O que significa let one off the hook?

I was listening to the radio the other day when one of the hosts confessed doing something bad three nights before. He dropped a very expensive piece of art that belonged to someone else in the show. The owner had a very positive reaction and forgave him right off the bat, but he couldn't let it go for a minute and kept going on and on about it for 3 days straight. Here's what he was told as an attempt to make him take it easy on himself:

Let yourself off the hook.

When you let someone or even yourself off the hook, that means you allow one to escape from blame, responsibility, obligation or difficulty. So consider that he couldn't sleep a wink since the unfortunate event for guilt and a sense of responsibility. There was nobody blaming him for anything at that point, but he was the one who was beating himself up for not letting himself off the hook.

That's all for now guys. Do you have troubles letting yourself off the hook? Let me know in the comment section down bellow. Bye bye 

A origem do termo Queer na comunidade LGBT e a expressão Queer fish

A long time ago I came across an Instagram filter that displayed the word Queer in bright colorful letters. I was confused because that was one of the first times I ever heard of that word.

I soon came to understand that queer is an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender. But what intrigued me most by then was that the term originally means strange or peculiar. How come would a minority group call themselves by such a pejorative term?

In the late 19th century the term started to be used against those with same-sex desires, but ended up being reclaimed by activists as a deliberatively provocative alternative. Isn't that interesting?

Now that you've learnt the etimology of the word, how about a new expression with it? A queer fish does not have any association with the minority group I just mentioned before, but can be used to refer to anyone who's deemed as odd by others. Do you know of a queer fish or consider yourself to be one? Let us know in the comment section down below. Bye bye 

O que significa slap someone on the wrist?

I just saw an expression in an article earlier today and I thought I'd share it with you guys. The thing is, there's a lot going on in brazilian politics right now and by that I mean a lot of inconsequential punishment.

For the last few months during the new government we have heard our president say the most unbelievably disgusting things. And as disgusting as some of those quotes are, it seems like we are living in a kind of subtle dictatorship where he just can get away with everything he says or does. And it makes sense that all of that's been happening if instead of fighting for our democracy we are just slapping him on the wrist. 

When you slap someone on the wrist, you give them a mild punishment or warning. It alludes to the act of literally slapping someone on their wrist when they put their hands where they shouldn't be. Tell me if I'm wrong, but that's not the proper way to administer punishments for someone who's done nothing but destroy our country. Let me know what you think down in the comment section Bellow. Bye bye 

O que significa a expressão grind to a halt?

There's been a fuss over how long smartphones the way we know them today are going to stick around. The stagnation of the mobile phone industry and the fact it's gone flat over the last years have encouraged people to believe we will have a replacement for this kind of technology in about five years time. 

The other day I saw an article on the internet touching on the same topic. It's the one you see right above in the screenshot. Can you understand what the highlighted expression means?

When something grinds to a halt or comes to a grinding halt, they gradually come to a standstill or end. "This expression alludes to a clogged engine that gradually stops or a ship that runs aground."

So without reading the article I mentioned before why do you think smartphones sales growth ground to a halt? Do you think it's because of the increase in smartphone prices? No more as exciting new features? Let me know in the comment section down below. Talk later!