He Wrote Them First

Posted on Tuesday - October 20, 2015 by Warren Ediger

800px-ShakespeareAlmost all American students get to know William Shakespeare, England’s most famous writer. Some fall in love with him – like my youngest daughter who read all of his plays (a story performed by actors in a theater) one summer. Others count the days (wait anxiously) until they can forget about him.

Many words and phrases (a group of words with meaning) we use today appeared first in one of his plays – about 1,700 of them according to one source (a place where you get information). Here are a few of the most common; I’ve given you the phrase, the play it appears in, a definition, and an example sentence:

  • With bated breath (The Merchant of Venice) – feeling anxious or excited.
    He asked her to marry him, then waited with bated breath for her answer.
  • It’s (all) Greek to me (Julius Caesar) – I can’t or don’t understand it.
    Prof, I know you explained this in class today, but it’s still Greek to me. Would you please explain it one more time?
  • Love is blind (The Merchant of Venice) – If you love someone, you don’t notice or see their faults (bad things about them).
    He’s not good looking and not very smart, but she still likes him. Whoever said that love is blind was right about that!
  • A heart of gold (Henry V) – to be very kind and generous (willing to help people by giving money, spending time, etc.).
    She would do anything for you: she has a heart of gold.
  • Break the ice (The Taming of the Shrew) – to make people feel more friendly and willing to talk to each other.
    Some of us were uncomfortable at first, but after Tom broke the ice, we all had a great time at his dinner party.
  • Neither here nor there (Othello) – not important.
    What I think about him is neither here nor there: he’s your friend, not mine.
  • All’s well that ends well (All’s Well That Ends Well) – a difficult situation that has ended with a good result.
    My car had a flat tire, we got here late, but we finally made it (arrived). Like they say, “All’s well that ends well.”
  • Too much of a good thing (As You Like It) – more of something than is good or useful; too much of something good may be bad.
    Exercise is good for you, but too much exercise may be too much of a good thing. Your body needs time to recover (return to a normal condition).
  • Wild goose chase (Henry IV) – a situation where you are looking for something that does not exist or that you probably won’t find, so that you waste a lot of time.
    What a wild goose chase! We looked all over town only to learn that the thing she wanted isn’t made any more.

How many did you already know? If you’d like to see more of Shakespeare’s phrases and sayings, try The Phrase Finder.

~ Warren Ediger – ESL coach/tutor and creator of the Successful English web site.

P.S. You can find more detail on some of these phrases in previous ESL Podcast episodes: It’s Greek to me (and here), neither here nor there, wild goose chase, and heart of gold.

Public domain painting of Shakespeare from Wikipedia Commons.

 

Posted in Books and Reading | 12 Comments

Podcasts this Week (October 19, 2015)

Posted on Sunday - October 18, 2015 by Paolo T

icon_51812We are grateful to our members and donors, because we are only able to produce this podcast with the generous help of our listeners.

If you enjoy our podcasts, please consider supporting ESL Podcast by becoming a Basic or Premium Member today!

………

ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 1148 – Distinctive Facial Features

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “commission” and “to be true to.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Retouching Photos.”
“Most people want to ‘look their best’ (show their best, most attractive appearance)…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 525
Topics: Famous Americans – W.C. Fields; The Video Game Pong; trim, quarter-round, and carpenter; to condemn and conscious; transliteration

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Video Games as Successful Films.”
“In recent years, several popular video games have been made into movies….” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 1149 – Delaying Making a Decision

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “positive” and “stripes.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Paint-by-Number Kits.”
“People who want to be artists, but feel they ‘lack’ (do not have) artistic ‘talents’…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide

Posted in Announcements | 20 Comments

Headline English: Double Meanings

Posted on Tuesday - October 13, 2015 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Today’s episode of my little video experiment, Headline English, talks about how newspaper headlines often use phrases and words with more than one meaning as a way of grabbing (getting) your attention.

-Jeff

Posted in News and Current Events | 36 Comments

Podcasts this Week (October 12, 2015)

Posted on Sunday - October 11, 2015 by Paolo T

icon_51812Is your limited English standing in your way? Do you want to improve your English now?

Learn English even faster with the help of the Learning Guide. In it, you’ll get more vocabulary, language explanations, sample sentences, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and more.

Get the Learning Guide and support ESL Podcast today by becoming a Basic or Premium Member!

………

ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 1146 – Negotiating With a Street Vendor

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to knock off” and “good.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Street Vendors.”
“Street vendors, or ‘hawkers,’ are a ‘common sight’ (something that one sees often) on the streets of…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 524
Topics: American Presidents – Chester A. Arthur; intimate versus personal versus private; particular versus specific versus in particular; I beg your pardon

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “The Letters of Julia I. Sand.”
“U.S. Presidents have always had people around them to act as ‘advisors’…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 1147 – Types of Students in School

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “honor roll” and “stuck-up.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Types of Schools.”
“Most Americans attend ‘public schools,’ or schools that are owned and ‘operated’…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide

Posted in Announcements | 11 Comments

Pickled Beets In A Mason Jar

Posted on Tuesday - October 6, 2015 by Warren Ediger

PreservedFood1Last week my friend Don gave me something that reminded me of (made me remember) my childhood – pickled beets (a plant with round dark red roots eaten as a vegetable) in a Mason jar. Let me explain.

