FNL!! Friday Night LIVE ~ November 2, 2012

Another FIVE great English expressions!

Happy-go-lucky

He’s a happy-go-luck guy! He’s a carefree guy. He is a jovial guy^^

To be happy-go-lucky means to be happy…all the time! And they say, that being happy attracts luck! However, don’t let your happiness blind you! The more “carefree” people become, the more they need to be careful!!!

You all set?

You all ready? You ready to go?

This expression comes from the 100 meter race! The race starter says, “Ready….set…go!” When the guy says “ready”, the runners go to the start line—they’re shaking their legs to prepare for the race and they begin to kneel down. When the starter says “set” they get into the starting position and freeze—they are ready to TAKE OFF like a rocket! And when the starter says “go” he shoots his starting pistol and the runners RUN!  SO, in daily English, we say, “You all set?” If yes, then we say, “Let’s go!”

To feel slighted

To feel left out, to feel cheated, to feel hurt…

When people don’t invite you, you might feel slighted. If someone doesn’t compliment you on a good job, you might feel slighted. If someone doesn’t recognize you but you recognize them, you might feel slighted. If your mom gives your brother a cookie but she doesn’t give YOU a cookie, you might feel slighted^^ 

When was the last time you felt slighted? Why?

She can’t stand him…

She hates him. She wants nothing to do with him. She despises him. She finds him repulsive.

The dictionary usually says that “can’t stand” means “cannot endure/tolerate”. Well, that’s not completely wrong, BUT it more commonly means HATE. It’s a VERY strong expression—especially when you say it about another person. Does this dialog sound polite?

A: What are you eating?

B: I’m eating dried squid. Do you want some?

A: NO! I can’t stand squid!

“B” is being VERY rude!! However, we do use this expression a lot. Especially when talking about politicians, food, entertainers… Is there anyone YOU can’t stand? Who is it and why?

That’s pie country!

That area is famous for pies. That region is well-known for its delicious pies!

Do you like pies? I grew up with my mom’s homemade apple pies^^ They were always SUPER delicious. Especially ala mode!  Store-bought and bakery-bought pies are okay, but homemade pies are the best. Homemade ANYTHING is best. And different parts of the country (Korea, the US, France, etc.) have different specialties, right? What area do you live in? Is there a specialty? Maybe a food? Or a special product? Maybe a special sport?

Colorado is ski country.

Northern Wisconsin is fishing country.

Idaho is potato country.

Texas is oil country.

What about your country? Make several examples^^

Six GREAT English Expressions~

I got a little distracted

To “get distracted” means to “lose your focus or concentration”. When there is loud music playing, can you study? Probably not. The music is distracting you. You are distracted by the music. You get distracted by music. What else distracts you? When I drive, I prefer that no one talk to me because I don’t want to get distracted. However, the radio does not distract me^^ When I am typing this lesson, please don’t ask me questions—that would distract me!

Tell us what or who distracts you the most. When you read, try to sleep, watch TV, drive…

Out of the blue

All of the sudden, suddenly, out of the clear blue, out of the clear blue sky, unexpectedly

If something happens “out of the blue”, it happens suddenly. The idea is that “something suddenly fell from the sky” and you didn’t realize it “until it was IN YOUR FACE!” 

Would this be possible?

           I won the lottery out of the blue.

No, not possible. In order to win the lottery, you must buy a ticket. Therefore you “prepared to win” the lottery so the winning was not sudden.

However…

           I bought a lottery ticket out of the blue.

That’s possible—it means that SUDDENLY, with no plan or intention, you decided to buy a lottery ticket^^

Typical things that happen out of the blue are:

Accidents

Getting sick or dying

Meeting people

Hearing shocking news

Has anything “out of the blue” happened to you recently?

I’m in awe of ~

To be “in awe of something” means to have deep respect for something (or someone). The feeling is not only respect, but also has a bit of fear and/or wonder, too. 

I’m in awe of his intellect.

I’m in awe of his power.

I’m in awe of his strength.

I’m in awe of his linguistic ability.

I’m in awe of his wealth.

