Pushback

Posted on Tuesday - April 9, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

If you read American newspapers, you might see the word “pushback.” Here’s a recent headline (title of newspaper story) from the website Politico:

Trump cranks up (increases) his pushback against Dems (Democrats) demanding his tax returns

The noun pushback refers to a negative reaction to a policy, idea, or rule.

Pushback can also mean people doing something to try to stop whatever policy, idea, or rule they don’t like.

In other words, pushback is resistance or a fight against a new change that has been proposed. It’s usually the people who are or will be affected who do the pushing back.

If the government wants to raise taxes, they will probably get a lot of pushback from people like you and me. You might read the headline:

Pushback from homeowners ended the city’s plans to raise property taxes. (Property taxes are the taxes you pay to the government if you own a home.)

If the principal (leader of a school) wants to add an extra hour to the school day, there might be pushback from the students: “Plans to start school an hour earlier each day resulted in a lot of pushback from parents and students.”

If I tell my wife I plan to buy at new TV with a screen the size of our house, I’ll probably get some pushback…maybe some pushing back right out the door!

The opposite of a pushback is “support.”

I might get support from my buddies (friends) who would like to watch the baseball game on my house-size TV.

There’s another definition of “pushback” you might find at an airport.

When an airplane moves backwards (in reverse) from the terminal (where passengers get on the plane) in order to get to the runway where it takes off (leaves the ground), that action of making the plane go backwards is also called “pushback.”

On a plane, you might hear an announcement such as “Before we can begin our pushback, all passengers must be seated.”

You can also express this idea of pushback as a verb, to push back. (Notice the verb is two words and the noun is one word.)

When someone “pushes” you (tries to move you from your position), you can push back, that is, “push” or react to that person’s actions.

~Jeff

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3 Business Buzzwords for 2019

Posted on Tuesday - April 2, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

A buzzword is a word or phrase that has become very popular in a certain field or area.

There are buzzwords in science, politics, business, and just about every type of work.

Some buzzwords replace more common (and often simpler) expressions that communicate the same idea or message.

At times, people use buzzwords to “sound like” someone who knows what he or she is talking about.

One popular buzzword nowadays (at this time) is moving forward.

To move forward in a car means that you drive straight ahead. It is the opposite of “to go in reverse” or backwards.

But in modern business and political American English, “moving forward” usually means “from now on.”

This idea is often associated with change, meaning that we did things this way in the past, but now we’re going to do them differently.

For example, let’s say you and your coworkers always start work at 8:00 AM. One day, your boss tells you that he wants you to come in at 7:30 AM.

He might write an email saying, “We’ve always started work at 8:00 AM. Moving forward, we will come in at 7:30 AM.” This means “From now on we will come in at 7:30 AM.”

Here are a few more of these popular buzzwords or expressions:

In terms of  –  This means regarding or concerning a specific topic or issue. It is often used when you are talking about more than one aspect or part of an idea or project, and want to make sure the person listening to you understands which part you’re talking about.

Example: “In terms of company email, I think we should check it only once per day.” This means the same as “I think we should check company email only once per day,” but using “in terms of” makes it sound more “business-like.”

At the end of the day – This is used to express a conclusion or to say what’s really the most important point of something. The idea is the same as “considering everything” or “all things considered.”

For example, if a married couple is talking about problems in their relationship, one person may say, “At the end of the day, the most important thing is that we love each other.”

This means that loving each other is more important than the problems you and your spouse may have.

In terms of moving forward, that sounds like a good idea to me.

~Jeff

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“It’s Not My First Rodeo”

Posted on Tuesday - March 26, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

One of the stranger idioms in modern American English is the expression, “It’s not my first rodeo.”

What does it mean, and why do we say it?

The expression means that you have experience doing something, that you know what you’re doing, that you have done it (whatever “it” is) before.

For example, let’s say you are changing the tire (what goes on the wheel) on your car. Your friend tries to tell you what you should do, or questions whether you can do it yourself.

You respond, “It’s not my first rodeo. I can handle (manage; do) it!”

It’s not clear where this expression comes from.

In American English, a rodeo is a contest in which cowboys (and cowgirls!) ride wild or untrained horses inside a circle or ring, trying to stay on the horse as long as possible.

Rodeos have other competitions, including roping (throwing a rope around) a moving calf (a young cow or bull).

To win in a rodeo requires skill and experience.

Now, why we use this exact expression is a bit of a mystery.

Some people think it comes from country western song. Country western is a style of music whose songs are often about life in rural (not cities) areas, including things like rodeos.

Others think the phrases comes from a book (later a famous movie) called Mommy Dearest, by the daughter of movie actress Joan Crawford.

The photo with this post comes from the Gene Autry Museum, a museum about life in the West (western U.S.) located here in Los Angeles.

That’s me in the photo “riding” a horse (well, a horse made of wood).

Notice also in the photo behind me all of the cowgirls following me, with their hats in the air.

