caboose
Who taught: Kelly A few months ago, Jessy and I went camping with Phil and Kelly. I think I mentioned this in one of my old posts. This morning, I suddenly remembered one expression Kelly used at that...
View Articlemeat market
Hi, my friends! How have you been? It has been a while. As you may know, yesterday was Thanksgiving day which is one of the national holidays in the U.S. Thus, I had some time off from my work and...
View Articlecash and prizes
Who taught: Dwayne Johnson There is a new movie in theaters, called “Faster.” Dwayne Johnson is starring in the movie. A few weeks ago, Jessy and I were watching Tonight show with Jay Leno. The first...
View Articleproduct, tool
Who taught: Brian Williams When I was young, I did not understand why my parents always wanted to watch news programs, especially, when there were some TV shows my brother and I really wanted to watch....
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Who taught: CNN As I get older, there are so many things I feel differently from the way I used to feel when I was young. Sadly, many of them are related with winter. First, I used to get very excited...
View ArticleCul De Sac
Happy new year, my friends! It is 2011. A new decade is ahead of us. I have a feeling that this year will be amazing for you and me. 2010 was also awesome for me. There were so many great things...
View Articledrag your feet
Who taught: Al, Carl and Obama Yesterday, at my church, Al talked about one word that I have known for a while. He was announcing an event and he said, “There will be refreshment after the event.” I am...
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Who taught : Holt (From Parenthood) Gooder, More good, More big, More bigger, more happy What are these? Well, as you can see, these are all wrong expressions. One of the difficult things in English is...
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Who taught : Pat, Rachel, Phil, Kelly, Lauren and Sean Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr birthday. It is one of the national holidays. 48 years ago, he made “I have a dream” speech. Here is the part...
View Articlemy knee’s been singing all day
Who taught : Manny Pittsburgh’s winter must be really great for kids. Why? Schools are closed many times due to heavy snow and icy rain. Yesterday, we got snow again and schools are closed today. Not...
View Articlestoned or baked
Who taught: Stan and Braverman family A few days ago, I wrote about “edible.” Well, yesterday, I learned a new thing about the word, edible. What if someone on the street asks you like, “Hey do you...
View ArticleWet bar
Who taught: Alen and Leslie I have been hunting my house for the last two months. It takes a lot of my time but it is kind of fun to look around bunch of different houses with different architectures....
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Who taught: Office Back in Korea, my parents used to say to Jessy and me, “We have never seen a couple like you guys. You guys are so happy together and show love to each other well. It is great to...
View Articlebullying and ginger
Who taught: how would you do? (TV show) One of the social issues that America has these days is bullying, especially in schools. I am sure my readers know what bullying means. But, just in case….....
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Who taught: Robin (How I met your mother) I feel like I am not doing a good job of keeping up with new posts more often these days. But, that does not mean that I am not learning any new English...
View Articlecouch surfing and muffin top
Who taught : Jessy 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?...
View Articlenot a chance vs fat chance
Every year, there is a Super Bowl party that I attend. It is great and fun to watch the game with friends, eating food. But, what makes Super Bowl party even more fun? They are Super Bowl ads. One of...
View Articlejump through the hoops
Do you know OneRepublic? It is a rock band and I love it. My favorite song is this song called Good Life. Rhythm and lyrics are all great. If you listen to the song, you will hear the following line....
View Articlebombshell
Watching TV in the U.S. requires a lot of patience. Why? there are so many advertisements. Watching those advertisements in the middle of shows is annoying unless those ads are either funny or sexy....
View Articlesterilization
Who taught: Scott Pelley My daily life is pretty much a routine. Sounds boring? Well, but I like everything being organized and do not like to see something unexpected. And, one of the things I do...
View Articlehazy and hazing
Who taught: Today show Do you check weather often? How often? I usually check it at least one time per day, especially in the morning. One of the words I hear very often these days from a meteorologist...
View Articlewing it
Who taught: Seth One of the blogs I follow closely is Seth Godin’s blog. The thing I really like about his blog is that his posts are very short and concise yet they inspire me so much. Sometimes, his...
View Articlebooboo vs bubu
Who taught: Jessy Do you remember when you were young? What? You think you are still young? haha… I know. I feel the same. OK. So, let me ask differently. Do you remember when you were a elementary...
View Articletatas and twins
Who taught: Today show Some English words or expressions sound cute to me. Like tatas. Well, sounds cute before I get to know what it means. As Jessy and I have breakfast, we usually watch or listen to...