I’m in awe of its usefulness. (My iPhone!)

I’m in awe of its ruggedness. (My jeep)

I’m in awe of its snobbishness. (My cat)

 Are you in awe of anyone or anything? Tell us!

He works out

He exercises, he keeps in shape, he lifts weights, he runs/jogs…

Do you work out? We all NEED to work out—at least a little. A short walk is better than nothing. For “lazy” people, try getting off the bus or the subway a stop early. Those 5 to 10 minutes of walking will really help^^

What kind of exercise do you do?

I go hiking on the weekends.

I run three days a week.

I do yoga.

 If you don’t exercise, why not?

I don’t exercise because I don’t have enough time.

I don’t exercise because I’m too lazy.

I don’t exercise because I’m already in good shape.

If you had the time, what kind of exercise would you love to do?

If I had the time, I would love to train for a triathlon.

If I had the time, I would like to swim before work.

If I had the time, I would love to play ping pong!

We ran out of ~

If you “run out of A”, you don’t have any more A. You are temporarily out of A. You sold (ate/used/consumed) all of you A, but you will get more^^

Are you out of anything?

I ran out of ketchup. I need to go to the store.

I need to buy gas before I run out.

The store ran out of strawberries. I’ll have to go back tomorrow.

Fill this out

“fill this out” and “fill this in” are BASICALLY the same. They both mean—write down the information asked. However, if we get picky… “to fill something out” means that you should write more information whereas “to fill something in” means that you only need to “fill in the blanks”.

Which test would you prefer: a “fill in” test or a “fill out” test? If you prefer SHORT ANSWERS, you only need to fill in the blanks. If you prefer ESSAYS, you must fill out the answers^^

It’s easy to remember:

“out”…outside…far…distant…a long way…a lot…Write A LOT^^

“in”…inside…a small area…a little…Write A LITTLE^^

When do you “fill something out”?

When do you “fill something in”?

8 Great English Expressions You Should Know^^

A tune-up

A tune-up is a check up for your car—oil change, fluid check, tire check, lights… They say you should get a tune-up every 5,000 kilometers or about every 3 months. What about for your body? You should check that, too. But we don’t call a “body check” a “tune-up”, we call it a “check-up”^^ When’s the last time you went in for a tune-up? What about a check-up? What about a dental check-up?

When’s the last time you got a tune-up?

My car needs a tune-up.

You should get your car tuned up before going on a long trip.

Tune-ups are pretty inexpensive.

What gets done when you get a tune-up?

He makes a fortune

he makes a ton, he hauls it in, he’s rolling in dough…he makes a lot of money!:

How much is a fortune? A million dollars? A monthly salary of 10,000 dollars? The definition is relative—to a pizza delivery boy, $2000 dollars might be a fortune. But to a Wall Street banker, $2000 is just a nice dinner. Have you made your fortune? How will you make your fortune?

He made a fortune on stocks.

He lost a fortune in the market.

My watch cost me a fortune.

Living in Seoul costs a fortune.

Fixing my car is gonna cost a fortune.

I got a little distracted

I lost my ability to focus/concentrate

When we are driving down the road and we see an accident, most people get distracted. They pay TOO much attention to the accident and NOT enough attention to driving—they might cause another accident. What sorts of things distract you? (think about when you are trying to study or when you are driving) Bright lights? Loud noises? Inconsistant noises? Kids? Laughing? Coughing? Yawning? Smells?

His knuckle-cracking is so distracting.

I got distracted by the noise.

The accident distracted me.

It’s hard to distract me.

I never get distracted.

I always get distracted.

She complains that I distract her.

Don’t distract me! I’m trying to ~~

I’m not tuned in to ~~

To be oblivious to something~~ to be unaware of something~~ to not pay (enough) attention to something

Shane’s not tuned in to the K-pop culture.

I’m not tuned in to what’s going on in the world.

I’m not tuned in to other people’s needs.

He’s not tuned in to the emotional side of himself.

I gotta go~

I gotta run.

