We all know that a good command of idioms is essential for mastering English, because they are widely used in speech and writing.

The expression to climb the corporate ladder can be very confusing, but essentially it means to achieve higher status in one’s career, especially a career in a company, firm or corporation.

Climbing the corporate ladder is usually a gradual process that takes place over a period of time. One may start in a company and then work his/her way up after proving his/her competence, efficiency and know-how.

Example:

Fred: If I work really hard, I just know I’m going to get a raise and a better position at work! But I’m going to have to break my back (work really hard)!

Ernie: Well, Fred, that’s really the only way to climb the corporate ladder! However, in my case, I think it’s a little too early to start thinking about such things.

Here’s an article about how to climb the corporate ladder effectively.

Keep up the good study people and have fun with English!

~Josy

Hello guys! Welcome back to our blog!

This week we are going to talk about the expression let the cat out of the bag.
To let the cat out of the bag means to tell something that is supposed to be a secret; to disclose a secret.

Example:
John: Thanks for the present Karl. I already happened to know you were going to
give me a record of Hungarian Folk songs for my birthday. Susan told me. She let the cat out of the bag.

Possible Origins
There are two commonly heard suggested origins of this phrase. One relates to the supposed fraud (deception; trickery) of substituting a cat for a pig at markets. If you let the cat out of the bag you disclosed (revealed) the trick - and avoided buying a pig in a poke (old term for bag). The other theory is that the ‘cat’ referred to the cat o’ (of) nine tails, which was supposedly brought out of a bag in order to flog (beat) sailors.

The first of these theories at least has some plausibility (truth; likelihood) on its side. The cat o’ nine tails story is more doubtful. It is reported that the lashes (whips) were stored in bags, but the suggested nautical (about sailors and ships) usage doesn’t really match the ‘disclose a secret’ meaning of the idiom (colorful expression).

The first known use of the phrase in print (in newspapers, magazines, etc.,) is from a 1760 edition of The London Magazine:

“We could have wished that the author… had not let the cat out of the bag.”

There are other early citations in The Times in 1789. The first of these seems to suggest an allusion (reference) to the cat o’ nine tails origin:

“Sir John Aubrey’s passion has got the better of his prudence - he has fairly let the cat out of the bag to scratch the party.”

This piece (writing) is, however, followed by another a few weeks later which recounts (tells again) an attempted swindle (cheating; fraud) involving the sale of government bonds. The exposure of the fraud was said to have “let the cat out of the bag”.

It seems that people weren’t any more sure of the derivation in the 1790s than we are now. Which theory do you think is correct?

Cheers,
~Josy

A couple of days ago a friend of mine was telling me a story of what had happened to him in a supermarket. He was buying some stuff and suddenly a conversation caught his attention. My poor friend didn’t know what to make of it. “A good rule of thumb is to buy bread early in the morning,” is part of what he heard.

Although he understood the literal meaning of the words a rule of thumb, he was still confused. What on earth do thumbs have to do with bread?

A rule of thumb is simply a principle which you base one of your actions on. It is defined as a general guidepost for determining behavior.

What my friend heard was just a way somebody was expressing that, as a general rule or recommendable course of action, he usually buys bread in the morning because it’s fresher. See other examples below:

1) As a rule of thumb, I never drink beer before noon.
2) A rule of thumb in fashion is to never wear white after Labor Day.
3) As a rule of thumb, in the winter, your windshield fogs up.

See you next week!

~Josy

English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it.

More than half of the world’s books and three-quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary - perhaps as many as two million words.

However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, neither pine nor apple in pineapple and no ham in a hamburger.

Sometimes I wonder if all English speakers should be commited to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what other language do people drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Recite at a play and play at a recital?

If, for example, pro and con are opposites, is congress the opposite of progress?

Irregular plurals are even crazier. One index, two indices - one Kleenex, two Kleenices?

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race. That is why, when stars are out they are visible, but when the lights are out they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch I start it, but when I wind up this essay I end it.

~Josy

THE 10th MOST USED WORDS IN ENGLISH ARE:

1st - THE
2nd - OF
3rd - AND
4th - TO
5th - A
6th - IN
7th - THAT
8th - IS
9th - I
10th - IT

This Week’s Quotation:
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
~Dale Carnegie

Suggested Bibliography
English Grammar In Use with Answers and CD ROM - Cambridge
Longman Dictionary Of Business English - New Edition (Hardcover)
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English -Updated Edition with CD-ROM
Oxford Business English Dictionary For Learners Of English (with CD-R)

See you all next week! And do not forget….have fun with English!

~Josy

Merry Christmas!!



A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens’ classic story about greed at Christmas. The most
famous character, Scrooge, is now a synonym for a stingy person. You may hear people
say, “Don’t be a Scrooge.”

Christmas Tree - This is a decorated tree. Presents are placed under the tree. On
Christmas morning, families and friends open their presents together.

Christmas Lights – Strings of lights used to decorate the Christmas tree. Many people
also put up Christmas lights on houses and decorate their trees outside with lights, too. It’s quite a sight to drive around town looking at the Christmas displays different people have put up.

