Who taught: Francesmary

makeup exam (source: http://www.docstoc.com/)

I am a man. Why do I say that? Well, today’s expression is related with gender. When women say makeup, that would most likely to mean cosmetics such as lipstick or powder applied to the face, used to enhance or alter the appearance.

Yesterday, I was at Mike’s place where many of my colleagues got together to celebrate Patty’s promotion. I finally had a chance to meet Jeff’s wife, Francis. As Jeff introduced me to her, he mentioned my blog. As soon as she heard about what the blog is about, she remembered her own experience. She used to know this lady who is a non-native English speaker to whom she mentioned a makeup exam.

When she mentioned a makeup exam, the non-native English speaker’s response was, “What do you mean by the makeup exam? Do you mean there is an exam about how to apply cosmetics?”

Now, can I assume that you all know what a makeup exam is? To have a common ground between you and me, let me explicitly put the definition of it here.

A special examination for a student who has been absent from or has failed a previous examination.

An interesting thing is that, since I know what a makeup exam is, I have never thought that it would be hard for other non-native English speakers to understand what it is. I guess this is exactly the feeling that my native English friends would have when they speak English with me, especially when I ask questions about expressions they use.

P.S: If you are a student, you do not want to take a makeup exam. Usually, that is not a good sign.

By the way, is there really a makeup exam to mean a test about how to apply cosmetics? If so, would a makeup exam make sense?