（会員）2016年8月30日 Tuesday Night - Review & more!

（会員）2016年8月30日 Tuesday Night - Review & more!

1. definitely vs. absolutely 

definitely = a decision/judgement. Think and say.

This is definitely a Pikachu.   

It is definitely yellow. 

absolute = a feeling. Think and say your feeling. 

a) She is absolutely the greatest.   

b) She is definitely the greatest. 

Q: Are you coming to my party?   

a) Absolutely., b) Definitely. 

a) She is absolutely beautiful.,

b) She is definitely beautiful. 

2. that vs. it

A: Let’s go to the movies.

B: That’s a good idea. 

A: What did you think of that book/movie?   

B: It was good. 

A: Should I clean up my desk?   

B1: It’s a good idea.,  B2: That’s a good idea. 

3. a / the     

a) talking about nouns, 

b) talking about places 

When introducing something for the first time you use “a”.  

Ex: I have a ~. 

You can use “the” with superlatives.

I have an idea. / I have the best idea.

A: I have a dog.   

B: What’s your dog’s name?  

A: It’s Maggie.  

A: Look! A dog!   

B: Yeah! Oh no, the dog is coming this way.  

If there is only one of something in an area, you use “the”.

Who is the President of Argentina?

Mr. Obama is the President of the USA. 

I’m going to the zoo. 

If there are more of one thing in an area, we use “a”. 

Let’s go see a movie., Let’s go grab a beer., I went to a restaurant. 

If the physical place you are going to is not as important as the activity/reason you are going there, we use “the.”

If you go to a bank, the point is not the building. The goal is to take out money or deposit money. 

I’m going to the bank.  

Victor’s easy rule: If it’s boring, use “the”.

I’m going to the…

bank, post office, supermarket, convenience store, toilet 

4. 

（会員）2016年8月29日 Monday Night - Fun Idioms

Basic but must-know, fun idioms

1. I’m a little bit under the ~ today. 

2. I’m sorry I cannot join you today. = I’ll take a ~-check.

3. That’s life. It cannot be helped. = That’s the way the ~ bounces.  

4. That’s the way the ball bounces. = That’s the way the cookie ~.

5. It’s raining really hard. = It’s raining ~ and ~.

Time out:
土砂降り
It’s raining really hard., It’s really coming down., It’s pouring., It’s pouring out., It’s raining buckets., It’s coming down in buckets., It’s coming down in sheets.
KNOW THIS PATTERN: It's ~ out.

6. He is a big liar. = He lies like a ~.

7. He did a great job in that show. = He ~ the show.

8. He is super cute. = He is as cute as a ~.

9. I am super hungry. = I am so hungry I could…

10. He is super tough.= He is as tough as ~.

11. He is super rich. = He has more money than ~.

12. Get to the point! = Stop beating around the ~.

13.That is super easy. = It's a piece of ~.

14. It’s a piece of cake. = It’s as easy as ~.

Answers. 1. weather, 2. rain, 3. ball, 4.  crumbles, 5. cats / dogs, 7. stole, 8. button, 9. eat a horse, 10. nails, 11. God, 12. bush, 13. cake, 14. pie

（会員）2016年8月26日 Friday. Night - Beginner Random Lesson

（会員）2016年8月26日 Friday. Night - Beginner Random Lesson
1. borrow / lend / rent

A: Can I borrow some money? 
B: Sure, how much? 

You borrowed $100 from me last week, so now you owe me $100.

You owe me. = I helped you but I won’t forget and I expect you to help me some day.

Can I borrow Shingo for a minute?

2. The opposite of “borrow” is “lend”.
Can I borrow $100? = Can you lend me $100.

3. What is the difference between “lend” and “rent”?
Rent means to pay money.
yachin = rent    ,   
I have to pay the rent.
I do own my house. I rent it. 
4. I’m renting my apartment. = I’m renting my flat.
Can you lend me $100. 
X Can you rent me $100.   
X Can you borrow me $100. 

