Como dizer em Inglês: passar a perna em alguém [e outras expressões com a palavra FAST]

You're now a teenager trying to get away with something wrong you've done. Let's suppose you went to a party and got home very late at night. Now you're afraid your parents are going to punish you, so you try to sneek into your house very quietly. The problem is that your mother is waiting up for you by the door, and soon start making you many questions about where you've been or who you've been with. So you cleverly say: Sorry mom, I was at the library. I just lost track of time while studying. Your mom throws a very puzzled look at you and replies: Don't try to pull a fast one on me! I called one of your friend's mother and she said you were having a party.

But wait, what did your mother mean by "pull a fast one"? When you pull a fast one on someone, you're succeeding in an act of deception. In that example, you were trying to make your mother believe in something that would be beneficial for you [no matter if it's honest or not]. Many people act in a persuasive way to achieve their goals. Many dealers, for example, are known for pulling a fast one on their clients. They don't miss the oppoprtunity to make some profit at the expensive of others. But don't fool yourself. At many points of your life, you're gonna find yourself pulling a fast one on people around you. It can be very simple things, like pretending to have a headache so you don't need to do something you don't feel like.

How can you call someone who's always pulling a fast one on people? A fast talker! No, it doesn't mean the person speaks fast. A fast talker is someone who speaks in a very clever way, but very often proceeds in a disonest way to get what he wants. If you find your friend being persuaded by a disonest car dealer, for instance, you try to give him a heads up by saying something like: Don't trust him! He's a fast talker! Go find someone else!

And since we're talking about disonest dealers, many of them want to make a quick buck. That's why they're all fast talkers. They need to be clever enough to make a quick buck. What's "to make a quick buck" you may ask? When you make a quick buck, you're earning money very quickly and often in a way that is not honest. In the business world, people want to make profits by any means. They want to make a quick buck wherever and however they can. So watch out!
Take care!

O que significa "all roads lead to Rome"? [Mais expressões com a palavra Rome]

Hi again guys. Let's pick up where we left off in the last post. We were talking about the expression "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" that, as you already know, refers to people who mean well but do bad things. Like that expression, there are some more containing the word Rome. Let's get to learn some of them!

As an English student, I've witnessed many discussions around which way would be the best to learn English. Sometimes, people strongly believe the way they learned English is the best one just because it fits them better. But as we all know very well, every student is different and may learn English in a way that may not be good for you, but it's perfect for them [and the other way around]. That's why discussions like that will never end. And to some extent, that's a good thing because the more people worry about it, the more ways will be developed to make the process of learning English easier and faster. But on a personal note, I believe all roads lead to Rome.

Wait, what did I just say? What does "all roads lead to Rome" mean? It's a way of saying that there are many different routes to the same goal [in our example, language acquisiton]. I meant to say, no matter how many methods there are to learn English, or how exactly you learned English yourself, every attempt should count and works towards the same goal. But don't get me wrong. Of course there are some ways of learning english that are clearly considered wrong, or go by some rules that clearly do not work. Well, they may work or may not work. We'll never know. There's always someone claiming to have learned English through a very peculiar way. That's why I still say "all roads lead to Rome". Do you agree with me? Let me know in the comment section!

Whatever you believe, though, there's something you can never deny: It takes a lot of time to achieve a goal like learning a different language. After all, "Rome was not built in a day"; and that's one more expression with the word Rome. If you take it to the letter, you'll see it says something very obvious. Of course Rome was not built in a day. That would be impossible, right? And why is it impossible? Because it takes a lot of time to build an entire city, or to achieve something that important. So, if you've been studying english for very little time and someone comes up to you and asks if you're already fluent, you can say: It'll take me a while. Rome was not build in a day.
Take care!

When in Rome, do as the Romans do

I don't know exactly where and when I saw it, but there's a quote that goes like "we never really grow up, we just learn how to act in public". Do you agree with that quote? Well, unregardless of what you think, you've got to agree that when we're adults, we're often held back by social concepts. You want to behave differently, but you end up behaving accordingly people expect you to.

It's easier to think that way when you're in a foreign country too. For example, you're brazilian visiting India now. As you may have heard, India has a very peculiar culture that may be very different from the culture we have here in Brazil. But the thing is, when you're in India, if you wanna fit in and not draw unnecessary attention, you have to adapt yourself to the customs they have in India. After all, when in Rome do as the Romans do. But wait, Rome? What does Rome have to do with India? Well, in this case, nothing. At least when it comes to the expression. When you say "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", it doesn't really matter the place you are; you're just saying one should behave however other people around behave. That is to say, when in India, you'd better be open minded and step out of your comfort zone, cause you'll have to behave differently from what you're used to.

