In Hong Kong English, Add oil! means something like βGo on!β or βGo for it!β A recent addition to the Oxford English Dictionary, this expression of encouragement comes from Cantonese (ε ζ²Ή or gΔ yΓ‘u; rendered as jiΔyΓ³u from Mandarin) and draws on the...
To describe something tiny or insignificant compared with something vast, you might reach for phrases like a drop in the ocean or a drop in the bucket. In Mandarin, thereβs an equally picturesque phrase that translates as nine cows, one hair, δΉ η δΈ...
Whippoorwills, bob whites, and chickadees. How do we decide the names of birds and what to call their calls? Plus, the last syllables of Arkansas and Kansas are pronounced differently, but they come from the same etymological root. And: Whatβs the...
At a South African boarding school, Rob picked up a phrase from Afrikaans that translates to land with your bum in the butter, meaning βto be lucky.β There are several variations in English β often with other words for βbumβ, like βassβ or βarseβ β...
Colin from Los Angeles, California, is pondering the expression make no bones about it, which suggests the speaker is talking or acting with no hesitation whatsoever. The saying is inspired by the idea of literally finding bones in oneβs food, since...
The English language has a variety of expressions referring to the excretion of moisture from the skin due to heat. Thereβs the verb perspire and the Yiddish borrowing schvitz. If you perspire profusely, you may sweat buckets, or be sweating like a...
