Hold your horses

Colloquial phrases are much easier to write about when they come about naturally, like this one I wrote today:

Ok ok hold your horses. Not sure if anyone else has pointed this out, but if you are referring to March 29th, TODAY would be the 6th business day. And they said 6 to 10. So nothing to fret about yet.

(I had been responding to someone worried about the fact that a package had not arrived here to Buenos Aires as soon as he had hoped.)

Hold your horses means "hold on, be patient."

Did you know? In the 1800s, it used to be spelled "hold you hosses" since hoss was the slang spelling of horse. Read more here.

Photo credit: Ian MacDonald

It's raining HAIL!

Amazing how yesterday's hail decided to fall at 6:00 on the dot, don't you think? Just as all of us were leaving work.

What size hail did you see?

I read that some of it was up to golf ball-size.

What other objects do we use to compare hail to? I found:

pea
marble
grape
dime
nickel
quarter
(golf)
baseball
football (That's some big hail).

Frog vs. Toad

2 phrases in English:

frog in your throat - a feeling of hoarseness or a lump in one's throat - I feel like I'm getting a frog in my throat when I have to speak in public.

ugly as a toad (no explanation needed) and it is not a phrase that plays by the rules of "If you can't say something nice, say nothing at all."

Image credit given to http://its.susd.org/k6/1st/the_life_of_frogs.htm where you can find more info on frogs and toads if you're interested!

Gas Fitter

So, I learned a word today. In English. Since the first time I ever dealt with gas heaters or appliances was when I moved to Buenos Aires, I had never thought about the word gasista in English. Today when I wrote an email telling work that I would be a little late because I was waiting for the ________ (gasista), I had to look up the translation. (Otherwise I would have just said "gas man.") And here it is:

gas fitter

If you ever need a gas fitter who fixes ovens or stoves, I have one to recommend! (That's not him in the picture, by the way. That guy lives in Australia.)

Link to an article if you want to read more about gas fitters in Britain

Paperwork and Errands and Trámites, oh my!

We all know that trámite is a word used LOTS here in Argentina. Countless times I have gotten the question, "How do you say trámite?"

Trámite has many translations including procedure, step, stage, formality, etc. But the way we hear it used most is, "Tengo que hacer algunos trámites."

The translation in this case is not literal. There are several sentences that work:

I have some business to take care of.

I have some matters to attend to.

I have some errands to run.

Choose any of the above and your trámite will make sense in English!

Explaining Explain

Yes, I need to explain this. Explain is a tough word for Spanish speakers. It trips up even the most advanced of speakers.

I see this type of sentence a lot:

Incorrect: They can explain us what sources to use.

Correct: They can explain what sources to use.

Incorrect: Can you explain me this?

Correct: Can you explain this (to me)?

Fortunately, the mistake is very easy to fix!

The structure is ALWAYS:

explain + direct object (explain what?)

And the indirect object is often optional:

explain + direct object (explain what?) + indirect object (to whom?)

There are more verbs like this as well. I found some more examples here:

Existe un grupo de verbos ditransitivos que solamente permiten la configuración Complemento directo seguido por el complemento indirecto: donate, push, carry, explain, suggest, describe, take.

donate money to the museum (y no: donate the museum money)

carry the baby to the doctor (y no: carry the doctor the baby)

suggest a good restaurant to me (y no: suggest me a good restaurant)

explain your decision to the director (y no: explain the director your decision)

describe your friend to us (y no: describe us your friend)

What a rip-off!

What a great term. rip-off. Negative for sure, but great nonetheless.

A rip-off (also a verb) is "a product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality." It can also refer to theft or exploitation. Basically, if you think you've been taken advantage of in a financial sense, you can call it a rip-off.

Lots of people feel like they're getting ripped off when they open a bag of chips or cookies:


If you buy something and get home only to realize it doesn't work, you have been ripped off. If you buy something and it breaks 3 days later, it was a rip-off.

I often feel ripped-off in restaurants here in Buenos Aires.

On my last vacation I took a day tour that afterwards felt like a rip-off for the price I paid.

What's the worst rip-off you've ever experienced?

