If you speak English, you know Shakespeare.

That’s because many of the most well-known sayings in English come from Shakespeare’s plays.

Here are a few very common phrases Americans use:

1. Good riddance – From Troilus and Cressida, Act II, Scene I

We use this phrase when we want to show relief at no longer having to deal with something or someone who is troublesome or that brings us problems.
– If your girlfriend breaks up or ends her relationship with you and you are happy because she has brought all kinds of trouble into your life, then you might say, “Good riddance!”

2. To lie low – From Much Ado About Nothing, Act V, Scene 1

We use this phrasal verb when we are hiding or doing something to not bring attention to ourselves, usually because we have committed (done) a crime or we expect trouble if we’re found.
– If you made a big mistake at work, you might tell your coworker: “I’m lying low until the boss is stops being angry.”

3. Seen better days – From As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII

We use this phrase to mean that something is no longer new. It is old, worn, and/or in poor condition.
– I bought my first used car from my uncle for $100. It was 20 years old, and needed a muffler (device on a car that makes it less loud) and a lot of other repairs. That car had seen better days!

That last example is true. My first car really was very old and purchased (bought) from my uncle for $100.

~Jeff

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If you stay at a hotel in the United States, you may be sitting in your room and hear someone knock on your door. The person will say, in a loud voice, “Housekeeping!”

If you don’t answer the “housekeeping” announcement within 10 seconds or so by saying “Please come back later” or “Not today, thanks,” make sure you’re fully dressed (have all your clothes on), because your housekeeper will open your door!

All hotels provide basic housekeeping (cleaning) services by keeping the rooms clean and well-stocked (with all the necessary supplies). However, nicer hotels provide many additional services.

For example, in nice hotels, housekeeping might provide turn-down service in which the staff (employees) prepare the room before the guest goes to bed.

Turn-down service includes turning down the sheets, or folding back the top part of the blankets and sheets so that the guest can get into bed easily. Turn-down service might also include putting a pair of slippers (shoes worn only indoors to keep one’s feet warm) next to the bed and a mint (a candy that freshens one’s breath) on the pillow.

The turn-down service could also include dimming the lights (making the lights less bright) and turning on quiet, relaxing music.

Housekeeping can also supply (provide) a cot (a folding bed) or a rollaway bed (a bed that can be moved easily because it is on wheels). Guests might request these types of beds when many people are staying in the room.

It is not unusual to request a cot for a young child, for example.

Some hotels pride themselves on (take pride in; take great interest in) little details, like folding hand towels (towels used to dry one’s hands) into special shapes, making them look like birds or flowers.

Housekeeping might also fold the end of a toilet paper roll so that it ends in a point (a sharp edge) rather than a straight line.

If your hotel does most of these things, you’re staying in a nice hotel!

Also in nice hotels, it is customary (normal; expected) to tip (give extra money to) the housekeeping staff members who provide all these services.

A typical (usual; common) tip is between $1 and $5 each day, depending on the type of hotel and the amount of service housekeeping provides.

Of course, if you stay in a cheap (inexpensive) hotel, you won’t get most of these things. As we sometimes say, “you get what you pay for!”

~Jeff

Los Angeles is a big, sprawling (covering a wide area) city. That’s why people have a hard time (difficulty) getting around without cars.

Our public transportation system—buses, subways, trains, etc.—just doesn’t reach enough parts of the city.

About a year ago, a type of electric “scooter” started appearing on city streets. Scooters are normally small motorcycles, but these scooters are different. They are more like skateboards with a motor and a pole to hang on to (see photo).

A company called “Bird” scattered (place randomly) scooters all over the city, putting them on sidewalks (walkways next to the street). They were placed near bus stops, at street corners, and anywhere a lot of people walked.

The scooters are intended to help people travel short distances so they wouldn’t have to walk or drive a car.

Here’s how these paid scooters work: You choose a scooter, insert (place into a machine) your credit card, pay a small fee, and then have temporary use of that scooter.

Ride it to where you want to go and then leave it there. At the end of the day, a team of people retrieves (pick up and return) the scooters for charging (for a battery to again store energy) and then places them around the city again.

The problem was, Bird and other similar companies didn’t have permission (approval; an okay) from the local government to do business, and no one was in charge of making sure people were following the rules and laws.

Soon, riders were leaving scooters where they shouldn’t, like the middle of the sidewalk, on people’s front yards, or in the street.

Children were riding them on busy streets with no helmets (hard hat to protect the head), and riders were causing traffic accidents.

Now, the government is finally stepping in (getting involved). They are setting up new regulations (rules) and limiting the number of companies that can have these scooters in the city. It will be some time before we know how things shake out (work out; come to a result).

I haven’t tried riding one of these scooters yet, but I have seen a lot of people on them. Some people ride responsibly (in the right way). But when someone rides like an idiot, then it seems to me these Bird scooters are a bird-brained idea.*

~Jeff

* Bird-brained is an adjective meaning very stupid or not very smart. The term is perhaps used because birds are small and therefore have small brains. I think “cat-brained” would also be a good way of describing dumb ideas, but that’s just me.

Photo credit: Grendelkhan