Picking up new words is what I consider to be the most fun part of learning a language. Social media makes it easier to find new ones, for which I'm very thankful. And here's what I've found so far this week: quiet quitting. "Quiet quittin…

I'm hesitant. Not quite sure if what I'm about to do is right. And I'm worried that I might be getting in trouble for what I'm about to say. Maybe I should keep my mouth shut. But I'm going to do it anyway. Listen up, folks; I'm going to t…

Scrolling through my Twitter feed, I stumbled onto an article about Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings drama series. Peter Jackson, who directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, said Amazon reached out and asked him if he wanted to get invo…

今日は、「友情の日」。友達を意味する"friend"の同義語を、いっしょに見ていきましょう。 Since it's "National Friendship Day" today, let's take a look at the synonyms for the word "Friend": BFF (Best Friends Forever) 永遠の大親友 Example: I we…

Yesterday was "Work Like A Dog Day" - it's a day to celebrate those who work hard. I never knew there was such a day! If you've heard "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles before, you've probably heard the phrase "working like a dog." It sim…

The heat wave has finally cooled off. It's time to relax and take a breather. Get a good night's sleep if you have had trouble sleeping at night for a couple of days. You can spend this comfortable weather learning new expressions like "Ch…

What helps you start your day off right? Taking a shower? Practicing yoga? Practicing meditation? What about grabbing a cup of Joe? A cup of Joe? What is that? Who is that Joe guy? You might ask. A cup of Joe means a cup of coffee. The exp…

In the last post, I used the phrase "come under the fire." If you say that you come under fire, you mean that you're strongly critisized by someone. You can also use the expression "take (get) flak" as the same meaning. 昨日の記事で、"come…

This morning, I saw this news article about Beyoncé removing an ableist slur from one of her new songs called "Heated." What is ableist slur? It's discriminatory words against people with disabilities. According to the article, Beyoncé has…

The word "diss" has become standard Japanese. As you might know, "dissing" means to insult someone publicly. In English-speaking countries, many people are using the phrase "throw shade" recently - and it has the same meaning as "dissing."…

I feel like I keep talking about this hellish weather all the time. For the couple of days, I've been disgustingly sweaty, and I've had trouble sleeping at night. I've had enough! I want to tell this summer weather to go away. 最近、この地…

It's too hot and humid today, isn't it? Some of you might not be feeling well with this weather. If you say that you're under the weather, you mean that you feel a bit sick. 今日は暑くて、ムシムシしてますね。こんな天気だと、体調を崩してい…

Summertime is here, which means that the sunshine is in full swing. I normally don't pay much attention to the sun, but in summer, I feel that the sun is certainly above us - and that we're living under the sun. 夏ですね。日差しも本気モー…

The word "ya" is what got me into learning English. "Ya" is the informal way of saying "you", and it's spelled the way it's oftentimes spoken in casual conversation. I was thirteen when I first found that word. I looked it up in the dictio…

Green means go. Yes, I'm talking about traffic lights. You can actually use that colored light in everyday conversation. 「青は進め」、です。そう、信号機のことです。実は、日常会話の中で、「青信号を出す」という表現があるんです。 ・give some…

I've recently noticed that a lot of people use "if I was" when using the subjunctive mood. After doing some research, I've found out that it's more informal and colloquial to say "I was". Language changes over time, which is always interes…

Two years into the pandemic, social distancing has become a part of our everyday lives. For many, it's torturous; for me, it's kind of comfortable. Why? Because I now have a reason to keep space between myself and other people without offe…

昨日、"go apeshit"（激怒する、興奮する、我を忘れる）について書いていたとき、ふとこう思いました。 「動物の名前のうしろに"shit"をつける表現がまだ他にもあるな」、と。 およそ役には立たない英語ばかりが頭に浮かんできます。 こういう英語がおもしろ…

今回のテーマは、"ape"です。 "ape"という単語を見ると、次のような疑問がきまって沸いてきます。 「”ape"と"monkey"の違いってなに？」 "ape" しっぽがない（あっても非常に短い） 体が大きい ゴリラやチンパンジー、オラウータンなどを指す "monkey" しっ…

夏のくだものといえば、みなさんは何を思い浮かべますか？ 「すいか」という答えが断トツでしょうか。 その他には、もも、なし、ぶとうもありますよね。 バナナもそのうちのひとつ。 夏の季語なんだそうです。 季語であろうとなかろうと、この時期に海へ行く…

前回に引き続き、「be動詞」です。 「be動詞」は、主語によって使い分けます。 別の言い方をすれば、それぞれの主語には、決まった相棒がいる、ということです。 主語が"I"の場合："am"が相棒 主語が"You/We/They"の場合："are"が相棒 主語が"He/She"の場合…

人に何かを教える。 むずかしいですよね。 例えば、英語の「be動詞」。 「どんな場合に使うんですか？」 そう質問されたら、簡潔に答えられるかどうか。 無理だなぁ。 きっと、具体的な例をひとつひとつ、ダラダラと挙げていくんじゃないかしら。 こういうと…

森鷗外があの世へと旅立ってから、今月で100年だそうです。 その記事を新聞で読んでいて、鷗外を一冊も読んでいないことにふと思いあたりました。 ―ああ、そういえば『そめちがへ』という短編があったな。 早速読んでみました。 全11ページ。15分あれば読み…

天中殺ですよ、暗剣殺ですよ、厄年ですよ、八方塞がりですよ、なんて言われれば、突然不運に見舞われても腑に落ちる。 それじゃあ仕方がないな、とあきらめがつく。 不本意であっても、受け入れられる。 反対に、理由らしい理由もなく、突然に不運に見舞われ…

映画『バック・トゥ・ザ・フューチャー』でお気に入りなのは、主人公マーティを追いかけ回すいじめっ子ビフとそのお仲間が、車ごと肥やしの山に突っ込むシーン。 突入する直前に、"Shiiiiiitttt!"（クソー！）っとわめくのがおもしろい。 "Shit"というセリフ…

どうしてこんなにうしろにあるんだろう、ってみんな思うんですって。 中学だとか高校だと、クラス替えの日に、名簿が玄関に貼り出されるんだけど、私の名前がうしろのほうにあるもんだから、疑問に思うんだって。 【さんかく】のはずなのに、位置がおかしい…