YouTube / iTunes / Spotify / Radio Public / Pocket Casts / Google Podcasts / Breaker / Overcast
Listen to ArtisanEnglish.jp posts & lesson intros here.
Word of the Day: Crux
It’s Valentine’s Day!
I’m no expert when it comes to affairs of the heart, but I do know that the key is to be open, honest, and trusting to the one you love.
Do that, and ninety percent of the hard work is done.
If you’re looking for some advice on romance, how to maintain a marriage for twenty-something years or something along those lines, sorry, I’m not your guy.
Valentine’s Day is the day to take some time away from the daily grind and spend it with that special someone dear to your heart.
Now I’m going to talk about learning English.
Hey, I’ve got to put food on the table somehow, and I’d never do it as a romance adviser.
So, today’s word is crux, which is the most important factor in a problem, situation, or matter.
Whenever we want to solve a problem completely, we must get to the crux of the matter.
Whether we’re concerned with international trade, computer software issues or why your wife’s giving you the cold shoulder, find and focus on the central point first.
By doing that, all the more minor issues will be solved as a matter of course.
Most times, when you come upon the word crux, you’ll see it in the phrase the crux of the matter.
You’ll notice that phrase is used most often when someone makes a suggestion or gives an opinion.
Now, of course, you must always take what other people say with a grain of salt and make up your mind yourself.
I always find it helpful to think of a cross – crux means cross in Latin.
A cross has two lines which intersect, just like any debate or argument has two or more lines of thought.
Where those lines meet is the most crucial issue to be solved or, as they say, the crux of the matter.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 79.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.