asked him for directions.

Everything is totally on the the up-and-up! Remember that sales seminar the company paid for two months ago? I guess it really helped me.

* on the up-and-up: legitimate, honest

ex> The company was on the up-and-up, despite rumors to the contrary.

Note> this phrase can also mean “on the rise.”

ex> Twitter’s value is on the up-and-up.

Relax Grant! Did you think I bought you in here to give you the axe? I’m here to offer you a promotion!

* give someone the axe: to fire someone

= give someone the pink slip; let someone go; lay someone off

ex> Just before Tom was eligible for retirement benefits, the company gave him the axe.

Note> This phrase can be used in when abruptly terminating a relationship, too.

ex> Lisa gave Bill the axe after seeing him with another woman.

What? Oh my god, you scared me to death! This conversation seemed completely surreal, so I didn't know what to think.

* surreal: 아주 이상한, 초현실적인

This is quite an honor! Though I must say your delivery leaves much to be desired.

* leave much to be desired: to be inadequate

ex> The condition of the house leaves much to be desired, but the price is too good to pass up.

PE 11/4 Mindy Kaling Speech – Part 1

This group before me is bristling with ambitious young people, many of whom have already started charities and philanthropic organizations. And now with this diploma in hand, most of you will go on to the noblest of pursuits.

* bristling: 투성이의, 가득한

* in hand: acquired; earned

ex> Julie arrived with her resume in hand, ready to start work at once.

One of you will sort out the details of my prenup. A dozen of you will help me with my acrimonious divorce.

* sort out: to deal with the various details of an issue

ex> Jane had to sort out the details of her wedding before the weekend.

* prenup: 혼전계약

* acrimonious: 험악한

The Business School is full of crooks, the Divinity School is just a bunch of weird virgins, the School of Design is like European burnouts, and don’t even get me started on the Kennedy School.

* crooks: dishonest people; criminals

= con men; swindlers

ex> Not all bankers are crooks just because a few of them broke the law.

Note> This word also means the hooked staff of a shepherd.

* don’t (even) get me started: don’t ask me to talk about this topic because it makes me upset

ex> Do I like what the president is doing? Don’t’ even get me started on his foreign policies.

The med school is just a bunch of nerdy Indians – I can say that! Preet can say that. The rest of you, you are out of line – that is racial, how dare you.

* be out of line: to say or do something inappropriate

ex> I think Elaine was out of line saying that you were fat. She should look in a mirror!

PE 11/3 Bringing Out the Winter Clothes

What’s all the thumping and scraping up there? It sounds like you’re trying to hide a body!

* thump: 쿵쿵거리다

* scrape: 긁다

I can’t believe it’s almost wintertime again. It feels like only yesterday when we were on the beach making sandcastles.

* it feels like just/only yesterday: to comment that time is moving quickly

ex> It feels like only yesterday when Bill was just a baby, and now he’s going to college!

Uh, Victor. I hate to break the news to you, but those are the sweaters my mother gave us two years ago. And you told her you loved them!

* I hate to break the news to you, but…: a way of prefacing bad news or a restating of something someone already knows

ex> As Sean was looking for his car, a kid walked up and said, “I hate to break the news to you, but your car was towed away.”

Oops. I guess I let the cat out of the bag! You must have known I only said that to make her feel good.

* let the cat out of the bag: the secret has been told

ex> We tried to keep the party a secret, but Tom let the cat out of the bag.

Yeah, I knew. And to tell you the truth, I hate them too. But we can’t let her know that.

* to tell you the truth: to make an admission of one’s opinion or about one’s experience

ex> To tell you the truth, I prefer Mexican food over Italian food.

It’s a deal. Now let me go get my shorts and summer shirts while you throw those clothes in the dryer with something to get that god-awful smell out of them!

* god-awful: horrible

ex> Did you see the god-awful dress that famous actress wore at the awards show last night?

PE 10/31 Let’s Not Pass Out Candy to Trick-or-treaters

I decided that we won’t pass out candy this year. I think it’s a bad tradition that encourages kids to eat candy until they’re as full as a tick.

* pass out: to distribute; give something from hand to hand

ex> The ladies passed out packs of tissues to people coming out of the subway.

* full as a tick: having overeaten

ex> We learned back in our seat, full as ticks after eating steaks and French fries.

Note> A “tick” is a blood-sucking insect. So it alludes to a tick that has filled itself with blood.

That is the biggest cock and bull story you've ever told! Anyway, I love Halloween with all the costumes and the happy children yelling “Trick or treat!”

Fine. To tell you the truth, I forgot to get the candy. So why don’t we go downstairs to the TV room and watch a scary movie and turn all the lights off? That way, none will be the wiser that we’re actually home.

* none will be the wiser: no person will know what was done

ex> If you sneak out the back door during the show, none will be the wiser.

Now it’s all starting to come together.

* come together: to become a coherent story; make sense

ex> When it all came together, the detectives caught the real killer and released the man who they had set up.

Don’t try to psychoanalyze me over not experiencing Halloween as a kid. I look back on it now as a blessing in disguise. I just don’t understand the importance, that’s all.

* blessing in disguise: something that may have seemed negative end up having positive benefits

ex> Being sent home from school sick was a blessing in disguise for Max because the snow storm prevented buses from picking up the children in the afternoon.

PE 10/30 Jamaica: Port Royal Seafood Festival

Look at the crowds! I thought a seafood festival would be a more subdued experience. You know, a dozen tents with different styles of fish for sale.

* subdued: 차분한

Not the Port Royal Seafood Festival! This is Jamaica’s signature food festival. That’s why so many famous people are here.

* signature: something a person or place is famous for

ex> Elvis’s signature song was “Love me Tender.”

Well, since I’m not from Jamaica, I have no idea who these so-called famous people are. Do you mean like that guy with the funny cowboy hat?

* so-called: the name something is referred to as, often sarcastically

ex> The so-called world champions of baseball lost five games in a row.

Well, they’re mostly here to see Ziggy Marley, Bob Marley’s son, perform later. But he’s also competing in the cook-off. I take my hat off to him for donating his time for this event.

* take one’s hat off to someone / hats off to someone: a way of showing admiration for someone

ex> I take my hat off to all of the people who serve in the military to defend their country.

ex> Hats off to anyone who can figure out how to fix the economy!

Oh, right! I have a couple of his albums. But all this talk about shrimp is making me hungry. Let’s get some food because my stomach is rumbling.

* one’s stomach is rumbling: to be very hungry

= growling; starving; so hungry I could eat a horse

ex> Tom was very embarrassed because everybody in the library could hear his stomach rumbling.

Someone’s got deep pockets today! Thanks! How about you go get the beer over there and I’ll wait here for the fish?

* deep pockets: wealth

ex> Despite her deep pockets, she was always looking for a bargain when she went shopping.