Chestnuts – Are commonly eaten at Christmas. There’s a famous Christmas song,
”Chestnuts roasting by an open fire”.

Christmas Carols – Songs that are sung at Christmas. If you would like to hear some of them, and read the lyrics, go to Christmas ESL Lessons.

Carols and Christmas songs (Christmas) carolers – Are groups of people that walk down a street going from house to house singing Christmas carols. Usually the people in the house will come to the door and watch the carolers sing. It is a tradition to give each of the carolers something after they sing - usually a small snack such as a chocolate, or some other treat around the house, or even a glass of eggnog, if the carolers are old enough to drink.

Christmas Greetings – There are many greetings that people use at Christmas, but the
most common are “Merry Christmas,” “Season’s Greetings,” and “Happy New Year,”
although some people say “Happy New Year’s” which is a shortened form of “Happy
New Year’s Eve.”

Christmas Shopping – There is so much shopping to be done at Christmas that people
refer to it as their “Christmas shopping.” You might hear someone say, “Have you
finished your Christmas shopping?”

Christmas Wish List – A list of things that someone wants for Christmas. Usually
children make a wish list. Some give it to Santa when they sit on his knee.

Sit on Santa Claus’s knee – It is a common tradition to go to a person dressed up as
Santa Claus and tell him what you would like to get for Christmas.

Santa’s helpers – Elves, usually dressed in red or green.

Christmas Eve – The evening of December 24, also called “The night before Christmas.”

Christmas Dinner – A big dinner on Christmas day. Usually families gather together for Christmas dinner.

Eggnog – A drink consisting of milk or cream, sugar, and eggs beaten together and often mixed with an alcoholic liquor such as rum or brandy. Gift Wrapped – When you’re shopping, you can often ask the salesclerk if they have a gift-wrapping service.

Holly – A common Christmas ornament which has bright red berries. Lawn Ornaments – Decorations placed on people’s lawns. Popular lawn ornaments are Santa Claus, Reindeer, Rudolph, Sleighs, Mangers and Elves. Manger – Historically, a small wooden trough that animals ate hay from. Jesus was put in a manger after he was born, so some people set up a manger with a plastic baby in it and animals around.

Mistletoe - It is a plant - There’s a fun tradition that North Americans follow during Christmas. Mistletoe is often hung from a doorway between two rooms. If someone stands under the mistletoe, it is customary for someone else (usually a member of the opposite sex) to kiss him/her. It can be quite a surprise to be suddenly kissed, but the person who is kissed usually quickly realizes they must be standing under mistletoe. Nativity Scene – Is a scene depicting Jesus’ birth. Usually Joseph and Mary are in a stable with shepherds and magi or wise men with gifts gathered around, angels on the roof and a star above the whole scene. Some nativity scenes are quite small and may sit on people’s furniture. Other scenes are life size or bigger. Poinsettia – This plant is also commonly used to decorate at Christmas.

Reindeer – Santa rides in a sleigh that is pulled by reindeer. The most famous reindeer is Rudolph, the red-nose reindeer. Santa Claus - Also called Santa and St. Nicholas or just St. Nick. Santa Claus is a derivation of St. Nicholas, the original ‘Santa Claus’. A large, plump man dressed in a big red suit, big black belt and carrying a sack full of gifts which he distributes to children all around the world on Christmas Eve.

Sleigh – A ‘carriage’ that rides on snow. Santa’s Sleigh. Stockings – Literally ‘socks’. Nowadays, they are quite big - you would have to be about 10 feet tall to fit into the stockings most children hang. People hang stockings in front of a fireplace. Small presents are placed in stockings and usually opened on Christmas morning.

Swaddling Clothes – Narrow strips of cloth wrapped around an infant (Merriam-Webster On-line). Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in the manger

The First Christmas – Obviously refers to the birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago. The Holiday Season – The time running from just before Christmas until New Year’s.

Trimming the Tree – Decorating the tree is called ‘trimming the tree’.

White Christmas – A Christmas with snow.

Merry Christmas, dear friends!
~Josy

Editor’s note: Starting today, every Tuesday Josy will be posting about her English learning experiences and impressions. We hope you enjoy this weekly column. Also, be sure to check back on Thursday to read Miki’s useful post about English semantics.-Bob and Rob

Something that I’ve been told all my life, and that I strongly agree with, is the following: “learn with pleasure and you will never forget”. That’s why I’m here, writing these words to you. Learning languages is such a pleasure to me that I’d like to share it with other learners.

In English, the idiom “sleep like a rock” has the same meaning as “to sleep very deeply”. I found an interesting article about this idiom, called “Sweet dreams: eight strategies to make you sleep like a log, grow like a weed—and wake up with energy to burn”:

I also found a lyric from a Beatles’ song called “A Hard Day’s Night” that has this idiom in it.

It’s been a hard day’s night, and I’ve been working like a dog
It’s been a hard day’s night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright

See you next week.

~Josy