English Video Lessons and Vocabulary

giving your attention

english — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:46:52 +0000

There are other idioms that mean the same thing as “giving your attention”: - Paying attention to someone - Focusing one’s attention on someone - Directing one’s attention towards someone These phrases do not mix. “Paying attention on someone” is a mistake. You pay attention to someone.

FINGERS WERE MADE BEFORE FORKS

english — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:37:43 +0000

FINGERS WERE MADE BEFORE FORKS – an excuse for picking up food with your fingers at table. Mother: Put that chicken wing back on your plate and eat it properly, with a knife and fork. Child: But Mom, fingers were made before forks. I don’t see why it’s considered bad manners to eat with ...Read the Rest

Synonym of the expression ‘BE FROM

english — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:03:42 +0000

Synonym of the expression ‘BE FROM’: - He is from NY= - He comes from Paris. - He hails from Brazil.

all walks of life

english — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:30:31 +0000

ALL WALKS OF LIFE – all social, economic and ethnic groups; different levels of society. People from all walks of life, who care and want change took to the streets. They came from all walks of life, from different parts of the world, to share their thoughts, their sorrow, their cynicism. People from all walks of life voted ...Read the Rest

toe the line

english — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:09:40 +0000

toe the line – to do what you are ordered or expected to do. Not everyone was happy with the plan, but most of us toed the line. Usage notes: sometimes used with a noun describing whose orders are being followed: They promised to toe the party line and vote with the leadership.

Hey! Your fly is undone

english — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:05:37 +0000

“Hey! Your fly is undone!” (North American English) “Hey! Your flies are undone!” (British English)

Tooth and nail

english — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:20:31 +0000

Tooth and nail = with every available resource; with unrelenting effort. “They fought for a new shirt tooth and nail”.

To cook up

english — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:29:20 +0000

To cook up: to make up, invent Usage: The students cooked up an excuse to explain their absence from school.

how come

english — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:48:28 +0000

-HOW COME/-WHY How come means the same as WHY but keep an eye on the sentence order in questions:HOW COME it’s an informal way to say ‘Why’. -How come YOU ARE sad? -Why ARE YOU sad? -How come you’re leaving? -Why are you leaving?

picture perfect

english — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:16:45 +0000

If something is “picture perfect,” it is completely flawless (without mistake). Example: “The pilot made a picture perfect landing.” At last, everything was picture perfect. It was a picture-perfect party table last night.

Nature’s call

english — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:30:04 +0000

Nature’s call The feeling you get when you have to go to the bathroom. the need to use the toilet Guy 1: Dude, where you going so fast? Guy 2: Nature calls! I awoke to nature’s call in the middle of the night.

ajar

english — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:03:23 +0000

ajar meaning: Slightly open or almost closed: (a door). e.g: this door is ajar, and there is a chilly draught coming from it

to feel like a kid in a candy store

english — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:58:54 +0000

to feel like a kid in a candy store – to feel very excited about where you are or a situation that you are in: I felt like a kid in a candy store at the literature festival. They had a great selection of hard-to-find books and great prices.

dog ear – dog-eared

english — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:42:59 +0000

Dog ear – to turn down the corner of a book page to mark your place before closing the book. Dog-eared – worn and shabby looking as in a book that has had its pages repeatedly turned down.

go bananas

english — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:14:56 +0000

go bananas to go mildly crazy. — Sorry, I just went bananas for a minute. I thought he was going to go bananas. to become very angry . — She’ll go bananas if she sees the room in this state. to become very emotional. — I just went bananas when she told me she wanted to move ...Read the Rest