It’s not often I get chased on a horse by a group of women. In fact, I never get chased by a group of women anywhere.

~Jeff

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Green is Not Just for the Irish

Posted on Tuesday - March 19, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Last Sunday (March 17th) was Saint Patrick’s Day, which millions of Irish and those of Irish descent (came originally from Ireland) celebrated. The color most often associated with (linked to; connected to) Ireland is green.

It is customary (common) for people to wear green on St. (Saint) Patrick’s Day.

But there are a lot of English expressions that mention the color green that have nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day.

An example is the expressions “being green.” Being green means being inexperienced, new to doing something or performing a job.

It probably refers to vegetables and fruits that are the color green until they become “ripe” (when fruits and vegetables to be ready to eat or used).

We can use this expression this way:
– “The medical student is too green to perform this procedure without help.”
– “The new manager will seem a little green until she learns the job.”

Another common expression is “green with envy,” which means that someone feels a lot of jealousy toward another person, very much wanting what that other person has.

For example, if your neighbor buys a new car, the same car that you’d love to own and drive, you may feel green with envy.

If a co-worker gets extra days of vacation time over the Christmas season, the other employees may be green with envy.

We also use “green” now to refer to things that are not harmful to the environment. Companies or governments talk about being “green,” meaning they use products and procedures that don’t harm the environment.

Some examples:
– “We’re turning this into a green house by buying energy-efficient appliances (refrigerator, stove, etc.) and planting vegetables instead of grass.
– “By buying hybrid cars (cars that use gasoline and electricity) for our salespeople, our company is taking the first step toward going green.”

+++++++++

P.S. This post first appeared as a Culture Note in our Unlimited English program for improving your English (Daily English 24). If you’ve learned something today, why not try our special sample English course for only $1? Go here for more information:
https://tv.eslpod.com/p/unlimited-english-7-day-trial/

P.P.S. Learn more about St. Patrick’s Day on our blog here.

~Jeff

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Los Angeles is #1, Baby!

Posted on Tuesday - March 12, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

So this happened:*

Los Angeles has recently been found to have the MOST “aggressive” drivers in the United States.

I always knew my city was #1 in something. We’re number one in idiot drivers!

To be aggressive means to act in a hostile (being someone’s enemy) and often rude (unkind) or selfish (thinking only of yourself) way.

An aggressive person is one who is more likely to attack or confront another person (tell someone he or she is wrong).

A driving app company looked at drivers in 30 U.S. cities and examined driver habits (what people do usually or repeatedly).

They found that drivers in my fair (nice; beautiful) city are more likely to drive fast, brake hard (suddenly slow or stop your car to avoid an accident), and accelerate (go from slow to fast) often.

I’m not surprised. Anyone who has driven in my car knows that I, like most Angelenos (people living in LA), drive aggressively.

I really shouldn’t drive that way, of course. It is more dangerous and stressful.

But we drive like we see other people driving. That’s my excuse, anyway.

So if Los Angeles has the most aggressive drivers, which city has the least aggressive, the “nicest” drivers?

The answer of course is my home city of Saint Paul, Minnesota (actually, the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis). The Twin Cities was ranked (placed in order) 30th out of 30 cities in aggressive drivers.

If you’re looking for a nice, quiet, relaxing driving experience, you should go to Minnesota.

If you want the opposite, welcome to LA, baby**!

~Jeff

*This expression is now informally used, especially on social media, to introduce a topic that is surprising or strange in some way.

**Baby can refer to a young child, but it is sometimes used informally to brag about (be proud of) something, usually in a joking way. It could be replaced by “my friend.”

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The Elephant in the Room

Posted on Tuesday - March 5, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

What does it mean when we talk about the “elephant in the room”? Find out in this English With Your Coffee episode:

~Jeff

P.S. A small error in the captioning at the end of the video: It should say “my friend’s” (with an apostrophe) and not “my friends.”

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This is the Army, Mr. (and Ms.?) Jones

Posted on Tuesday - February 26, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

My father served in (was a member of) the U.S. Army during World War II, fighting in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. Like millions of other young men his age (he was 18 in 1941, when the U.S. entered the war), my father was drafted.

When we’re talking about the military, the verb to draft or to be drafted means that the government tells you – forces you – to be part of the Army or other military service.

As was the case for most men at that time, however, my dad was very willing to participate and fight. Sometimes he would sing us a song that was very popular during the war, which went like this:

“This is the Army, Mister Jones!
No private rooms or telephones.
You had your breakfast in bed before.
But you won’t have it there any more.”

(Hear the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLgAbgEjMG0 )

The idea of the song, written by the great songwriter Irving Berlin, is that the military wasn’t going to be fun or easy.

Right now, the United States does not have a draft or any sort of compulsory military service (when you must be in the military for a certain number of years). However, teenage boys at age 18 are required by law to register with (give his name and address) the Selective Service System.

