Slang/Idioms: go on, go down

Something weird is going on. Something weird is going down.

Here, both go on and go down mean happen. (Something weird is happening.)

A common casual greeting in English is "hey, what's going on?" or "hey, what's going down?" It's like saying "what's happening?" or "what's new (in your life)?"

If you come into a room, and your friends are looking angry, you could ask 'what's going on?' to learn more about the situation.

'Go down' is much more casual and slangy. 'Go on' is still casual, but is very widely used.

So what's going on in your life right now? Anything good going on? ^_^

Idioms: get on, be off, keep someone

Look at this short conversation.

Joe: Well, I'd better be off soon. I have a lot of work to finish...
Sue: Oh, of course. Don't let me keep you. I should be getting on myself.

These expressions, be off, keep someone and get on are casual expressions. They are often used when finishing conversations and saying goodbye.

be off and get on both mean 'leave/go'.
keep someone means 'stop someone from leaving' or 'make someone stay'. If I say 'don't let me keep you', I mean 'I know you're busy; please go if you need to go'.

He's off on another trip to London.

I'd better be off. I have to pick up my kids from school.

I don't want to keep you. I know you're busy.

Sorry to keep you all here so late, but we need to have a quick meeting.

Wow, look at the time... I must be getting on.

Slang: snark

snark can be a verb or noun.
snarky is the adjective

'snark' means to complain or criticise, usually in a snide or sarcastic way.

I enjoy getting snarky at some TV shows. Fashion magazines are famous for their snarky comments about famous people. Mean people snark behind their friends' backs.

How about you? What makes you snarky?

Idiom: count on somebody

If you can count on somebody or something, you can trust them. They are reliable.

I can count on my friends to help me if I'm in trouble. I can count on winter being cold. I can count on my friend Michelle to be late every time we meet.

If you can count on something, you can trust it. If you count on something, you depend on it, or need it.

A: Will you get paid tomorrow?
B: I hope so. I'm counting on it. (=I really need this money. I think it will come; if it doesn't come, I will be in trouble.)

A: I'll help you with your computer.
B: I'm counting on you. (=I trust you. I really need your help. Please do it.)

Who can you count on? Can your friends count on you?

Idioms: in a string of

If something is the latest in a line/string/series of something, it is the most recent in a series.

"Single Ladies" is the latest in a string of pop hits by Beyoncé.

He is the latest in a line of great company presidents.

The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks across the country.

This is often used when talking about news events.

If you say something is the "latest", the series might not have finished. For example, in the examples above, perhaps Beyonce will have more pop hits; perhaps there will be more great company presidents.

The last in a series means the series has finished.

"The Long and Winding Road" was the last in a long series of number 1 hits by the Beatles.

In Islam, Mohammed was the last in a line of the prophets of God.

Idioms: break down

Break down has several meanings. Let's look at a few (not all) of them.

If a computer or a car breaks down, it stops working and you cannot use it.

Here, broken-down can be used as an adjective. A broken-down car is a car in really bad condition - probably old, needs a lot of repair.

If a person breaks down, they give in to pressure. A person 'breaking down' can mean 'crying and getting really upset', or 'giving up'.

They had an argument and he broke down in tears.

I am so stressed I just want to break down and cry.

She wouldn't tell the police anything. But after hours of questioning, she broke down and confessed her crime.

If you 'have a break-down', it means you have some kind of emotional crisis; you collapse; you can't cope with the situation.

Have you ever had a machine break down? Have you ever broken down* while you were driving? What did you do? *(=Has your car ever broken down)

Have you ever broken down when you were under pressure? Or were you able to stay tough?

Vocabulary: cope

The verb cope means to manage, bear, deal with something difficult. If you can cope, you can do something, or accept something (although it is not easy). If you can't cope, it's too much for you.

I can't cope with my stressful job. =(My job is too stressful. I can't do it well; I feel upset and stressed.)

She coped well, caring for her two children, although they were poor. (She was able to look after her children without too many problems.)

The printer couldn't cope with the high number of requests. It broke down.

How about you? Do you cope well under pressure? Is there a person or thing in your life that you can't cope with?

Culture: scare quotes

Sometimes in English writing, double quotation marks " " will be used as 'scare quotes' to show a type of sarcasm or scepticism.

Why is this sarcastic? Let's look at some examples.

Trina's at home "doing her homework".