5. apartment = flat
I am flat broke. = NO money
I am broke. = Actually I have about 50,000 yen.
He has a flat stomach/abs.
She is flat-chested.
completely, absolutely = flat
That is flat out crazy.

She flat out said no.
You flat-out lied to me!

I asked her to marry me, but she turned me down flat.

6. “absolutely” vs. “definitely”
definitely = cold decision, not opinion. Just facts.

absolutely = used with emotion and passion.

A: Are you going to the party? 
B1: Yes, I’m definitely going. 
B2: Absolutely!

You look [absolutely / definitely] beautiful.

Dave Spector’s Japanese is definitely better than mine.

Idiom: He is much better than me. = I cannot hold a candle to him. 

（会員）2016年8月23日 Tues. Night - Tokyo Summerland Attack

（会員）2016年8月23日 Tues. Night - Tokyo Summerland Attack

1. an incident = 事件

2. an amusement park = 遊園地

3. a crime = 犯罪

4. attacked = 襲われた

The criminal is still at large.

5. a criminal = 犯罪者

6. at large = on the loose = not caught yet = 逃亡中で
The criminal was not caught red-handed.

7. caught red-handed = 現行犯で逮捕される

8. to slash = 切りつける

9. a slashing incident = 切りつける事件

10. a water park / a wave pool

The police/public is scrutinizing security.

11. to scrutinize = to look at st closely and criticize, ~を注意深く調べる
This crime has caught many people off guard.

12. to catch someone off guard（人）の油断しているところを襲う

13. prompt someone to =（人）に～させようとする［を促す］

14.  a  razor blade-like object = very very sharp knife or 刃物

15. The perpetrator remains at large.
the perpetrator = the culprit = the criminal = 犯罪者

The first three slashings took place after an artificial 70-cm-tall wave was generated in the pool,
artificial = 人工の

“The park was packed and we didn’t broadcast any warning out of concern it might cause a panic or raise the number of victims.”

（会員）2016年8月23日 Tues. Night - Tokyo Summerland Attack

Nico - 19, 2016
Aug. 19, 2016

1. to wrestle with st
As a boy I wrestled with my own sexuality.
As a boy I struggled with my own sexuality.

I wrestled with a bear.

I fought with my mother. / I had a fight with my mother.
Is it physical or verbal? I don’t know.

2. to wrestle st away from sb
I wrestled the knife away from him.,  
I wrestled the knife out of his hands.

Review:
3. sink or swim:  to fail to to succeed

4. to sleep with the fishes = to be dead

5. to throw in the towel = to give up
I’m throwing in the towel. = I am giving up.

6. I’m in your corner. = I’m on your side.

7. That comment about my mother was below the belt. =  That comment was against the rules. He should not have made that comment or that attack.
That was below the belt.

8. I’m new here. Could you show me the ropes.

9. The telephone rang just as my boyfriend proposed to me. I guess I was saved by the bell.

10. You’ve got to learn how to roll with the punches. = Don’t give up.

11. He hit a home run! = He did a great job! = It was a slam dunk.

12. He started going out with her on the rebound.
It was a rebound relationship., I caught her on the rebound.

（会員）2016年8月15日 Monday Night - sport idioms

（会員）2016年8月15日 Monday Night - sport idioms

1. He kicked ass! = He did great! = He beat the competition easily! 

2. a home run = a great success

A: How was your presentation at the meeting? 

B: I hit a home run! = I hit it out of the park! 

3. in the long run = 長い目で見れば、長期的には、結局（は）

Buying a cheap car will actually cost you more money in the long run. 

A good car is more durable.

4. to run low on st > to run out of st 

I’m running low on money.   

My cellphone battery is running low.

I ran out of money. 

5. to run into sb = ばったり会う

I ran into my old student at the convenience store the other day. 

for people: to run into sb,  

for things: to come across st  

6. to run over st 

I ran over a nail/cat/dog.   

He got run over.,   

He got hit by a car.

7. to run out the clock = to waste time until the bell rings or the game is over 

―――――――――――――――

8. sink or swim

It's a sink or swim situation.