Keeping up with the Joneses

My dad uses this phrase all the time, so when someone asked me what it meant earlier this week it made me smile.

"Keeping up with the Joneses" (Joneses is the plural of Jones) is an idiom referring to people trying to match the lifestyle of their neighbors. If the Joneses buy the newest car, you have to have that car, too. If the Joneses buy Ipads for their entire family, you will go out and buy them too. If the Joneses put gnomes in their garden, there will be gnomes in your garden the next morning.

This is a Chevrolet magazine ad from 1956:You may have heard of the show "Keeping up with the Kardashians," which is a twist on the popular idom.

Keeping up with the Joneses sounds exhausting and expensive! Remember that the people who "keep up with the Joneses" are often those who don't have the money to be doing so.

Putting Lipstick on a Pig

A co-worker recently pointed out a sentence he read in an email: "That would be like putting lipstick on a pig."



I like UrbanDictionary's definition best:
A term used by many, generally in reference to someone who may be trying to make something or someone look appealing or attractive when it quite clearly will not work, or will only deceive the dumbest of people.

Example:

Used car salesmen have a reputation for "putting lipstick on a pig" because they can often talk you into buying a car that might just be a piece of junk!

Read here about how Obama put the phrase back into popular use in 2008.

Fabrics and Deposits

This morning I was in Barracas with my Spanglish-speaking husband. After we left Easy (lately our second home), I was commenting on some of the buildings and he said, "Yeah there are lots of fabrics and deposits." He laughed. And then he said, "Cómo se dice depósito?"

And of course, he was talking about this kind of depósito: warehouse in English:

And this kind of fábrica: factory in English:

Deposit and fabric also have meanings, of course.

Deposit usually referring to a bank deposit and fabric referring to what you make clothes out of (tela, género)

the sooner the better

I was writing this phrase ("the sooner the better") today and realized I liked it enough to post a few more examples:

Bluefin Tuna Catch a (Small) Break:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/opinion/11mon4.html?scp=2&sq=%22the%20sooner%20the%20better%22&st=cse

The numbers of endangered bluefin tuna are rapidly dwindling, due to vast overfishing fueled by Japan’s insatiable sushi appetite...

...The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will require the 50 longline vessels in the gulf to start using the hooks on May 5. Some fishermen are already using them, because they work so well. The sooner the better, because the gulf is where the bluefin spawn each spring.

Unconstitutional Policing

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/opinion/unconstitutional-policing-in-puerto-rico.html?scp=4&sq=%22the%20sooner%20the%20better%22&st=cse

The Justice Department has issued a devastating report on the rampant corruption and constitutional violations committed by the Puerto Rico Police Department, the second-largest police force in the United States. It concluded that “lasting reform will require nothing less than federal judicial intervention.” And the sooner, the better.

"Bilingual Babies: The Sooner, The Better"

http://www.spanglishbaby.com/2011/09/bilingual-babies-the-sooner-the-better/

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping that your 2012 is even better than your 2011...

And if your 2011 was awesome, who says this year can't be more so?

I don't hear many people talking about New Year's Resolutions around here. By far the most common resolution in the States is to lose weight. Wikipedia says that only 12% succeed in making their New Year's resolutions come true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year%27s_resolution

My New Year's resolution is to write more letters to my very good friend Randi in Texas. We write letters because we feel as though we can share a lot more details that way than we do through email. (Plus Randi is an excellent artist and she can't include all her drawings in emails!) Letters are just more special. Period. And they are so much fun to receive! Don't you think?

What's your New Year's Resolution?

Clarification

You're "on the right track" ...

...NOT in a good path.

Ready to Get This Over With!

I am currently waiting for a lovely girl from Orbitz Customer Service to call me at home. After hours of trying to book flights for my parents through the website, they continue to reject my purchase. We called the credit card company. No problem there.

No one likes calling customer service, but fortunately this non-native English speaker has been quite pleasant. Her English is excellent, but there are always little hints that remind you you're not speaking with a native.

I couldn't help but smile when she attempted to repeat an expression I used:

Her: "Ma'am, is there a number I can call you back at because this is going to take a few minutes."

Me: "Yes, my number at home is..."

