Tag Archives: stan

22 Jun

skid down the street

Correction (June/23/2010) : The expression is “Skipping down the street.”

Who taught: Pat and Stan

Lightning bugs

One of the things I find very pleasing in the U.S. is lightning bugs. I remember I saw many of them in Korea when I was young. But, as most of the cities become very industrialized, the number of lightning bugs decreased and eventually they are all gone, I think. But, in Pittsburgh, there are so many of them you can see this time of the year, which makes me want to take a walk at night. When I say so many, I really mean it. As you walk, you can easily catch them and they are not afraid of people at all. Considering the fact that Pittsburgh is the 22nd biggest metropolitan area, it is really amazing to see that many of lightning bugs. I feel like I am looking at fireworks every night. Speaking of lightning bugs, there is a story related with them in Korea. In the old days, people catch and put them into some sort of jar to use as a light to save the cost of buying oils. I am not sure how far back it goes, though. Does anybody know, if you happen to be a Korean reader of this blog?

This morning, I met Pat and Stan on my way to the office. As always, I said to them, “How are you?” with my happy face. (I mean I am really happy all the time. There are so many things I am grateful for.) Then, Pat told me, “T-Bone, You look so happy.” “Yeah, It is Tuesday, not Monday. Isn’t it so good?” I said. Then, Pat said, ” Man, you are skidding down the streets.”

Well, I did not quite get it. I had to ask, “Skidding down the streets? What does it mean?” Pat said, “Well, you know, people are skidding or sliding down the streets when they are happy. Think about the way of sliding the streets!”

Well, that is right! It is another way of describing that you are quite happy or excited. So, are you going to skid down the streets to work tomorrow? You should because you have got something to work on today!

15 Jun

PUN series 1

Who taught : Andrew, Jake, Stan, Carol and Pat

First of all, you should read today’s post really carefully because it is hard for non-native English speakers to understand.

One day, Andrew wanted to ask a question to Jean. He said, “Jean, can I interrupt you for a sec?” As soon as she heard the question, Jean said, “Oh, I have not started my flow yet.” Following Jean’s answer, there was a pause for a few seconds because they all did not know what to say. Do you know why? Well, when Jean said it, she meant her work flow. She was saying that she did not really get into a specific work now so that Andrew can ask the question to her. But, the sentence Jean used has a different meaning for women.

It could mean that a woman is not having her period yet even though it is about the time that she is supposed to have menstruation. Similar expression is “shark week.” So, if any woman says that “it is my shark week,” then you should be careful. Although I doubt any woman would say that to you if you are a guy unless you are her husband or something. So, basically this kind of expression is called “PUN.”

The official definition of PUN is :

a clever and amusing use of a word or phrase with two meanings, or of words with the same sound but different meanings.

pun cartoon

There is a story Andrew told me today which is another perfect example of PUN.

When he was young, his father was coaching basketball in a school. Whenever there is a practice, they were using balls owned by Andrew’s father. The practice was done in a court where all of the other students were also using. One day, the practice was done and his father was talking to the students. But then, his mother realized that there were some missing balls. She looked around to find them but was not able to find them. So, she thought that maybe the other students were using a few of her missing balls. To make sure, she approached the male students who were practicing in the court and asked, “Hey boys! Have you seen balls with Cox on them?” Do you get it? Well, if you are native English speakers, I am sure you get it. But I am also almost 100% sure you would not get it if you are non-native English speakers. So, Andrew’s last name is Cox and of course his father wrote down his last name on the balls. “Cox” on the balls! Now, pronounce “Cox”! Can you feel it? What? you can’t… OK, here is the thing! There is a word which has very similar pronunciation but different meaning. It is “Cock.” Well, the word usually means rooster. But for some reason, it also means penis. Again, I became so curious why people decided to use the word, cock, to mean penis. Here is what I found from the WikiAnswer.

A penis is called a cock because it is said to resemble a bird, and because the rooster is a symbol of masculinity in some cultures. Similarly, in Spanish a penis is commonly called a pajaro (bird), a pavo (turkey), or a polla (chicken). Perhaps the most bird-like penises are those that tend to tilt or curve slightly southward when erect (similar to the natural curvature of a rooster neck and head), the pubic hair at the base of the penis could also be said to resemble the ring or collar of feathers displayed by some roosters. The large wattles (i.e. the fleshy sack) that form on both turkeys and some roosters can also be said to resemble a man’s scrotum.

Isn’t it very interesting to know the origin?

Can you now understand why the sentence that Andrew’s mother used to the boys would be so funny? Yeah, that is right. They would be thinking like, “Well…. I think I have seen them but should I show them to you right now?”, in their minds. (You know, they are all boys and it is not a surprise that they have balls and Cocks.)

What a funny thing to learn, PUN! Well, there is another story related with PUN. I will amuse you with that later. 🙂

27 May

on your soapbox

Who taught: Jake and James

These days, James and I are working on the same project. It is really fun to work with other coworkers, sharing ideas and talking about different approaches to solve any issues. Today, there were some requests from the customer. As we work on the items, James and I were sending emails to them and ccing each other. I sent an email with the status regarding an item and, a few minutes later, he sent an email and, in his email, he started with the expression, “To add to that, …….”, referring to my status update. And, a few minutes later, as I finished one of the other items, I sent an email, starting with the expression, “Above that,….” After the email, James pinged me and taught me that he would use the other expression, “on top of that”, instead of “above that.” “To describe a situation when something is stacking up, ‘on top of that’ is correct,” he said. Well, I was kind of confused because I always thought “above that” is the same as “on top of that.” And the literal translation into Korean of the two expressions is exactly same. Well, again, this kind of subtle difference is something I have a hard time. But, it is good because I am learning from my mistakes. (As long as they are not really huge and critical ones to make. I hope I do not make those in the future.)

At around 4:30 pm today, Stan and I started to talk about a woman outside. (FYI, Stan and I are sitting right beside window so that we can see outside.) She was surrounded by some other people and it almost looked like she was trying to teach them. Suddenly, one expression that I learned from Jake the other day came to my mind, “get on your soapbox.” “Yeah, she looks like she gets on her soapbox,” I said. Stan was surprised by the expression I used. “Wow, that is really perfect one to describe her. Nice!”

The simple definition of the expression is : Someone is expressing his/her opinions openly.

soapbox

If you hear its etymology, you will have a better understanding about the expression. So, what is a soapbox? Let me guess! Do you now think about a small box which can contain soap? You know something you can find in your bathroom. Well, it is not that one. It is a wooden box where you can put bunch of soaps. Here is a picture for you! Think about a situation that someone is trying to get attention from other people to make a prompt presentation. You want to be taller than others. That’s why you are getting on a soapbox. But, remember! It does not mean that you need to literally get on a soapbox. The expression just describes someone is openly talking about something he/she strongly believes in. Now, what if someone becomes obnoxious, speaking about something stupid, what would/could you say to him/her? That is right! You can say, “Hey! Get off your soapbox!”