Out of curiosity, what in the world is an ONOMATOPOEIA?

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An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the word it describes, for example: boom! crash! whoosh! snap! woof-woof!! oops! tap, buzz...  This word found its way into English from the Greek words 'onoma', 'onomat' (name), 'poiein' (to make), and 'oeia' (word-making).  Here are some other fun ones:

• We enjoyed the crackling of the fire as we sat around the campfire in the  forest and stared at the stars.
• I couldn't sleep last night as the faucet went drip, drip, drip.
• Pardon me, I couldn't hear what you said...you were mumbling.  Could you say that again, please?
• Without any manners and in a rush, he slurped up every last bit of his spaghetti with the most obnoxious sounds! 
• The kids splashed around in the pool until the entire patio was soaked. 

It is especially funny, yet unsurprising, how languages all of the world interpret the same sound, as in the sound a cat makes:

• Arabic: muwá
• Chinese: meu-meu
• English: meow
• French: miaou
• Japanese: nya
• Portuguese: miau
• Turkish: miyav

(American) Idioms in RED

All too often, students waste time learning idioms that are outdated and hardly no longer used, so here are 5 idioms that are still regularly used in American English.  Remember that when learning new vocabulary, there is a better chance of retaining information if there is a theme that connects the new words.  Here you have red idioms:

adj.=adjective
adv.=adverb
n.=noun
v.=verb

1.  in the red (adv.): negative bank account balance
"My bank account balance has been in the red ever since we went to Las Vegas!"
2.  seeing red (v.): to become violently, uncontrollably angry
"He has a violent temper, and believe me, when he gets mad, he sees red."
3.  paint the town red (v.): to party all night, to enjoy oneself excessively
"We're not staying home again on a Saturday night.  Let's get out of the house and paint the town red!"
4.  red tape (n.): bureaucratic paperwork, government administrative procedures
"Whenever I renew my passport, I also have to deal with the red tape--forms, birth certificates, social security cards...and unresponsive government workers."
5.  to catch somebody red handed (v.): to catch somebody the moment they are committing a crime
"The murderer was caught red handed after the police found him with the victim's blood on the knife he was still clenching.  (to clench (v.) is to hold tightly)
6.  red light district (n.): The most famous red light district is in Amsterdam where prostitution is legal. 

Note: Did you notice connections in the red idioms?  I'm sure you did, and that is the theme of blood (anger, murder, passion) as seen in 'seeing red', 'paint the town red', 'red light district' and 'red handed'.  While nobody knows precisely where 'paint the town red' originated, some claim that the expression started when a bloody riot occurred in England in the mid 1800's that left the town's buildings red with blood. 

California Slang Shortlist

For those of you interested in informal English, spoken rather than written English, here is a shortlist of slang used everyday in California.  Note: The bold below indicates a stress.

adj.=adjective
adv.=adverb
n.=noun
v.=verb

    1.  lame (adj.) : boring, stupid, uninteresting

• Our camping trip turned out to be really lame because it rained the entire time.

    2.  swell, break (n.): surfing place or spot, group of waves

• My favorite break during the summer is in Del Mar.
• That swell was huge yesterday!

    3.  mellow (adj.):  relaxed, calm,

• My dog won't bite you--she's super mellow. 

    4.  sketchy (adj.): dubious, suspicious, weird

• I don't ever go to that neighborhood at night because it gets really sketchy.

   5.  awesome (adj.): great, wonderful, incredible

• The weather in California is awesome all year round. 

   6.  gnarly (adj.): crazy, unbelievable, amazing (Note: Gnarly can be good or bad.)

• There was a gnarly car accident yesterday at the cliffs. (bad)
• The waves here were totally gnarly yesterday after the tsunami hit Hawaii. (good or crazy)

   7.  dude, man (n.): guy (or more rarely, girl), used mostly between men

• Dude!  I can't believe you haven't seen that movie...
• Hey man, what have you been up to lately?

  8.  stoked (adj.): happy, excited 

• I'm so stoked--I just found out that I passed the bar exam!!!

  9.  totally (adv.):  absolutely, completely, or it can be used to answer yes

• + I'm totally into this new website that I found online--it has all sorts of information about traveling in Costa Rica.  Have you seen it?  (Note: to be into something means to really be interested in something).      
• + Totally!  I was the one who showed it to you!  Remember?  

10.  whatever (adv.):  It doesn't matter to me; Either way is fine for me; I don't care.

• +Do you want to go to cook at home or go out?
• +Whatever.  You choose...I worked all day today, so anything is fine with me.