As I said before, you most commonly use that expression when visiting foreign places, but there's still more to it. You can use it in other situations too. Picture this: You've been hired by a company and you're now only some hours away from going to work in your very first day. But there's a problem. You saw people in the office all dressed very casualy, and you're just not sure if it would be okay if you showed up dressed just as casually. You're afrad you'd come off as an irresponsable person. So you decide to ask a friend if you should dress that way, and she says: By all means! When in Rome, do as the Romans do!

Take care!

Como dizer em Inglês: De boas intenções o inferno está cheio!

Hey guys. Today I'd like to introduce you to an expression with the word road that you may have never heard of. Road is what you drive on while on a trip for example. Something very interesting about the word road is that it will very often be followed by the preposition down, as in "I've been driving down this road for hours trying to find my way back". But let's go to the heart of the matter.

There's a very common expression in english containing the word road, which is "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Can you tell me how do we say that expression in Portuguese? Yes, it is right in the title of the post, and as you may have noticed, it doesn't contain the word road. That's a great example of idiomatic differences between two languages like Portuguese and English. Not always will you find an expression correspondent with the same words. It's not impossible to find them, but keep in mind they're the minority. Now let's imagine a little story!

Let's suppose you have a very close friend you turn to everytime you wanna open up. One day, you decide to tell him a secret that you've kept with yourself for years. As I said before, this friend of yours is really close to you, and you wouldn't tell him the secret if you didn't judge him as a really reliable person. The problem is that this time, you've been totally disappointed by him. You find out he went around telling people about your secret without any kind of discretion, and yet is not willing to take responsability for his bad attitude. Everytime you try to talk to him about what he's done, he says things like: I didn't mean to hurt your feelings; I only wanted to help you. Of course these things he tells you don't mean a thing, so you say: The road to hell is paved with good intentions; your good intentions do not matter to me now. But wait, what do you mean by that?

When you use that expression, you're just saying people often mean well but do bad things, like your friend did by giving away your secret. That expression is very often used in the kind of situation I just described. That is, when you want someone to take responsability for his bad atitudes or confess what he's done, but he keeps saying he meant well or did it with good intentions.
Take care!

Vocabulário relacionado ao Halloween

O Halloween é celebrado no dia 31 de outubro em muitos países de língua Inglesa. Mas bem antes disso, já é muito comum encontrar pessoas programando festas e, é claro, as fantasias que vão usar. Apesar do Brasil não fazer historicamente parte desta comemoração do dia das bruxas, é fácil encontrar brasileiros fazendo festas com esse tema. De uma maneira ou de outra, é importante que nós, estudantes de Inglês, fiquemos por dentro do tipo de vocabulário relacionado. So let's get started!

Uma das expressões típicas desta época é a tão famosa trick or trick [doces ou travessuras]. Isso é o que as crianças dizem de porta em porta atrás de doces. Assim como a própria expressão sugere, quando as crianças não recebem doces, é bem capaz de fazerem algum tipo de travessura. Muita gente também liga a ideia de Halloween àquelas abóboras esculpidas em formato de bruxas. Em Inglês, você pode chamá-las de carved pumpkins. O que é interessante notar é que as lanternas que são geralmente colocadas dentro das abóboras para dar um visual mais interessante e assustador são chamadas de Jack-O-Lantern. Além desse símbolo clássico de Halloween, temos também a coruja [owl], crânio [skull], aranha [spider], morcego [bat], ossos [bones], vassoura [broom], cemitério [cemetery], caixão [coffin], múmia [mummy], e finalmente o tão famoso caldeirão [cauldron], usado para fazer poções [potions]. Todos esses itens são assustadores [creepy/scary], o que é obviamente a intenção da festa [party/celebration].

Para finalizar, é legal sabermos de uma vez por todas que bruxa [witch] não é a mesma coisa que bruxo [warlock], pelo menos não na palavra.

Do you know what "pearl of wisdom" means?

Today's expression seems to be really useful. You may hear it all the time in sitcoms and movies. Ok now imagine you've got a crush on a girl [that means you like her], but you're really shy. You've actually been living this platonic love [this is the kind of love you have for someone without him/her knowing] since you were a kid, but never really said anything else other than 'hi'. One day you decide to tell your friend about what you've been through. See what happens during the dialogue:

-You know that girl I told you about before?

-The blonde one you can't stop talking about? You bet I do!

-Yeah! I know it will sound weird, but I've been willing to talk to her in ages but really never got up the courage. What do you think I should do?

-Just talk to her. What's the worst thing that could happen?

-Thank you for that pearl of wisdon, Tom. Don't you think I've never thought about that before? It's not that simple.

