Category Archives: From media

10 Feb

beefcake

Who taught: Monk

Recently, Jessy and I have been watching this TV show, Monk, almost everyday on Netflix. As a private detective, Monk is amazing. But he has OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Because of that, he does not even want to shake hands with other people. Once you hear the theme song and see the lyrics from the Youtube video that I am attaching here, you will totally understand what kind of person he is.

I like this line, “You better pay attention or this world we love so much might just kill you,” from the song. Isn’t it so true? We should not love things in the world, they will eventually kill you in one way or the other.

Well, anyway, he used this word in one episode, “beefcake.” Jessy and I was confused because, as far as we know, there is no beefcake in America. I mean no cake made of beef. So, we looked at each other, saying “That word gotta mean something else.”

You know what it is? It means an attractive man with well-developed muscles. As soon as we found out the definition, we looked at each other again, saying “Oh… that makes sense because he used the word when he saw a good looking guy with muscles.”

I am not sure who would be a good example for this word. How about Arnold Schwarzenegger? No? He is not attractive? But he has well-developed muscles.

Maybe he is just a piece of beefcake? Also, who knows there might be a literal beefcake in southern states like Texas.

 

23 Jan

sport vs sports

Who taught: Steve, Jean, Jeremy and Ginny

A good sport (source: http://candostreet.com/)

This is the second episode where I learned a new expression from Steve and Jean. They have three children and two of them, Ginny and Jeremy, teach at the same elementary school. They were in a skit whose main purpose was to increase awareness of the importance of the yearly State Math test. It is pretty hilarious. I wish I can show it to you. In the skit, they were basically devouring chocolates that are supposed to be for students who would get good scores in the test. That is not good. 🙂 In the skit, their mouth was totally covered with chocolates while eating chocolates and the other teachers were telling them the chocolates are not for them but for good(?) students.

In the end, one teacher said, “Do you know that the school will give out chocolates if a student would get a good score in the State Math test.” That would work for elementary school students, I guess. Chocolates could be really good baits for them to study harder.

So, what does it have anything to do with sport?

What does sport mean? That’s easy. It is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.”

Am I suggesting that eating chocolates requires physical exertion and skill and Ginny and Jeremy were competing with each other? Hmm.. it needs some skill to eat and mouth muscle should move faster. And, who knows.. Ginny and Jeremy were really competing with each other. 🙂

As we were watching the skit, Steve said, “They were being a good sport.” Interesting! Very very interesting! Because this does not mean that there is any sort of competition. The thing they did was that they were being funny in front of students and teachers, right? In other words, they were fine being the butt of a joke. Well, that is what “good sport” means.

After all, it has something to do with sport (physical exertion). When you lose in any sport, it is not easy to accept your loss. But, if you can accept your loss, then you are being a good sport.

It is hard to accept a loss in any sport. It is also very hard to be a butt of a joke, amusing other people. There goes a strong connection of being a good sport.

Amazingly, a few days later, I heard the same expression used by an actor of the Criminal Minds. He said, “I was just being a good sport.”

Can you be a good sport? Hope you can in both sense!

12 Jan

shoestring

Who taught: CBS Evening News

on a shoestring (source: http://prettyorganizedpalace.blogspot.com/)

This is just my opinion. I think the CBS Evening News talks about politics more than the NBC Nightly News. These days, I can hear many stories about Republican Presidential Candidates, especially from the CBS Evening News. A few weeks ago, one of the reporters from the CBS Evening News interviewed Rick Santorum, one of the candidates. The reporter said, “You are running on a shoestring,” to Rick Santorum.

From the context, I could feel that this does not and cannot mean literally. However, had I not known the context, I would have been totally lost. What? He is running on a shoestring? Is he a circus man? He can run on a small tiny and narrow shoestring? What kind of man is he? That is ridiculous. Show me how to do it! I mean, can you? I doubt you can even stand on a shoestring for a split second.

Of course, it does not mean literally. It is deeper than literal. Shoestring is not just a string for your shoes. It also means a small sum of money. Now, it makes sense, right? As a candidate, he is running on a small amount of money because he was not able to raise enough funds.

For example, if you started your own business, you would need to run on a shoestring because you do not have enough seed money until you raise it from outside like angel investors. Recently, I am sure many of the households in the U.S. run on a shoestring due to the bad economy.

When I was a student, I was totally running on a shoestring. Look at the image that I attached here. Can’t you feel the expression really well, looking at it? Hope you have a really really long shoestring that can hold a lot of money. Then, running on a shoestring would not be that bad.

Nevertheless, we should all learn that a rich person is not one who has the most but is one who needs the least.

03 Jan

dougie

Who taught: Sujin

It’s 2012. We have all said, “Happy New Year!,” to our family and friends for the last few days. Let me say something different. My friends, Happy New Day! I think we should all celebrate every day just like we treat a new year. Today is the last day of our life because tomorrow will be different from today and it will never be back. We should enjoy today and be happy every day. So, I wish you Happy New Day today!

Do you guys remember one of my old posts about boogie? Today’s expression sounds very similar to it but has a different meaning.

On new year’s eve, I was with my family and some of my friends. As soon as the clock hit 00:00, we all celebrated and hugged. After that, we were talking and watching TV. One of the songs he heard was Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO. Those guys danced like crazy. Watching their dancing, Sujin said something that I have never heard. She said, “Teach me dougie!”

I said, “What? Dougie? What is it?” She said, “It means dance.” At that time, I thought it would mean any dance. But, I was not quite right. After some research, I realized that it is a specific type of dance mostly by hiphop people. You might want to see the video here to learn the move. This hiphop group, Cali Swag District, even has a song called, Teach Me How To Dougie.

According to urbandictionary, it also means hip style. This is kind of questionable to me. For those people who like dougie dance, dougie would mean hip too. But, how about the people who do not like it? Would they also think dougie means cool or hip? Not sure.

What do you think, my friends? Can you help me out?

By the way, do you see a word, “swag,” in the group name, Cali Swag District? Actually, swag also means hip or cool. I believe this is pretty universal. Happy Swag Year to you!

19 Dec

slice and dice

Who taught: Jessy and Today show

Slice and dice (source: http://csassignment3.wordpress.com/)

Two days a week, Jessy gives me a ride to my work. Today was one of those days. On our way to my work today, Jessy asked me a question, “Hey! Do you know what ‘slice and dice’ means?”

Having a career in the information technology area, I have known the expression for a while. So, I was able to answer, telling Jessy the definition of the expression.

However, the way I remember this expression has nothing to do with my career. I think of this expression, imagining myself slicing and dicing a cucumber for salad so that I can eat the pieces of the cucumber easily.

Jessy said, “I heard that expression this Morning, watching the Today show. On the show, a reporter said,’When it comes to checking a return policy, slicing and dicing is better.'”

You know that this does not mean that you are physically cutting the return policy horizontally and vertically. That would not be a good idea. You would lose your receipt.

Oh.. Whenever I think of this expression, another word comes to my mind. It is “scrutinize.” What do you think? Pretty close, right? When you slice and dice a return policy, that means basically you are scrutinizing it so that you can keep yourself from being caught in a bad situation.

Now, I have always thought this expression has a negative connotation. Slicing and dicing is like being too picky about things. What do you think? Am I right? Enlighten me, my friends!