View Articledog days
Who taught: Al There are some expressions that are sort of universal. I have a hunch that today’s expression is one of them and you can easily understand what it means as you hear or speak. A few days...
View Articlepick-up lines
Who taught: Kyle Are you on twitter? Well, I am and my username is terryeslee. You can follow me. So, on twitter, people follow each other and talk about things in the world. Some are very useful but...
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Who taught: Dexter and Jake I believe in people, especially my friends. How about you? One of the caveats of believing friends too much is that they can trick me so easily. One time Jake and I hang...
View Articleliterally
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...
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Who taught: PetSmart and Jessy There is one expression that I would not say to Jessy. That is “Step on it.” But, I might use this to some cab drivers when they drive too slowly. Well, it wouldn’t be...
View Articlestone fox
Who taught: Sears Today, I have wonderful news for you. What would you say when you misspoke to your girlfriend or wife and you are looking for a word to make up for it? I have one perfect word for...
View Articlebattery
Who taught: Mikey and Big Bob Have you ever experienced a moment in which you say “Oh,, this word has also that definition? I did not know that.”? It is like rediscovering a word. There is one radio...
View Articledicey and antsy
Who taught: Kevin and NYT There are so many words that end with “y.” I am not kidding.. There are so many and people here use them a lot. Listen carefully to a conversation between American people when...
View Articlelet him stew
Who taught: Teresa Do you cook? I personally do not really cook much other than ramen noodles. I am a way better cook than Jessy when it comes to ramen noodle soups. Speaking of cook, one of the...
View Articlecut corners
Who taught: Eric Goldman One of the things that I regularly do to improve my English is reading newspapers. What I mean by “read”? I mostly read aloud unless I am in a public place like an atrium or a...
View Articlejittery
Who taught: Ryan Calo, Bob and Jean How are you doing today? It’s rainy and gloomy in Pittsburgh but I am happy that it is not snowing and not that cold. Do you know when it is really hard for me to...
View Articleslice and dice
Who taught: Jessy and Today show 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...
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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...
View Articleshoestring
Who taught: CBS Evening News 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...
View Articlesport vs sports
Who taught: Steve, Jean, Jeremy and Ginny 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...
View Articlebeefcake
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)....
View Articlewalk it off
Who taught: Sam My mother-in-law really likes watching movies. Before she came and had stayed with me for a few months, I had no idea that she is into movies. In some sense, it is not a surprise at all...
View Articlerediscovering a word series 2: flash
Who taught: Melissa There are three rivers that run across or around Pittsburgh, PA. And there are more than 29 bridges cross the three rivers in Pittsburgh city boundary. That is a lot of bridges....
View Articlebutt dial vs booty call
Who taught: Carol and Alan A few days ago, Carol forwarded me a tweet by AlanHungover. His tweet says: My Grandpa confused the term “butt dial” with “booty call.” I almost fainted when he said “I booty...
View Articlestack and stacked
Who taught: Emmett One of the things I regularly do is watching TV shows. For native English speakers, this might be a waste of time. On the other hand, I find it is very helpful for non-native English...
View Articlesweet pea
Who taught: Issac Hello, my friends! Have you ever seen this video? This is amazing and so sweet. A few weeks ago, this beautiful proposal story was all over the place. It was even on national TV news....
View Articlefair game
Who taught: Supernatural About a month ago, Jessie and I went through a few seasons of a TV show, Supernatural. I would not strongly recommend it. It is fun to watch but you get to dream about those...
View Articlelow blow
Who taught: Huffington Post and NBC Every time I think about learning something new, I also think about learning a skill, not simply acquiring knowledge, like learning a new language. It takes a lot of...
View ArticleUnder the bus and scapegoat
Who taught : Ellen and Sheldon It’s been a while. I am so sorry that I have not been able to update you with new expressions. In my defense, I have been extremely busy during the last few months. Still...
View Articlerediscovering a word series 6: rug
Who taught: Audrey I just sent an email to my coworker, Amber, and made a dummy mistake. When I meant to say, “Thank you very much, Amber! – Terry,” I wrote, “Thank you very much, Terry!” These two...
View ArticleHonest as the day is long….
I heard this expression from the American sitcom ” Baby Daddy” that I’ve recently binge-watched. The meaning of this expression is as easy to guess as it sounds, very trustworthy and honest. From the...
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