Her: "Are you going to be home this afternoon?"

Me: "Yes, I'll be home until we get this over with." (i.e. until we solve this problem/finish this)

Her: "Ok, I'll try to call you as soon as possible so you can get over with this."

I always tell my ESL learners to try to use appropriate words and phrases they read or hear from native speakers. This is exactly what she was doing, albeit she meant to say "get this over with."

I hope she calls me back...

Jump the Gun

I love questions about idioms. Today I got one about "jump the gun" from this sentence:

"I don't know if you have finished testing the lab, so I might be jumping the gun, but I started retesting it and have run into a few issues."

So, in this case, jump the gun means doing something before it should be done.

This person might be jumping the gun because he might have started retesting too early.

You might find this idiom easier to remember if you think about its origin. The idiom was originally used in sports contests that began with the firing of a gun. If a runner, for example, started before the gun was fired, they would say he/she jumped the gun.

More examples:

Investments are often acts of patience, which means you have to know when to act, and not jump the gun.

I’m not usually one to jump the gun on holidays. I like to enjoy them each as they come. That's why I never put up my Christmas tree before Thanksgiving.

They didn't want to jump the gun and launch them before they were ready, that's understandable. (http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2123988/Google-Brand-Pages-Lacking-But-Youll-Make-One-Anyway)

MY 2011 Thanksgiving

Many of you took the time to tell me Happy Thanksgiving last week and many more have asked me how it went. My 2011 Thanksgiving was awesome! And I didn't want November to end before sharing a little more in detail.

There were 3 Americans (United States citizens, excuse me), 1 South African, and 4 Argentines. Those of us from the States helped with the traditional meals while the South African and Argentines brought potato chips, alfajors, and Freddo (ice cream, for anyone reading this who is not in Argentina.) We hosted at our apartment in San Telmo - tiny kitchen and all.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a Turkey Emergency. We got the turkey in around 4:30 pm and by 5:00 the oven was smoking. The apartment had filled with smoke. We had a true Turkey Emergency.The turkey was cooking awfully fast and wasn't supposed to be done for at least 4 more hours! It was time to call the turkey experts! Did you know that there is a Turkey Talk Line? Yes, it's true: http://www.butterball.com/tips-how-tos/turkey-experts/overview

The woman agreed we should do what any person with a hint of common sense would do: turn the oven down.

After the turkey scare, everything ran much more smoothly. Along with the turkey we served:

Stuffing/Dressing
This is not a picture of mine, but ours had celery, mushrooms, onions, bread, and rice among other things.

Green Bean Casserole
green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and fried onions

Sweet Potato Casserole
sweet potatoes, brown sugar, cinnamon, orange juice, walnuts, butter (and more) with marshmallows on top

Chocolate Pecan Pie
chocolate, pecans, sugar, corn syrup....yum! ("Una bomba" as you would say!!)

Well, just some food vocabulary to make you hungry!
By the way, the turkey turned out fantastic! We named her Pedra.

Good Blog to follow

Just found this: http://www.summiteducation.com.pe/blog/tag/common-errors/

They are doing a countdown of the most common English mistakes made by Spanish speakers. Good explanations.

Shedding Some Light on Thanksgiving

This is an information-filled article from National Geographic which will shed some light on some Thanksgiving facts:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111122-thanksgiving-2011-dinner-recipes-pilgrims-day-parade-history-facts/



to shed light on: to reveal something about something; to clarify something

Word of the Day: gist

gist: the main or essential part of a matter

Pronunciation

What was the gist of his speech? = What was his main point?

Today a client said, "The gist of my feedback is..." when wanting to sum up his feedback.

at the beginning or in the beginning?

Well, they are both correct.

When I hear or read "in the beginning," I always think of the Bible. "In the beginning, God created..."



So here's the trick. In the beginning is used on its own. But at the beginning needs to be linked to a prepositional phrase (whether written, spoken, or imagined.)

For example:

In the beginning, I found the project difficult.
At the beginning of the project, I had a difficult time adjusting.

In the end, the project turned out to be a success!
At the end of the project, we had to review and analyze the outcomes.

You will find that "in the beginning/in the end" are often more general statements.