9a. to swim against the stream/current 

I want my company to XXX, but I’m swimming against the stream.

9b. to swim with the stream/current, to go with the current, to go with the flow 

10.  XX made my head swim., XX will make your head swim. 

Math makes my head swim., Kanji makes my head swim.

11. a fish out of water:  

I feel like a fish out of water. 

12. a tall drink of water = a tall slender person, often good looking 

Hey, who’s that tall drink of water? 

13. I’m in hot water.  = I’m in trouble. 

14. to make sb’s mouth water

That picture makes my mouth water.

The smell of the freshly baked pie makes my mouth water. 

（会員）2016年8月09日 Tuesday Night - Random

（会員）2016年8月09日 Tuesday Night - Random

1. to boss sb around  = to act like a boss and command sb

My 18 month old son is bossing me around. 

2. to get around = a) to travel a lot, to go to many places, b) to be promiscuous 

to be promiscuous = to have many sexual partners

3. to be loose, to be easy = a woman who has sex easily 

She is not picky about boyfriends. She is pretty easy. She is loose. 

4. to be picky about st  = to be selective about st

Cats are often pretty picky about what they eat. 

Cats are infamous for being picky eaters. 

5. famous = 有名な <―> infamous = famous for a bad reason

6. notorious = infamous

That politician was a notorious gambler. 

That politician was a notorious womanizer. 

7. 女たらし

a womanizer

a philanderer

a Don Juan, a Casanova

When he was young, my father was a bit of a Casanova.  

8. a very smart man = Einstein 

He was a bit of a PROPER NOUN. (the name of a person)

He is a bit of an Einstein. 

9. If someone does something stupid, you can call them “Einstein”. 

Hey, Einstein! You forgot to plug it in! 

10. He is really good at st. = He’s a regular PROPER NOUN.

My son is a regular Goromaru. 

11. to be good at st = 上手

He is handsome and funny.  

He can sing and dance.  

He is good at sports and music. 

He’s got the best of both worlds. 

My job pays well and has long vacation. It’s got the best of both worlds.

12. He is a triple threat. 

Someone who has 3 skills. 

He can hit, throw, and field. He’s a triple threat.  

He is a great actor. He’s actually a triple threat. 

He can act. He can sing. He can dance. 

（会員）2016年8月08日 Monday Night - Rio Oympics

（会員）2016年8月08日 Monday Night - Rio Oympics

It is scorching hot. 

It’s muggy. = hot and humid

People tend to get heatstroke when it is this hot.

Watermelon helps prevent summer afflictions, including heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

Nissan reportedly paid about $250 million to sponsor the games.

Kosuke Hagino wins Olympic gold in 400m individual medley, Chase Kalisz gets silver

He won a gold medal. 

He’s taking home the gold in EVENT. / He took home the gold in EVENT.

He took the gold. 

He won by nose/hair.

Japan had never won gold in this event before.

I think I’m very happy with my time, and I know that I gave it my best effort and I got beat by a world-class competitor right here. 

Kosuke is a world class competitor. 

Kosuke’s unbelievable, and I honestly gave my best effort, and I’m going to go to bed knowing that tonight. I have no regrets.

a Molotov cocktail = a bomb where gas or something is poured into a bottle and a rag is put in at the top and lit.

With an eye-popping score, U.S. gymnasts put world on notice

She is dominating.

Oksana Chusovitina is 41 years old.

Wait and see.

（会員）2016年8月07日 Sunday Night - New round-up!

Nico - Aug. 7, 2016

1. I’ll get back at you. = revenge
2. I’ll get back to you. = I’ll call you back.

 失敗
3. I made a ~.   4. I put my ~ in my ~.
5. It was a slip of the tongue.
6. I have ~ ~. 
7. I’m ~.
8. I have no opinion. = I’m indifferent.
9. I’m between a rock and a hard place.
10. I’m torn. = I can’t decide.
I’m torn between going to Hawaii and going to Okinawa.
I’m torn between moving to NYC and staying here.