Why is 'doing her homework' in quotation marks? Probably, Trina said she was going to do her homework, so the writer is quoting her. But the writer knows she is not doing her homework - she's probably doing something not so innocent. Maybe she's with her boyfriend, or doing something she's not supposed to.

This new TV show provides "entertainment" for the whole family.

A TV show is usually a piece of entertainment. Here, 'entertainment' is in quotation marks, because the writer does not think the TV show is entertaining. Or perhaps the entertainment is very strange and the writer does not approve.

The "doctors" used "science" to "prove" their argument in this study.

Here are three scare quotes in one sentence. This shows the writer thinks the doctors may not be serious doctors, the science is not good science, and the proof is not strong. In summary, the writer really doesn't trust the study.

These quotes are also very common in conversation. A person speaking may make a gesture with their fingers (look at 'air quotes' on Google Images) to show quotation marks.

Thanks for all your "help". (here, the speaker gestures with their fingers).

This means the listener was not helpful.

So, you are quoting somebody else, but you are being sarcastic. The word in quotation marks is something you don't really believe.

Idioms: see eye to eye, see the light, see the error of one's ways

Let's look at some more 'seeing' idioms.

If you see eye to eye (or eye-to-eye) with someone, you agree with them. You have an understanding, a similar way of thinking.

I never saw eye to eye with my mother-in-law.

If you see the light, it means you suddenly realise something, and change your thinking. It suggests that before, you were deceived or ignorant - now you know the truth.

He used to think studying English was a waste of time. But now he's seen the light, and he studies ten hours a week.

There is a similar expression, see the error of one's ways, which means to realise your mistakes and change your thinking/behaviour.

He used to stay out until 3am every night. But now he's seen the error of his ways and he goes to bed early.

How about you? Who do you see eye-to-eye with? Is there a time when you saw the light and changed your old idea/dislike of something?

Idioms: see stars, see red

Let's look at some seeing idioms.

If you see stars, it means you are dizzy - probably because you hit your head.

It is common to see this in cartoons and comic books. Often, when a character gets hit in the head (for example, someone hits them with a hammer, or they run into a wall), they will see stars. The artist will draw little stars around their head, to show their confusion.

If you see red, however, it means you are angry.

This idiom might come from the sport of bull-fighting. When bulls see the red cape, they become very angry and lose control - they 'see red'.

What makes you see red? For me, liars make me see red. People who aren't fair really make me see red.

Vocabulary: reliable

The adjective reliable is used for something you can trust.

For example, a reliable train is always on time. A reliable person always keeps their promises and does their job well. A reliable computer doesn't break down.

The opposite is unreliable. An unreliable person forgets things, breaks promises. An unreliable car often breaks down.

Are you a reliable or unreliable person? Try taking this quiz:
1. Are you usually on time for appointments?
2. If you promise to lend a book to a friend, do you remember to bring it for them?
3. If your boss is away, do you continue to do your job well?
4. If somebody tells you a secret, do you keep the secret?
5. Do you remember important appointments and days?

If you mostly answered 'yes', you are reliable. ^_^

Hello!

Hi everyone! I hope you find this blog useful. I designed it for intermediate to advanced English students. I know right now there are not many readers. That's okay. ^_^

I just wanted to say some things:

Usually, at the end of each blog entry, I ask some questions. Please feel free to answer the question in the blog comments.

I am not a dictionary. I'm trying to explain things in a simple way, so sometimes my definition is not 100% perfect. Also, sometimes a word will have many different meanings, and I only explain one or two meanings. I don't want to give too much information in each entry. My goal is for my readers to easily read the blog and pick up some new vocabulary and idioms.

If you don't understand something, I encourage you to look it up in a dictionary or on the Internet. Find more examples of it!
Remember, when you search the Internet, you can search for a complete phrase using quotation marks. (For example, if you want to find the phrase come up with, type " " around "come up with". Otherwise, the search engine will look for any pages with "come", 'up", and "with", but maybe not all together.)
For visual things, I always recommend Google Images. ^_^

Please let me know if you have any feedback, or something you want me to explain.

Idioms: come up with, put up with

Come up with means to think of an idea or plan.

I'll try to come up with some good examples... ^_^

Can anybody come up with any better ideas?

I've come up with the perfect solution to our problem!

Put up with means to (unhappily) tolerate something you don't like very much.

I've been putting up with my roommate's snoring for a long time.

I can't put up with him any more. I have to break up with him.