I’m going to have to hang up. We use this expression when we want to STOP talking on the phone^^

**“I gotta go” can also mean: I have to leave and I have to go to the bathroom!

Hold it

Hold on, wait a sec, wait a second, keep your pants on, just a minute/second, wait up…

Another great expression when you need a little extra time. You can use it when you are looking for something, when you want to move something, when you want to check something…and many other situations^^

I'm getting too old for this stuff.

This means you are not good at “this stuff” anymore. It could also mean you are too mature for this stuff. In my case, I don’t enjoy video games anymore. I used to really like them when I was a kid. But, I guess I’m getting too old for video games… However, I do love to play baseball, but whenever I play baseball; I am not fast enoughL Maybe I’m getting too old for baseball! When my boss tells me that I have to "go for a second round after a company dinner", I say "Can't! I'm way to old for that shit!" What about you? Are you too old for anything?

I’m getting too old to play baseball.

I’m getting too old for video games.

You’re never too old to go hiking^^

You’re too old to be drinking all night.

You’re too old for these Speedos. Too fat, too.

You left the keys in the car?

You forgot the keys in the car?

What a nightmare!! You arrive at your office and you realize you forgot your keys to your desk! You arrive at home and you realize you left your keys in the office! You get to the bus stop and you find out you left your wallet at home! You leave in the morning, it’s raining, and you realize you left your umbrella on the subway!! ARGHHH! Are you forgetful? Do you leave things lying around? Are you absentminded? What things do you commonly lose or forget? How do you make yourself remember? Leave some examples~~

I always forget to bring my ~ with me.

I always forget to take my ~ with me.

I always leave my ~ at home!

I sometimes leave my ~ at the office.

Once I left me ~ in a taxi.

Daily English Dictation 88 & Listening Comprehension

Five Great English expressions you should know^^

I can’t get enough ~

If you can’t get enough of something, it means that you want more and more and MORE! There could NEVER be too much! You love it~

I can’t get enough of her loving~

I can’t get enough chocolate~

I could never get enough money~~

I could never eat enough chicken~

I could never do enough shopping~~

Please give us some examples of your own^^

To turn A in…to tell on A

Both of these expressions are very similar. They both me to INFORM someone in authority (power) like your mom or the police that A has done something wrong.  The difference is basically to whom are you informing. If we “turn A in”…it almost always means “to the police”. And, “to tell on A” almost always means you are telling your mom or the teacher^^ So, for a serious crime, you should inform the police—you should turn the bad person in. If your little sister lies or steals your pencil, you don’t need to turn her in, but it’s fun to tell on her^^

When was the last time you “told on someone”? Have you ever turned anyone in?

Lost his temper

Shane lost his temper. Shane got mad/pissed. Shane flew off the handle. He blew a gasket. He lost his cool. He blew his top! He went ape! He went ballistic~ He hit the roof/ceiling. He went out of his gourd! He flipped out.

They’re all the same. Do you have many expressions like this in your language? What sorts of things make you lose your temper?

Bad drivers make me lose my temper.

My boss makes me lose my temper.

Too much nagging makes me lose my temper.

Loud kids make me lose my temper^^

When you lose your temper, how do you calm yourself down?

Pathetic…pitiful…poor

In many dictionaries, these words have the same meaning, but in daily American English, we use them differently.

When we say “pathetic”, we mean “despicable” or “vile” or “sordid”. It’s a VERY negative word. When we say “pitiful”, we usually mean “dismal”, “inadequate” or “wretched”. If something is pitiful, its condition is very bad. Finally, when we say “poor” we usually mean “lacking”, “needy” or “very unfortunate”. Something that is poor deserves our compassion.

Test time: Which word is best?

An injured puppy…

The people living near Fukishima that refuse to leave…

Children wanting to have plastic surgery…

Are we still on?

This short, simple expression means “Are we still going to meet?” We use this expression to CONFIRM that a promise/plan that we made with you has NOT changed.

We’re still on for Friday night, right? You haven’t changed your mind.

Are we still on Friday? Nothing came up?

Are we still on for next week? Has there been a change in plans?

Remember, because of the word “still”, this expression is used to confirm an already established plan!

Daily English Dictation 78 & Listening Comprehension