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Tag: take for granted

  • Fleeting

    Fleeting

    Word of the Day: Fleeting Fleeting moments come and go in the blink of an eye. The term fleeting is often used in poetic or romantic contexts to describe transient, brief, and ephemeral moments. These moments are usually so short that they may pass by unnoticed if one is not paying attention. The word fleeting…

  • The naked eye

    The naked eye

    Phrase: The naked eye Let’s get naked! Don’t panic! That’s not going to happen. This is, for the most part, a family-friendly website. We see many things with the naked eye; some things we cannot see, and some things should never be seen. So, keep your clothes on. Today, boys and girls, while fully clothed,…

  • In a heartbeat

    In a heartbeat

    Phrase: In a heartbeat It can take a lifetime to build something up, and then just like that, it’s gone in a heartbeat. How many people in Japan have had their homes destroyed by earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding or landslides? The number must be in the tens of thousands, if not the hundreds of thousands. One…

  • Have your wits about you

    Have your wits about you

    Phrase: Have your wits about you Japan is well-known for being a safe country. It is one of the reasons young Japanese do not have their wits about them when travelling overseas. Foreigners often remark that at Starbucks (in Japan), the Japanese will often place their bags on a chair to save it while they…

  • Hard done by

    Hard done by

    Idiom: Hard done by Probably many of us are feeling hard done by at the moment. With all of the travel limitations, cancelled plans and staying at home, it’s only natural to think that we’ve been mistreated. In the West, we’ve learned to love our freedom. Here we haven’t experienced any real hardship on a…

  • Part of the furniture

    Part of the furniture

    English Idiom: Part of the furniture One of the great things about working at the same company for a long time is stability. At the same time, though, one drawback is that you become part of the furniture. What I mean is that once you’ve been somewhere so long, it seems permanent, and you become…

  • Take for Granted

    Take for Granted

    Phrase: Take for Granted Never take electricity for granted. At the beginning of September this year, the Kansai region of Japan suffered a direct hit from the 21st typhoon of the year, Typhoon Jebi. It was the most powerful typhoon to hit the archipelago in 25 years, and it caused havoc. Coming from eastern Canada, it…

  • Key to success

    Key to success

    Idiom: Key to success Everyone desires to discover the key to success. We treat it as if it is some well-kept secret. Fortunately, there is no real secret key to success. The key to success is what causes a person to become successful. It’s not a secret. The key to success is hard work. It’s a matter…

  • Any port in a storm

    Any port in a storm

    Proverb: Any port in a storm When you are at sea, any port in a storm will offer relief and safety. You may not like the port and it may not be where you’d prefer to be, but it’ll do until the circumstances can be improved. This certainly has been a stormy week in Japan. On Tuesday,…

  • Add insult to injury

    Add insult to injury

    Expression: Add insult to injury I was having difficulty coming up with an example to explain the phrase add insult to injury, but Japan gave me a perfect example. What should have been a happy day turned out to be quite the opposite. The Japanese national soccer team, Samurai Blue, could only add insult to injury by playing…