How about you? Can you come up with any example sentences? What things or behaviour do you find difficult to put up with?

Slang: bitchy

Note: This slang can be rude, especially the noun. Do not use this in polite conversation.

The slang verb bitch means to complain about someone, or something. This complaining is usually in a petty or unkind way.

They're always bitching about their jobs.

Fashion magazines always bitch about famous people.

The adjective is bitchy, which means unkind, catty. This word is usually used to describe women, not men.

She made a lot of bitchy comments about Sarah, who wasn't at the meeting.

High school girls often act bitchy toward each other.

Finally, the noun is also bitch. This is used to describe a really nasty woman.

I can't believe she gossiped about me! What a bitch!

I hated those bitches I went to high school with.

Occasionally, someone will call their friend a bitch as a joke. But usually, this word is very insulting. I don't like hearing anybody use this word.

So you can see, it's not a nice word, but it's very common, and I'm sure you'll hear it in movies, books, and other places. ^_^

How about you? What do you often bitch about? When you were a teenager, were you ever bitchy to anybody?

Vocabulary: smile and frown

So you probably know the words smile :) and frown :( right?

Let's look at some more specific words to describe the type of smile or frown.

Hint: try going to Google Images and typing these words. You can see some good examples. If the noun does not work, try the verb. (For example, if you type 'grimace', you will get the McDonald's character. If you type 'grimacing', you will see the frown.)

Smile

If you smile in a sarcastic, snide way, you smirk. A smirking person might be feeling superior to other people. Often, a smirk has half the mouth turned up.

A grin is a cheerful, casual smile - wide mouth, often with teeth showing.

If you smile in a very bright and happy way, you beam. If you're beaming, it shows you are feeling very good.

Frown

If you scowl, you are showing your disapproval; you are annoyed. Maybe somebody said something you didn't like.

If you grimace, you are showing your disgust or pain or sympathy. A grimacing person creases up their face in an ugly way.

Quick quiz

1. If you are a bride on your wedding day, how do you smile?
2. How do you frown if your friend hurts himself?
3. How do you smile if your friend hurts himself (and you think it's funny)?
4. How do you smile when you meet a friend of a friend?
5. How do you frown when you make a mistake?
6. What kind of smile do you do for a camera?
7. How do you frown if somebody teases you?
8. How do you smile when you just got really good news?
9. How do you frown when somebody insults you?

Vocabulary: grouchy and grumpy

The words grouchy and grumpy have very similar meanings.

Both are used to describe a person's mood or personality. If someone is not positive; often complaining; often unhappy; not very friendly; kind of sour and frowning, they are grouchy or grumpy.

Do you know the Disney movie, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'? One of the dwarfs is called Grumpy. He is always grumbling (complaining) and not being friendly.

There is also a famous movie called 'Grumpy Old Men', about two grumpy old men... hahah... look for these movies and you will get a good picture of 'grumpy' or 'grouchy'.

Do you often get grumpy? What makes you feel grouchy? I'm usually grumpy in the morning... until my first cup of coffee. ^_^

Idioms: biting

Here are three idioms about biting. ^_^

Bite one's tongue means to say nothing; not react. You are stopping yourself from saying something angry or upset.

I was so angry at him, but I bit my tongue. (=I didn't say anything.)

As the customer continued complaining, the waitress had to bite her tongue.

Bite one's head off means to say something very angry without a good reason. This is common when a person is stressed.

I only asked her if she wanted a cup of tea, and she bit my head off. (=She said something very angry to me.)

'Okay, okay! You don't have to bite my head off.' (=Don't get so upset at me.)

Bite the bullet means to do something you are afraid of, or something unpleasant or unfamiliar.

My teeth hurt, so I have to bite the bullet and go to the dentist.

At first she was too nervous to ask questions in class. Finally she bit the bullet and raised her hand.

So, how about you? When do you have to bite your tongue? When was the last time you bit someone's head off? When was the last time you bit the bullet, and did something you didn't want to do?

Grammar: -ing verbs

This might be rather advanced grammar. Let's look at these sentences:

Being rather shy, he preferred not to join in the conversation.

I don't have much free time, working full-time.

Not wanting to cause trouble, I remained silent.

Here, the -ing verb means 'because ___'

So, here is the meaning of those sentences:

Because he was rather shy, he preferred not to join in the conversation.

I don't have much free time, because I work full-time.

