Monthly Archives: September 2011

28 Sep

literally

Who taught: Many friends, The Big Bang Theory and Alex

If you were in the U.S., one of the words you would hear very often is this word, “literally.”

The definition of literal is

Taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or allegory

Another definition is “free from exaggeration or distortion.”

A few days ago, Alex commented on my last post. He mentioned that there is a difference between literal speech and figurative speech. As I read his comment, the first word that came to my mind is this word, literally. You know why? It’s because of this TV show, The Big Bang Theory. In an episode where Penny was seeing this guy who is not as smart as the other guys in the show like Sheldon. I mean who can be even considered to be as smart as those guys, especially Sheldon. Anyway, this guy who is literally dumb says, “I haven’t been to a comic book store in literally a million years.”  And, Sheldon who is a PhD, of course, reacts like this guy does not have any clue what he is talking about, saying ‘Literally… Literally A MILLION YEARS?”

Can you get it? I am sure you can because you are smarter than Penny’s boy friend. Oh man! You should see this show. This show literally makes me laugh all the time.

So, the point here is that you will hear many people using this word, literally, not to mean something literal, but to exaggerate something that is not literal at all. If you think about it more, it is a very strong exaggeration. To me, it’s a figurative speech using the word, literal. How ironic! So, it is not bad and you can totally use it.

One tip! If someone says literally for something that is not really literal at all, don’t act like Sheldon in the show. That is not cool. If one of your close friends did, well you could be his/her Sheldon. It would be fun. 🙂 That is something I am going to try next time my friend says literally.

22 Sep

shit or get off the pot

Who taught: Phil

Shit or get off the pot (source: http://www.someecards.com/)

Winter indoor soccer season has come. Every Monday night from now to the end of March is soccer time for me and Phil.

Last Monday, Phil and I were on the way to the sports complex and we talked about relationship between men and women. In this context, Phil used this expression, “shit or get off the pot.”

Now, let me be very clear upfront here. In general, pot means a container, typically rounded or cylindrical and of ceramic ware or metal, used for storage or cooking. But, pot in this expression means something else. Do you know what else has rounded or cylindrical ceramic ware? It is a toilet.

Now, if you are in a toilet in a public bathroom too long, there are so many people waiting for you to come out. While they are waiting for you outside of the toilet, what would they keep saying? They would say like this, “Come on, dude, shit or get off the pot. People are dying here outside.”

With this feeling, you can use the same expression to a couple who have been engaged for a long time but not really sure about marriage. I mean if they are happy with it, you would not use this expression to them. But, in a case that a guy is your friend and ask your help about what to do with the engagement and not sure whether he needs to marry her or not, then you can try to help him as much as you can, then finally you could say, “OK, I think it is the time to shit or get off the spot,” meaning that it is the time to make a decision.

I believe you can use this expression when you see someone is indecisive to do something. Am I right, my American friends?

15 Sep

phone it in

Who taught: Carol

the middle (source: http://en.wikipedia.org)

What a coincidence! Yesterday, I could not believe my ears. Watching an episode of TV show, Middle, I heard the expression that I learned from Carol a few days ago.

The explanation Carol gave me was very good but I wasn’t totally sure how and when I can use the expression.

Here is the conversation that Brick’s mother, Frankie, and Brick’s teacher had on the show.

Teacher: “So, are you saying you are over-parenting?”

Frankie: “Oh no no! We are under-parenting. In fact, we just phone it in.”

So, let me guess! You are little confused now, aren’t you? I mean, honestly, we all know what phone is, like iPhone, right? Then, what is phone it in? Of course, it originally means to make a phone call into a conference call, or something. Carol said, in the context of calling into a conference call, we can say, “I am phoning in now.”

Now, here is what American people have in their mind, when they hear “phone it in.” (Be careful! There is ‘it’ in the middle.)