Did you understand what "pearl of wisdom" means? Wisdom is what makes people wise. Maybe you can say your grandparents have wisdom because they've  lived a whole life and have a lot of good advises to give you. But wait, when you thank someone for his "pearl of wisdom", you're being very ironic. Actually what you mean to say is "thank you, but your piece of advice is really bad! Can you suggest something else?". Pearl of wisom is usually used humorously to mean the opposite.

Sintomas da rinite alérgica em Inglês

Você pode achar estranho o tema de hoje, mas tudo é válido na hora de aumentar o vocabulário. Na verdade, eu sofro de rinite alérgica [suffer from allergic rhinitis] desde que me entendo por gente. Foi aí que pensei que, caso julgado necessário, é sempre importante sabermos como descrever os sintomas duma doença tão comum quanto a rinite. Os sintomas são variados, e você pode utilizá-los para descrever sintomas de muitas outras doenças, principalmente as doenças respiratórias [respiratory diseases].

Antes da alergia atacar [allergy attacks/acts up], pelo menos no meu caso é comum ter a slight migraine headache [uma leve enxaqueca]. Cheiros fortes podem causar essa enxaqueca [bring on/trigger miraine headache]. Uma vez que a rinite se instala, é comum se ter runny nose [nariz escorrendo], stuffy nose [nariz entupido], itchy eyes, nose, ears and throat [olhos, nariz, ouvidos e garganta coçando]. Além desses sintomas, em casos mais extremos, podemos sentir shortness of breath [falta de ar], wheezing [ofegante], chest tightness [aperto no peito], além da cough [tosse].

Expression: TO KICK UP A FUSS ABOUT SOMETHING

Have you heard of the word fuss before? And even if you have, do you know what it means? Well, the word fuss is the same as the word complain, as in "what are you fussing about now?". But opposed to the word complain, fuss is a word very creatively used in some interesting expressions. Most of the expressions with the word fuss means "to complain", but they bring a much more intense meaning to the act of complaining.

If you say you complained about the food you were served at a restaurant, maybe people will understand you tried to be as polite as you could and made a point not to call anybody's attention. On the other hand, if you say you kicked up a fuss about the food at a restaurant, people will have an idea of what a mess you made. Maybe they'll think you were so upset at the restaurant while kicking up a fuss about the food that the manager came to apologize. You see the difference? Although "to kick a fuss" is the same as to complain, the expression makes it clear the complaint was pretty bitter.

O que significa a palavra handicap?

A palavra handicap tem aparecido demais nas minhas últimas leituras para eu conseguir ignorá-la. Então achei que seria uma boa ideia abordá-la na postagem de hoje.

Isoladamente, handicap pode ser uma palavra meio desafiadora de se entender. Só mesmo talvez com a ajuda do contexto que é possível imaginar o seu significado. Veja se você consegue entendê-la através desse exemplo: If you don't speak English, you've got a real handicap. E aí, melhorou? Bom, pelo menos agora dá pra saber que handicap possui um significado negativo.

Sem mais enrolação, handicap possui dois significados: disadvantage [desvantagem], physical/mental disability [deficiência física ou mental]. No exemplo acima, handicap significa desvantagem. Veja novamente o exemplo om a tradução:  If you don't speak English, you've got a real handicap. [Se vocênão falar Inlês, você tem uma grande desvantaem.] Aproveite e veja mais um exemplo para fixar:

-His lack of height can prove a handicap against tall players. [A falta de altura dele pode ser uma desvantagem contra jogadores altos.]

Mas aí temos o segundo significado para a palavra handicap: mental/physical disability, como em "She can't drive because of her visual handicap." [Ela não pode dirigir por causa da sua deficiência visual.] De um forma ou de outra, esse significado também remete ao sentido de desvantagem, só que mais especificamente uma desvantagem física ou mental. Você pode nascer com uma deficiência [be born with a handicap], sofrer de uma deficiência [soffer from a handicap], causar uma deficiência [cause a handicap], lidar com uma deficiência [cope with a handicap], superar uma deficiência [overcome a handicap].

That's it for today guys. Hope to see you soon!

Expressions with the word SPOT (part 2)

Okay, let's take up where we left off. As I said before, there are still many expressions with the word spot, and they're all too important to just be ignored. But this time, I'll just try to hit the high spots! Oh wait, I just mentioned our first expression of the day: to hit the high spots. What does that mean?

When you hit the high spots, you wanna do only important, obvious or good things. Take myself as an example. I said I wanted to hit the high spots this time because last time I focused too much on the details of the expressions. If it's still not clear to understand, imagine yourself at a meeting. You and your work mates have actually set up some other meetings in the past to discuss the same report. This time though, before the meeting starts, you say: Let's not discuss the entire report. Let's just hit the high spots! When your coworkers hear you say that, they'll understand they're not supposed to go into detail this time.

