Monthly Archives: March 2011

31 Mar

couch surfing and muffin top

Who taught : Jessy

muffin top (source: http://everythingarie.wordpress.com/)

Hello, my friends! Where are you now? I am not just asking whether you are at home, office, or somewhere else. I am asking where you are sitting in. Are you in your chair or couch?

When Jessy and I moved into the current apartment one and half years ago, we decided to buy a sofa. It is pretty long one. Ever since that time, we have spent a lot of time in the sofa, reading, watching TV, talking, eating and sometimes sleeping. Don’t you think we, people, do spend long hours in sofa, or couch, doing a lot of things? I am glad that I invested a little bit more money for the sofa than I usually spend on things. I now strongly believe it’s worth it.

A few months ago, we were sitting in the sofa as usual and Jessy asked me a question, “Hey! Do you know what ‘muffin top’ means?” “You are not talking about the top of a muffin, are you?” said I. And she said, “Of course not! It is an expression.” It was hard for me to come up with the meaning of it. She said, “It is the fat that are pushed out at the top of one’s pants. Mainly when people wear tight jeans.” “Huh! What a great one! That is awesome,” said I.

And, a few days ago, watching NBC Nightly news, I heard Brian Williams was talking about new expressions that were newly added into Oxford English Dictionary. Do you know what is one of them? That’s right. It is muffin top. Are you curious what else were added?

1. OMG (Oh My God!)

2. FYI (For Your Information!)

3. LOL (Laugh Out Loud)

4. couch surfing (?????)

This number 4 was new to me. What the hack is couch surfing? Is it like people physically trying to surf on couch for fun or what? So, I looked it up and Urban Dictionary says….

A cheap form of lodging used mainly by college-students or recent college-grads, where one stays on acquaintance’s couches rather than a hotel.

Have you ever done couch surfing? Why is it surfing? Shouldn’t it be like couch lodging or couch settling?

The world is continuously changing. There are new words and old words. They are coming and going. You should keep abreast of those new expressions. In that sense, Oxford Dictionary is way slower than Urban Dictionary. 🙂

By the way, today’s post is 200th one. I feel like I hit a milestone. It took me one year and one month to reach 200th. At this time, I would like to thank you for your support and help, my friends. Hope I can really help your English and to see you more often here! Have a great day!

28 Mar

bucket list

Who taught: Deb

bucket list (source: http://www.imdb.com/)

Two months ago, Jessy and I were invited to Dave and Deb’s house. Deb showed us her house. As we walked into the kitchen, we saw some pictures of beautiful places. One of them caught my eyes. It was the picture of a resort in Bora Bora, Philippines. So, I asked her why the picture is there. She said, “Dave and I really enjoy traveling and, one day, Dave was reading a newspaper and found that place. As we see the picture together, we decided to put it into our bucket list.”

As we heard her saying, “bucket list,” we were like, “What? What is bucket list?” She said, “Oh! That is an expression we use to refer to the things that people want to do before they die, mostly, in relation to places to visit before they die.”

Ever since we got to know that expression, we have heard the expression from our friends. More importantly, I have used it when I talk about going to Europe, especially to Paris, to my friends.

Once again, I was curious about its origin. When I first heard it, I thought the expression totally makes sense because people put things in a bucket. Putting the list of items into your bucket is so perfect to mean having something to do in a bucket before dying.

But, I found this very interesting resource, this wikipedia page.

As you may find from the page, there are mainly three theories with regard to its etymology. I am very leaning toward the first theory which says the expression, kick the bucket, is from the usage of a bucket for suicide or execution by hanging. What do you think? What is your choice? Knowing the origin of the expression, I now do not really like to use “bucket list.”

Anyway, what do you have in your bucket list? I think, this Thursday, I will scratch out one of them, buying a house. Wait, buying a house can be included in a bucket list?

Deb also told me that there is a movie called, “Bucket List.” I think I should watch it. Is there anybody who wants to watch it together with us? It’s a date.

25 Mar

love handles

Who taught: Ari, Alex and Jean

Love handles (source: http://www.opposingviews.com/)

There are two coffee places I love to go and spend time in Pittsburgh, more specifically, in Squirrel Hill. They are 61c Cafe and Commonplace coffee shop. Soon, these locations could be changed to be some other places in my new neighborhood that I will move in, I guess. A few weeks ago, I was in Commonplace, working on grading. All of a sudden, Ari and Alex came in. As soon as Ari saw me, she said, “Hey! Terry! We were just talking about you. You know why?”

“Why? I do not know. So, why did you talk about me?” said I. She said, “Because we were kind of arguing about the etymology of an expression that we just talked about.” And, she continued, “Terry! You know what ‘love handles’ mean, right?” “I think I know. Isn’t it a little bit of fat that people have around their waist area?” said I.

She said, “Good! Now, what do you think about its etymology?” “Hmm… I think it is called to be love handes… Because….. Because… a couple usually hold on to those area when they walk? Don’t you think?” said I. Ari then said, “That’s exactly what I guessed but Jean and Alex were so confident that it has to be related with the act of making love.”