Someone really need to be physically in a meeting because it is important but he/she did not. Instead, he/she phones in using a telephone. Now, what do you think? That is not a good attitude, right? You can imagine that he/she does not do a good job, can’t you? That’s what it means.

To sum it up, ‘phone it in’ means doing a bad job, which makes the conversation above perfectly sense.

Here is a good usage you can try whenever people you manage do not do a good job.

“Hey stop phoning it in! Work harder!”

12 Sep

doghouse

Who taught: Tami, Brad, Jonathan and Jessy

Doghouse (source: http://www.thecoolist.com/)

Today, it is pretty chilly here in Pittsburgh. Feels like winter is coming. Hope we get to enjoy fall a little longer before we see the first snow.

Last week, there was a welcome dinner for my students organized by the Program. Jessy and I sat around a table with Brad and his wife, Tami and Jonathan. Jonathan is a student from Taiwan. We talked about how hard to go abroad to study, especially due to language barrier and culture.

Interestingly but not surprisingly, we get to learn a few new English expressions.

At some point, Jessy gave me a sour look because of what I said and Brad caught it. In that context, Tami asked us, “Do you know what does ‘I am in the doghouse’ mean?”

Other than the basic question, ‘Why in the world is a person in the place where a dog lives?’, in my mind, I had no clue about its meaning.

Can you guess what it is? I mean…It just sounds awful. You know what is sadder? This expression is mostly used by husbands whenever they have a trouble with their wives. When your wife gets angry and you have to be careful and feel uncomfortable in the house, then you go to where? That’s right.  The doghouse.

For example, you just fought with your wife and I called you, then you can say to me, “Dude! I am in the doghouse now. Can you save me?” Isn’t it sad?

Tami told me that there were small shelters for dogs in most homes in the past and, when there was a trouble between husband and wife, the husband usually took a refuge to the doghouse.

I am glad that I do not have a dog and thus there is no doghouse. Now, my question is where can I go? Also, where the dog goes if I take his house over?

06 Sep

table it vs shelve it

Who taught: Jeff

table (source: http://www.everyfinehome.com/)

Yesterday was Labor Day in the U.S. In most countries including South Korea, May 1 is Labor Day. Do you know why the U.S. chose a day in September to be Labor Day instead of May 1? It was because President Cleveland was concerned that observance of May 1 would be associated with the nascent Communist, Syndicalist and Anarchist movements.

If this one would show up on the U.S. Citizenship exam, I could get a point, right?

Speaking of the U.S. being different from other countries, I have a very shocking expression to share today.

Last week, I had a meeting with my friend, Jeff. Talking about English expressions, he asked me a question, “Hey, Terry! Can you guess what ‘table it’ means?”

I thought it should be very easy. So, without hesitation, I said, “That should mean to put something on the table so that people can see what it is and start to discuss it.”

What do you think, my non-native English speaker friends? Don’t you think I got it correct?

Here is the very strange result! If I were in any other English-speaking countries than the U.S., my answer  was totally right. But, it is not in the U.S. In the U.S., a motion to lay something on the table means motion to postpone consideration of a pending motion.

Here is a good example. If your wife wants to talk about having a baby and you think you are not ready, then you can say to your wife, “Honey! Can we table it?”

Sounds awkward, right? But, that is what it means in the U.S.

Now, if you look around your office, what do you see above or beside the table? I bet you have a few shelves. Suppose you put something on one of the shelves, what does it mean? Usually, you do not see or consider it for a while till you grab it from the shelf. Hence, “shelve it” means to postpone consideration of a pending motion. This one means the same in all of the English-speaking countries including the U.S.

So, you may want to stick with ‘shelve it’ instead of using ‘table it’, especially if you are on a trip to the U.K. or Australia, etc.

But, you’d better be able to distinguish ‘table it’ and ‘shelve it’ in the U.S. They are totally opposite.

It is still not very intuitive to think ‘table it’ to mean to postpone something. But, I am in the U.S. and When in Rome!