Years ago, people who grew their own vegetables and fruit had to preserve them (do something so they wouldn’t become bad) so they could keep them for a long time. They used several different methods to preserve their food:

  • Drying – removing the water from it.
  • Curing (used for meat) – drying it, hanging it in smoke, or covering it with salt.
  • Pickling – putting it in vinegar (a sour-tasting liquid) or salt water.
  • Freezing – keeping it at a very low temperature.
  • Canning – putting it into a container that all the air had been taken out of.

My mother and grandmother canned a lot of vegetables and fruit every year. If you went down into my grandmother’s cellar (area under the house), you would have seen shelves full of canned food like those in the picture. You would have also seen cured hams (meat from the upper part of a pig’s leg) and sausage (a tube, or round container, of skin that had been filled with a mixture of meat and spices).

The idea of canning your own food first appeared in the early 1800s and was made popular by Nicholas Appert, a French cook.

When someone cans their own food, they put the food into glass jars, like those in the photo. My mother, grandmother, and probably everyone else used Mason jars. The Mason jar was designed especially for canning in 1858 by an American named John Mason. For many years the Ball Corporation (company) made most of the Mason jars. People who can today still use Mason jars.

Home canning was necessary for people who grew their own food until refrigerators made it possible for them to freeze their food at home. During the 1800s, some companies began to put canned food into cans (metal containers) that were similar to what we see at the supermarket today. However, the canned foods we buy today didn’t appear in stores and supermarkets until the early part of the 1900s.

Home canning made a comeback (became popular again) in the 1960s and 70s and its popularity continues to grow. Today it’s part of a larger trend (the way something is changing) called artisanal food – home-grown food prepared in traditional ways. A growing number of people can food for their family to eat. Others prepare it to sell at farmer’s markets similar to the outdoor food markets that have been popular in Europe and other countries for many years.

My wife tells me that we’re having the pickled beets for dinner tonight. I hope they taste as good as they look!

What about where you live? Do people can fruit or vegetables? What about using traditional ways to make or do other things?

~ Warren Ediger, ESL tutor/coach and creator of the Successful English web site.

Photo of canned food is from Wikipedia Commons.

Posted in Life in the United States | 21 Comments

Podcasts this Week (October 5, 2015)

Posted on Sunday - October 4, 2015 by Paolo T

icon_51812Get the full benefits of ESL Podcast by getting the Learning Guide. We designed the Learning Guide to help you learn English better and faster. Get more vocabulary, language explanations, sample sentences, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and more.

Get the Learning Guide and support ESL Podcast today by becoming a Basic or Premium Member!

………

ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 1144 – Being Assertive and Meek

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to be done with it” and “bold.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Employee Assistance Programs.”
“Many large employers offer ’employee assistance programs’ (EAP) as part of their ‘benefits package’…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 523
Topics: American Movies – Frankenstein; Famous Americans – James Brown; to boost versus to foster versus to encourage; funky; right as rain

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “The Munsters.”
“The popular 1960s television ‘comedy’ (entertainment to make people laugh) The Munsters ‘centered around’…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 1145 – Using Herbs and Spices in Cooking

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “seed” and “dash.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Kitchen Staff.”
“‘Professional kitchens’ (usually kitchens in a very nice restaurant or hotel, where people have studied…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide

Posted in Announcements | 19 Comments

Comparing Countries the Easy Way

Posted on Tuesday - September 29, 2015 by Dr. Lucy Tse

Map_of_USA_with_state_names_2.svgIf you read the news, you’ll often see one country compared to others using many different indices (measures; the singular is “index”). Many times, these indices have to do with political, economic, and social comparisons (looking for similarities and difference between two or more things).

I’ve come across an easy way for each of us to compare countries for a rough (approximate; not precise) idea of what it would be like living another country. If you visit the ifitweremyhome.com website, you can compare your country with another country using several common indices. First, look at the thin blue box in the center of the homepage to make sure the website has automatically determined (found; decided) that you’re in the correct country. Then, click on the name of any other country you see below.

The first thing you’ll see is a size comparison. For example, when I compare the United States with Japan, the outline (shape without the details) of Japan is superimposed (visually placed on top of) over a map of the United States, showing its relative (compared to each other) size. Then, I see a list of comparisons using several common factors.

The website uses several different sources of information for its data (information in numbers), but here are some definitions for common indices.

– Unemployment rate: The number of adults who don’t have jobs out of the total workforce (total number of people who can and are available to work).
– Infant mortality rate: The number of deaths of children under one year old out of every 1,000 live (not dead) births.
– Rates of incarceration: The number of people in prison out for every 100,000 people.
– Resource consumption: The amount of electricity, oil, and other resources people or households (everyone living in one home) uses.
– Murder rate: The number of people killed out of every 100,000 people.
– Birth rate: The number of live  babies born for every 1,000 people.