Because I didn't want to cause trouble, I remained silent.

Sometimes the -ing phrase will include other words such as: 'like this', 'as I do', 'as I did', etc. The meaning is still the same.

I don't have much free time, working full-time as I do.

He should be ashamed, wasting time like that.

Wanting to help as she did, she waited for an opportunity.

The important thing to remember is that the subject will be the same in both parts of the sentence. For example, 'Waiting for her boyfriend, he was really late', doesn't make sense. We see that a woman is waiting, so you must continue the sentence talking about the woman. 'Waiting for her boyfriend, she was getting angry,' is okay.

As you know, -ing verbs can be used in many different ways, with different meanings. This is just one use.

Can you make a sentence using this grammar? For example, think of something that is difficult for you. For me, being lazy, I have trouble getting up in the morning. How about you?

Vocabulary: aspire

Today's vocabulary is useful for talking about dreams.

Aspire  is a verb. It means to try to achieve a goal, or hope to become something. We always say aspire to something.

When I was young, I aspired to be a writer. A lot of young people aspire to fame or wealth. A serious businessperson might aspire to leadership.

This is a little different from 'hope' or 'dream'. If you 'aspire', you are serious about it and want to work to reach your goal.

You can also use the adjective aspiring or the noun aspiration:

 She is an aspiring actress. (=She is hoping and trying to be an actress.)

I have a lot of aspirations: to be a singer, to be a good teacher, and one day, to be a good mother.

How about you? What do you aspire to? What were your aspirations as a child?

Idiom: off the top of one's head

If you think of an idea 'off the top of your head', you thought of it easily, without trying hard.

How many US Presidents can you list? Just off the top of my head, I can think of Lincoln, Washington, Obama, Bush x2, Kennedy, Clinton, Roosevelt... (That means, I very quickly thought of these names. I didn't have to try to remember. I didn't do any research.)

Off the top of my head, it's difficult to think of another example. ^_^

This expression also suggests that your answer is not complete or perfect.
"Do you have any ideas for games for the party?"
"Well... off the top of my head, I could give you a couple of ideas. But I'll think about it some more."

"Off the top of my head, I think we have about twelve days until the party."

How about you? How long is it until Christmas? Imagine you are buying a present for your best friend - what kind of gift does he/she like? Please answer 'off the top of your head'. ^_^

Vocabulary: that

I'm sure you know the word 'that'. This word has many uses. One meaning, used with a negative (don't, isn't, won't, etc), is 'so' or 'very'.

Australia gets cold in the winter, but not that cold. (=Australia gets cold in the winter, but not very cold.)

Sorry I can't help you. I don't have that much time today. (=I don't really have much time today.)

A: Aaarrgh!! We're going to die!!
B: Come on. It's not that bad.

This use of 'that' is rather casual. It's not that good in formal writing. ^_^

If you use 'that' with a positive expression, it often sounds very casual. It is more common to use 'that' with a negative expression.

I think I'm going to fail; my grades are that bad! (=My grades are so bad I think I'm going to fail.)

My job has been that crazy lately! (=My job has been really busy.)

How about you? Try making a sentence with 'that'. For example, 'English study is not that...?'

Idiom: go on

'Go on' has several different meanings. One meaning is 'talk too much'. If you go on about something, you talk about it a lot - because you are excited, enthusiastic or upset about it - although other people are not very interested.

When I was a child, I used to go on about video games. These days, I try not to go on too much about my interests.

This expression has a rather negative meaning.
'My friend was talking about his problems.'
'My friend was going on about his problems.'
In this second sentence, you are not very interested in their problems. You think they should talk less about their problems.

'go on and on' is even stronger. If your friend was going on and on about his problems, he was really talking for a long time!

Do you sometimes go on a bit? What do you go on about?

Idiom: behind someone's back

If you do something behind someone's back, you are doing it secretly, so they cannot see or hear you. This is usually used for unkind or sneaky behaviour.

For example, if a child goes to a party behind their parents' backs, the parents did not give permission. If an employee goes behind their boss' back, they do something the boss would not like, without asking the boss.

Another example: there are two teenage girls, Emily and Sarah. Emily is angry because Sarah talked about her behind her back. This means that Sarah pretended she was Emily's friend. However, secretly, she said mean things about Emily to their other friends.

When you were a teenager, did you ever go behind your parents' backs? Did you ever talk about a friend behind their back?