15 Phrasal Verbs You Should Know (if you don't already...)

Phrasal verbs consist of a verb + particle (usually a preposition, sometimes an adverb), that together have a certain meaning.  For example: 

1.  The little mouse ran into the wall.  (The mouse went inside the wall.)
2.  She ran into her cousin at the movies.  (She saw her cousin by chance.  It wasn't planned.)

As you can see, the first sentence is a literal or exact translation, whereas the second sentence is a phrasal verb because it has a figurative meaning.  Phrasal verbs are difficult to learn because there are so many of them, and the meaning is not so obvious some of the time. 

Below is a sample list of phrasal verbs for all levels that everybody should know.  Please post any questions you may have! 

Beginning:
1.  put on: dress oneself in clothing or accessories (...hats, sunglasses)

• Before we go to the beach, I need to put on my bathing suit.

2.  take off: undress oneself

• When he goes to church, he takes off his hat.

3.  wake up: stop sleeping

• The alarm wakes me up every day, but I always hit the snooze button.

4.  get up:  get out of bed

• Although the alarm wakes me up at 7:00 am, I don't usually get up until 7:20.

5.  check in/out:  register at a hotel upon arrival/departure

• We checked in to the hotel late at night and then checked out early this morning.

Intermediate:
6.  figure out:  solve a problem or understand something

• I was at work until 8:00 pm trying to figure out a solution to the problems our clients are having.

7.  check out: look

• Wow!  Check out the stars...you can see so many in the desert.

8.  get along with:  have a good relationship with somebody

• Unlike most people, he really gets along with his mother-in-law.

9.  pass out:  go to sleep or lose consciousness

• I was so tired from working all day that when I got home, I didn't even have dinner.  I just passed out on my couch and didn't wake up until the next day!

10.  work out:  lift weights and/or exercise

• He works out at the gym in the morning and trains with the team in the afternoon. 

Advanced:
11.  catch up with: talk to somebody about what has happened since you last saw them

• I have to catch up with my mother because we haven't talked in a long time.

12.  come down with:  to get sick

• After traveling for 18 hours, I came down with the flu the next day.

13.  end up:  finally be or do something

• We didn't know what to do Saturday night, so we just ended up watching a movie at home.

14.  put up with:  tolerate

• I can't put up with your lies anymore.  

15.  stick with:  continue to do something

• If you want to lose weight, you have to stick with your diet, continually following it.

Have you ever heard of an ACRONYM?

I'm sure you already know many acronyms in English, but maybe you have never heard of the term acronym before.  The word itself is a combination of the Greek words akro (tip or end) and nym (name or word).  Therefore an acronym is a type of word that uses only the first letter to create a new word; for example, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), The United States of America (USA), as soon as possible (ASAP), (and of course!...) English as a Second Language (ESL).

Acronyms are used in both formal and informal English.  They are used as much in Washington, DC, with the innumerable government agencies and organizations, as they are used in online chats and text messages.  The following short lists include both formal and informal acronyms most commonly used in English that will prove to be useful additions to your vocabulary!  There are many more acronyms than those listed below, so share them if you have them!

*Grammar Tip:  Whenever using an acronym in a formal document, always spell out words and follow with the acronym in parentheses.  After you have spelled out the acronym once, from that moment on, you can use just the acronym.  For example:   The Department of Energy (DoE) has undergone transformations since President Obama took office in 2008.  The DoE is responsible for...

CHAT/TEXTS

• NP: No Problem
• LOL: Laughing Out Loud
• GF/BF: Girl/Boyfriend
• BRB: Be Right Back
• BTW:  By The Way
• IDK:  I Don't Know
• KIT: Keep In Touch
• TTYL:  Talk To You Later
• SMS:  Short Message Service
• NOYB:  None of Your Business

ORGANIZATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

• DoJ:  Department of Justice
• DoD:  Department of Defense
• ED:  Department of Education
• CIA:  Central Intelligence Agency
• NRA:  National Rifle Association
• NAACP:  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• AARP:  American Association of Retired Persons
• NAFTA:  North American Free Trade Agreement
• DMV:  Department of Motor Vehicles
• AA:  Alcoholics Anonymous
• AAA:  Triple A (towing service)
• YMCA: Youn Men's Christian Association

OTHERS...

• OJ:  Orange Juice
• PJ'S:  Pajamas
• FYI:  For Your Information
• KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid!
• AKA:  Otherwise Known As
• DOB:  Date of Birth
• SSN:  Social Security Number
• PT/FT/OT:  Part/Full/Overtime 
• OTC:  Over the Counter (You can buy OTC at the pharmacy without a doctor's prescription.)
• DOA:  Dead on Arrival  (This is in the Friend's theme song...)
• BA/BS:  Bachelor's of Art/Science
• MA/MS:  Master's of Art/Science
• MBA/MPA:  Master's of Business/Public Administration