There are others, but these are the main comparisons.

Try doing a few comparisons yourself. If nothing else (even if you don’t benefit any other way), the size comparisons between countries are interesting, at least they were to me. Are you finding any surprising results?

~ Lucy

Image Credit: From Wikipedia

Posted in News and Current Events | 27 Comments

Podcasts this Week (September 28, 2015)

Posted on Sunday - September 27, 2015 by Paolo T

icon_51812We are grateful to our members and donors, because we are only able to produce this podcast with the generous help of our listeners.

If you enjoy our podcasts, please consider supporting ESL Podcast by becoming a Basic or Premium Member today!

………

ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 1142 – A Boating Accident

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to sink” and “wake.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Getting a Boating License.”
“Most states require that people have boater education in order to ‘navigate’ (drive; operate) a ‘motorized’…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 522
Topics: American Playwrights – Eugene O’Neill; The Passenger Pigeon; spare versus slender; Was I wrong!

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “The Monte Cristo Cottage.”
“The Monte Cristo Cottage was the ‘boyhood’ (related to one’s years as a boy) summer home of …” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 1143 – Repairing an Appliance

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “charge” and “damp.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Home Appliance Warranties.”
“Home appliances are expensive, so many people want to have a ‘warranty’…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide

Posted in Announcements | 10 Comments

Cold Case: Uncle Sam

Posted on Tuesday - September 22, 2015 by Warren Ediger

800px-Uncle_Sam_(pointing_finger)Every week from 2003 to 2010, on the television program Cold Case, detective Lily Rush found ways to solve (find an explanation for) crimes that no one else had been able to solve. A cold case is a crime or accident that has not been solved, often for many years (for more about cold cases, listen to Podcast 974).

Sometimes new information surfaces (becomes known) that makes it possible to solve a cold case. Sometimes, however, the new information adds to the mystery (what we don’t know or aren’t sure about). And that’s what seems to have happened in the case of Uncle Sam – a symbol (something that represents or stands for) of the United States. That’s him in the photo.

Some of you may remember the story of Uncle Sam from English Cafe 309. At that time, most people believed that the name came from Samuel Wilson, who, in 1813, received a contract (written agreement) to supply meat for the U.S. Army during the war with England. The letters “U.S.” – for United States – were printed on every container of meat, but someone – as a joke – suggested that U.S. meant Uncle Sam. People began to use Uncle Sam to refer to the United States, and this use became very popular about 100 years later, during World War I.

I recently discovered that the use of Uncle Sam to refer to the U.S. may not have come from Samuel Wilson. A couple of years ago, Barry Popik, a kind of “word detective,” found Uncle Sam used to refer to the U.S. in a newspaper that was printed in 1812, about one year before Samuel Wilson received his contract from the government.

And since then, other researchers have found new evidence (facts, information) that suggests that Uncle Sam was used even earlier, in 1810.

Isaac Mayo was a young U.S. Navy sailor (someone who works on a ship). Here’s what he wrote in his journal (personal record of things that happen) on March 10, 1810:

[We] passed Sandy Hook (town in New Jersey), where there are two light-houses, and put to sea, first and second day out most deadly seasick, oh could I have got on shore in the [height] (worst) of it, I swear that uncle Sam, as they call him, would certainly forever have lost the services of at least one sailor (In other words, the storm was so bad that he would have quit the Navy if he could.).

So, where did Uncle Sam come from? We thought we knew. But now we’re not so sure. And until new evidence surfaces, we may have to think of Uncle Sam’s origins (where something began) as a national cold case.

~ Warren Ediger – ESL coach/tutor and creator of the Successful English web site.

This post includes information from “New Light on ‘Uncle Sam’” by Ben Zimmer.
Photo of Uncle Sam from Wikipedia Commons.

 

Posted in Life in the United States | 31 Comments

Podcasts this Week (September 21, 2015)

Posted on Sunday - September 20, 2015 by Paolo T

icon_51812Is your limited English standing in your way? Do you want to improve your English now?

Learn English even faster with the help of the Learning Guide. In it, you’ll get more vocabulary, language explanations, sample sentences, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and more.

Get the Learning Guide and support ESL Podcast today by becoming a Basic or Premium Member!

………

ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 1140 – Dealing With a Language Barrier

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to get to the bottom of” and “paper trail.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Bilingual Immersion School Programs.”
“In the United States, many children learn only English in school, possibly with two to…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 521
Topics: Famous Americans – Jackson Pollock; American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; to restrain versus to refrain versus to subside; velocity versus quickness; to have been down that road before

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Ham the Astrochimp.”
“Ham the Astrochimp was a ‘chimpanzee’ (large ape, usually black in color) sent by the United States into space…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 1141 – Proofreading a Document

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “major” and “to be riddled with.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Style Guides.”
“A ‘style guide’ is a set of rules about how documents should be written, designed, and produced…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide

Posted in Announcements | 16 Comments