Okay, now let's learn one more expression. Maybe this is the most known one. I hear it all the time on TV: a leopard cannot change his spots. Let us go by parts! First of all, do you know what a leopard is? It is a

large, spotted animal of the cat family. If you don't get it yet, just look at the picture to your side. That's a leopard. When you say a leopard cannot change its spots, it means one cannot change the basic way one is. In other words, if you're a bad person, you'll always be a bad person. You can't just become a good person all of a sudden, cause a "leopard cannot change its spots".

Now tell me: Have you ever been intimadated to do or say something? Let's suppose for instance you promised your boss you'd get all of your paperwork done by noon. The problem is that you didn't imagine your promise would be so hard to keep, and now you find yourself needing at least a couple of extra days to get it done. When your boss knows about it, he doesn't react the best way. Actually, he puts you on the spot by demanding that you do everything you had promised within 24 hours, tops. But what does to put someone on the spot mean? It means to demand that someone produce as expected, like your boss did to you in the example. It can also mean to ask someone forthright questions, like when someone keeps asking you about a secret and you just can't tell. In that case, the person is putting you on the spot to get the answer he wants.

I really don't wanna scare you, but there are actually many other expressions with the word spot. That's not all. But I'll take some time before coming up with the third part. In the meantime, try to put all of the expressions learnt so far into practice. See you!

Expressions with the word SPOT (part 1)

The word SPOT is very simple. You know what it reminds me of? It reminds of the american sitcom The Big Bang Theory. That's because Sheldon, one of the main characters, won't let anyone sit in his "special" place in the couch. He calls it his "spot". If you havent watched that sitcom yet, don't miss that chance! The Big
Bang Theory is a great sitcom to have fun while learning English.

But let's go back to the word spot. I think you know what spot means now that I've mentioned the Sheldon's example. But in the case you don't watch the sitcom, besides being a specific place, spot can also mean "a rounded mark or stain made by foreign matter like paint, ink, etc...". Is it easier to undertsnad now? Let's jump right into the expressions with the word spot now. That's what matters the most.

Imagine yourself being in a very tight place. It's uncomfortable, it bothers you because it is somehow a problem. The figurative sense of that idea is kind of what our first expression means. If you see someone saying he's in a tight spot, for example, it means he's caught in a problem (most of the time in a financial problem). Take this example: Jook, John, I'm in a tight spot. Can you lend me twenty dollars? Notice that that expression is rather general. Although it can be used to tell people you're broke, it doesn't necessarily mean only that. You may also be caught in a problem for other reasons.

Now our next expression has nothing to do with the previous one. It is related to an emotional reaction towards fear or suprise. Among many reactions someone can have when surprised or fearful, maybe you're one of those who become unable to move. Let's suppose Chandler saw a ghostly figure. He was so scared he stood rooted to the spot. In other words, he was so scared he couldn't move at all. That's exactly what the expression means: to be uncapable of moving because of fear or surprise. What can make you stand rooted to your spot? Particularly, I can't remember the last time I was that scared. What about you?

Our third expression with the word spot has somehow to do with a kind of emotion as well. Pretend you have a friend called Michel who's passionate about cats. She has about 5 cats and is about to get the sixth one. While talking to another friend of yours about her, you say: Michel has a soft spot for cats. What does that mean? Well, it means she's got a fondness for cats, she loves them. You could also say "she has a soft spot in her heart for cats." It makes it even clearer she really loves them. The one thing to keep in mind is that you can use that expression with animal, things and even people. If you like someone special, you can say you have a soft spot for him/her. Isn't it great?

There are still many other exressions with the word spot to touch on, but I just realized how long this post has become. So I'll leave the rest of the expressions for the next post. I'll call it "part 2". Stick around!

Phrasal verbs: look/kiss up to someone

Hoje eu vou falar sobre dois phrasal verbs que, ao mesmo tempo que possuem uma estrutura bem semelhante, tem significados contrários. Primeiro, veja dois exemplos básicos deles:
Sally looks up to her boss.
Sally kisses up to her boss.
To look up to someone significa admirar, tem respeito por alguém. Ou seja, demonstra um sentido positivo, se refere à ação de ter algum tipo de admiração por alguma pessoa respeitável. Já o segundo phrasal verb, to kiss up to someone, pode talvez referir-se também ao ato de ter admiração alguém, mas aquela que se tem com algum tipo de interesse, e que geralmente vem de forma exagerada e forçada. Em Português, dizemos puxar saco. If I kiss up to my boss, maybe I'll get the promotion. [Se eu puxar o saco do meu chefe, talvez eu serei promovido.]