Who am I? So, I did some research about its etymology. Well, not so lucky again. Some people say that it is from the act of making love, or sex. Their argument is that people really hold on to that area, especially when they make love. It makes sense. But, it is also true that a couple usually hold on to that area when they walk or, I don’t know, maybe when they hug. It is a path to butt. People go from the top to the butt and waist is in the middle. Man, I think I am going too far. Let’s not go there.

But, you should definitely check this out. This urban dictionary entry for love handles is crazy. You should read the first one. This guy says, “I LOVE those extra curves and places to hold that feel soft in my hands, OH YEAH.” What a feeling to have!! 🙂

Jessy and I are so skinny that we do not have love handles. We are lack of love handles, Darn!

How about you guys? Do you like to hold on to love handles? Lucky you!

23 Mar

on the ball

Who taught: Kathy

On the ball (source: http://www.choicehow.com)

One more week! Then, I will become a homeowner for the first time in my life. Not sure whether it is a good thing or not because many of my friends have told me, “Terry! You are getting yourself into a series of troubles but it is kind of fun.” I kind of get what they mean but it is still pretty exciting. About a month ago when I first singed on the sales agreement, I felt like I am just buying a thing, which is true. The only difference from the things I have ever bought so far is that I cannot take it with me. It is kind of irony. Isn’t it? Buy something that cannot be taken with you. Well, as time goes by to get closer to the closing date which is March 31, 2011, I feel that this is real. That house is mine and I will live in it soon.

But, it has not been just simple. Ever since I signed on the sales agreement, I have been very busy with home inspection and documents preparation, etc. What can I say? Nothing is easy in the world! During the process, I have been keeping in touch with a few different people and one of them is Kathy who works for my mortgage company. A few days ago, she asked me to buy a home insurance and keep her informed as the last step. So, I did it and sent an email where I put quote number and name and phone number of the sales agent I talked to, etc.

A few hours later, she sent me a response. It was very short. She said, “Boy! You are on the ball.”

When I first read it, I thought I was able to understand what she meant but not sure whether my feeling was right or not. One thing I can say, though, my feeling about a new expression is getting better and better. 🙂 So, my first feeling about the expression, on the ball, was “I am doing good.” To find out whether I am right or not, I googled it. Here is the meaning of the expression! “Well-informed and be in complete control.”

But, the more important part is its etymology. Where is it from? Doing my research, I found this forum in which you can find a lot of different stories about its origin. I will leave it up to your discretion. Being a huge soccer fan, my choice is that it is from soccer just like a English guy’s argument. Baseball is too small to have a feeling of being on the ball. Soccer ball is big enough to have my foot be on the ball. Hence, I can totally imagine that I am in full control over the ball by putting my foot on the soccer ball. I am sure you would have the same feeling if you’ve ever played soccer.

What do you think?

21 Mar

chip in

Who taught: Rachel, Emily, Liz and Nadire

Chips (source: http://www.donotyet.com/)

Spring is here! Yesterday was warm and beautiful in Pittsburgh. How about where you are? Hope you enjoy a lot today!

Today’s story is Nadire’s. If I remember correctly, she is from Turkey and has been in the U.S. for only a month. She lives with Rachel, Emily and Liz. A few days ago, they decided to have a small party at home. As Emily prepared the party, Nadire asked Emily, “Hey, Emily! Is there anything I need to do or bring?” “No, not really! Maybe if you can chip in with a bottle of wine, that would be great but do not worry about it too much,” said Emily. It is a very typical answer, right? Nothing special or hard for you, my American friends. A few hours later, Rachel saw bunch of chips and asked Emliy, “What are these chips? I do not think we bought them.”

I guess you probably realize it now. That is right. When Nadire heard Emily saying, “chip in,” she thought Emily want her to buy chips for the party. FYI, “chip in” means “contribute money or labor.” I think it is from the usage of chips for gambling. At least, that is my feeling about its etymology but I might be wrong.

Anyway, this is very possible. Nadire! If you get to read this post, do not worry about it too much. I have been here in the U.S. for about 5 years and I still have the same issue you just experienced. It will take time and you need patience. And also, most of all, you need to ask a lot of questions. In my case, whenever I am with my American friends, I do ask a lot of questions to them about expressions they use. Rachel and Emily said they now realize that native English speakers use a lot of expressions that might be hard for non-native English speakers to understand.

Admitting that you are a non-native English speaker and asking a lot of questions is the most important step to take to be able to learn new expressions. A lot of times, non-native English speakers are afraid of what native English speakers would think if they ask questions about expressions. They would think I am stupid. I think that thought itself is more stupid. If someone who is non-native Korean speaker would try to learn Korean, asking many questions, I would really do my best to explain expressions to them.

So, be always open to learn and ask questions to learn new expressions and probably use them later. I now get to use some of the expressions I learned from my friends. I feel very thrilled when I use them to my friends who taught them to me. I am sure they are proud of me too. Learning new things is so much fun. Keep up your good work, Nadire!