Author Archives: Dr. Jeff McQuillan

How long does it take to make $100,000?

Posted on Thursday - September 3, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Americans love their sports, and professional sports is a huge (very big) business here, as it is in some other countries.  The most popular sports are baseball, American football, and basketball, with hockey, tennis, and golf being somewhat less popular.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 12 Comments

Meet My Friend, Mr. Grant

Posted on Thursday - August 27, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

In my previous post, I talked about how common it is in the US to find traces (small amounts) of cocaine on US paper bills.  At the end of the post, I noted that the New York Times headline for … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 16 Comments

Drug Money

Posted on Tuesday - August 25, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Cocaine is a very addictive (something that you can’t stop doing or consuming once you start because it is so pleasurable) drug that became popular in the 1970s and 1980s and still is used by many today (I am told).  … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 24 Comments

Charity Begins at Home

Posted on Thursday - August 6, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

There’s an old saying (proverb, popular expression) in English: “Charity begins at home.” Charity (giving to others, being kind to others) comes from the Latin caritas, meaning “love.”  “Charity begins at home” means that before you give to others, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 17 Comments

Pinch-Hit Grand Slam

Posted on Thursday - July 23, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Every once in a while, circumstances come together (occur, happen at the same time) in a sporting game that provide drama, excitement, and even a bit of poetry.  Last night was such a night here in Los Angeles, when my … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States, News and Current Events | 25 Comments

Don’t Miss Your Airline Flight!

Posted on Thursday - July 16, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

We had a question this week from Jacek in Poland about how to pronounce airline flights numbers. The flight number is the number that each plane trip is given, and is usually two, three, or four digits (numbers) in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & Terms | 30 Comments

Multiscreening and Me

Posted on Tuesday - June 16, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

BusinessWeek magazine had an article recently about people who surf the Internet while watching television at the same time.  About one out of every ten TV watchers are simultaneously (at the same time) looking at their computers, trying to do … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 16 Comments

The Seven Plots of All Literature (Plus Two)

Posted on Thursday - May 21, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

I was recently reading a fascinating book called The Art Instinct by Denis Dutton.  The books tries to show that much of our sense of art and artistic judgment is influenced by our genetics – that is, something that we … Continue reading →

Posted in Television and Movies | 15 Comments

Eat up!

Posted on Thursday - May 14, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

When someone says to a child, “Eat up!” they mean “Hurry up and eat!”  This may happen if the child is taking a long time to eat or is playing instead of eating the way he or she should.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 18 Comments

Doodling

Posted on Thursday - May 7, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

To doodle is to draw shapes and lines on a piece of paper for no particular purpose.  Students in class will often doodle on their notebooks and papers while the teacher is talking, perhaps because they are bored or uninterested.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & Terms, Life in the United States | 24 Comments