11. 我慢しないといけない。
I have to bite the bullet.

12. Proverb: His bark is worse than his bite.

13. I tried to do something that was too difficult for me. = I bit off more than I could chew.

14. I’m sorry. = Apologies.
15. Sorry I’m late.

16. He cut in line in front of me.

Driving: He cut me off.

3. gaffe, 4. foot / mouth, 6. mixed feelings, 7. ambivalent

Nico - Aug. 5, 2016

（会員）2016年8月05日 Friday Night - Water, Fire, Air, Earth

Random must know English?
1. A baby wolf is a called a ~?
2. Waving for a taxi to stop is called ~ a taxi.
3. If something is funny, you can type the 3 letters: ~.
4. The 2 letters that stand for any “sexual disease” are ~?
5. If something is old and the condition is getting worse and worse, you can say it’s on its last ~?
6. 堪忍袋の緒が切れる。= That’s the last ~.
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
7. The first letters of your first and last name are called your ~?
8. Fish swim in groups called ~?

1. cub, 2. hailing, 3. lol, 4. VD (venereal disease), 5. legs, 6.
straw, 7. initials, 8. school,

Water, Fire, Air, Earth
1. Blood is thicker than water.
 = Family is more important than friendship.

2. Don’t play with fire.
= Don’t get involved with dangerous things.
You’re playing with fire. = That’s dangerous!

3. Let’s clear the air.

4. He is down-to-earth.

Aug. 4, 2016 - Members Only Video

Aug. 4, 2016 

I inadvertently scheduled the class for 11am!

= mistakenly

conflict 

I am conflicted about what I should do. 

Should I promote Trump? Should I Trump? OR … should I denounce Trump!

The GOP = The Grand Old Party = The Republican Party

to drop out = to quit

The Republicans bosses are thinking about what they could do if Trump quits.

Trump is on the Republican ballot. 

Jon Gosselin doesn’t 4 of his 8 children.

2 of 3 Dentists use ~ toothpaste.

Jay Leno surprised everybody by suddenly visiting a parking lot in Traverse City.

Mother of 5-year-old accidentally shot to death cited for child desertion

to desert sb = to leave them

desertion = leaving

a desertation = a PhD’s final essay 

She was cited. = She got a ticket.

She received a citation. 

a movie sequel = part 2 or 3, etc. of a movie

164 sequels in the works

in the works = doing now

This is why Jessica Simpson decided not to get a breast reduction. 

She got a breast reduction. <—> She got a breast augmentation. 

She had her breasts done. / She got a boob job.

She had nose job. 

She had her ~ done. 

She had a face lift.

She had plastic surgery. 

She had some work done.

(会員）2016年7月31日 Sunday 11pm

(会員）2016年7月31日 Sunday 11pm

Nico - July 31, 2016

Sumo icon Chiyonofuji dies at 61

Tokyo elects former environment minister Yuriko Koike as city's first female governor

Corruption a recurring theme in Tokyoites' picks for governor

He is a corrupt police officer. He is a dirty cop. 

He took a bribe. He accepted bribes.

graft

'Helicopter money' talk takes flight as Bank of Japan runs out of runway

economic jargon/lingo/expression/term

Tokyo seeks semantic clarity on 'comfort women' cash

It’s just semantics.

Fukuoka police expand undercover network to halt teen prostitution

undercover police officer   おとり警察官

Undercover police officers are trying to halt teen prostitution.

She is a prostitute. She was arrested for prostitution. 

Quake-wrecked railway in Kumamoto back on its feet in tourist-hungry Kyushu

a quake = an earthquake = 地震

Kumamoto is quake-wrecked. 

a railway = a train system 

He was sick, but he's back on his feet.

He lost his job, but don’t worry. He’ll be back on his feet soon.  

He is so wrecked. = drunk 

I’ll wreck you. 

Vietnamese held on suspicion of killing roommate in Nagoya

A Vietnamese man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his roommate in Nagoya.