The Selective Service System is the U.S. government’s way of keeping information about men who are eligible for (meet the requirements for) the draft.

Men who are between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to register with the Selective Service System, and those turning (becoming) 18 years old are required to register within 30 days of their 18th birthday.

If they don’t, the government will not give them any money for college, and could arrest them and put them in prison (although I don’t think that happens very often, if at all).

I was one of the first people who had to register with the new Selective Service when I turned 18 (back when Ronald Reagan was president). But it would be unlikely the Army would want me anymore – I’m too old!

Only men are currently required to register for a possible draft. But just last week, a federal judge in Texas ruled that it was unconstitutional for only men to be required to register. A law that is unconstitutional is one that violates (breaks) the basic rules and requirements of our founding document, the Constitution.

Both men AND women must register, according to this judge. Will this actually happen?

No one knows for now.

You see, there are different levels of judges in the U.S., and this was a judge at one of the “lower” levels. The U.S. government will almost certainly appeal the decision by the judge, meaning they will ask a “higher” court to overturn or cancel the decision by the lower court judge. (This happens often.)

The highest court in the U.S. is our Supreme Court, and it is very possible that the case (the legal matter) may reach it someday. But that process could take years.

The idea of drafting women is popular with men (61% want it), but very unpopular with the women themselves (only 38% want it), at least according to a poll back in 2016.

For now, “Ms. Jones” – that is, a woman over the age of 18 – doesn’t need to worry about going to war. In the future . . .?

~Jeff

P.S. I should note that women do currently serve in the U.S. military alongside (with; next to) men, but both men and women are volunteers (doing it by their own choice).

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Saying “I Do”

Posted on Tuesday - February 19, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

George Carlin (1937-2008) was an American comedian, a person whose job is to tell jokes or funny stories. He was a stand-up comic, someone who told jokes in front of an audience, and he was very successful.

Carlin was often very good at observational comedy, which are jokes about everyday life used to point out or show the funny things people do.

And he often made fun of the English language. Here’s one of his better jokes:

“‘I am’ is reportedly (said to be by many people) the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that ‘I do’ is the longest sentence?”

“I do” is one of the things we say when we get married, when saying “yes” to being another person’s husband or wife.

A: “Do you take this man/woman to be your lawfully-wedded husband/wife?” (Lawfully-wedded means married according to the law.)

B: “I do.”

You know what a sentence is when we’re talking about language. But the word sentence is also defined as the length of time a person must remain in jail (prison) as a result of being convicted of (found legally responsible for) of a crime: “The bank robber received a 10-year sentence.”

So now you know George Carlin’s view of marriage: Once you say “I do,” you’ll be in prison for a very, very long time!

Carlin also made fun of human foibles, those small weaknesses or funny or strange things people do. 

This is one of my favorites:

“Anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac.”

An idiot is a fool or a very stupid person, and a maniac is a crazy person who is out of control and shows wild and dangerous behavior. 

Carlin is good at showing how self-centered we are. Don’t we all believe that the world revolves (moves in a circle around a fixed or fixed point) around us? 

Jeff

P.S. Some of you may be asking: Is “I am” really the shortest sentence in English? Well, that depends on how you define a sentence. Normally, a sentence requires a subject and a predicate. However, the subject can be understood (without it being stated), so that “Go!” and “Eat!” are also considered sentences. But we won’t go into all of that. It’s just a joke, after all.

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As the Crow Files

Posted on Tuesday - February 12, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

If you ask an Angeleno (a person living in Los Angeles) the distance between two places, you’re more likely to get an answer in minutes, not miles.

That’s because there’s one thing all Angelenos have to contend with (deal with; handle): traffic.

It’s common to sit in a traffic jam (where cars move very slowly) to travel just a few miles.

Knowing this and knowing the usual traffic patterns (normal times when there are too many cars on the roads), Angelenos will figure that in (include that in the calculation; make that part of the counting) when giving you an answer.

A typical conversation would be:

Me: How far is the shopping mall from here?
My wife: It’s only 30 minutes.

If an Angeleno wants to tell you the distance without figuring in traffic, they’ll always add “without traffic” as in: “It’s only 10 minutes to my office, without traffic.”

But there is one other way we talk about distance.

If I want to tell you the distance between two points without figuring in traffic OR the route (path) of roads, we can use a very common phrase: “as the crow flies.” A crow is a black bird (see photo).

As the crow flies means directly, as though you’re measuring the distance on a map, in a straight line from Place A to Place B.

Me: How far is the shopping mall from here?
My wife: As the crow flies, it’s only 10 miles.

So if any Angeleno asks you to take them somewhere and tells you it’s only a “few” miles, make sure you get that distance in minutes.

You might be spending the next hour in gridlock (with a lot of traffic on many connecting streets)!

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Headline English Video: Brokering a Deal

Posted on Tuesday - February 5, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Learn how we use “broker,” “deal,” and “trade” in English in this quick video:

~Jeff

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