Tag: wax and wane
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Zeitgeist
Word of the Day: Zeitgeist You know, I’ve added quite a few French and Latin loanwords here in this blog post but a few German ones. Today we’ll look at the word zeitgeist. First off, we should get the pronunciation correct. The ‘z’ is pronounced as ‘ts,’ like at the end of ‘sweets,’ so it’s…
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Rome wasn’t built in a day
Adage: Rome wasn’t built in a day So, I heard you are on a self-improvement mission. Join the club and let me remind you, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Today’s adage means that if you want to create something great, it’s going to take some time. You will need determination and perseverance. It may…
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Snowball effect
Word of the Day: The snowball effect Well, isn’t this timely? Winter is the best time of year to talk about snowballs, and by pure coincidence, I’ve chosen the snowball effect for my post today. Now, I could wax nostalgic about building snow forts, igloos and tunnelling through huge snowbanks when I was a kid,…
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Like a moth to a flame
Phrase: Like a moth to a flame The coming of spring has caused me to think about the phrase like a moth to a flame. The phrase indicates how much a person is attracted to someone or something. It also has a negative connotation: a moth will be burned if it gets too close to a…
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Munchies
Word of the Day: Munchies When you’re feeling a little peckish and need a little snack, you, my friend, have the munchies. I’ll take another trip down memory lane now, and we’ll go back to Canada in the 1980s. Back then, Hostess was the most prominent brand of potato chips in Canada. There were many flavours. The ones…
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Keep tabs on
Phrase: Keep tabs on Have you thought about who or what you would keep tabs on? Some people are lucky enough to have had a telescope when they were kids. I suppose they used their ‘scopes’ to keep tabs on the waxing and waning of the moon, Halley’s Comet or some other astronomical stuff. To be clear from…
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Status quo
WotD: Status quo Say goodbye to the Status quo, Manila; jeepneys will soon be a thing of the past. Status quo is Latin for the way things are now or the current situation. The English language is peppered with Latin words that are still used today. Love ’em or hate ’em jeepneys have been a part of…
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Wax and wane
WotD: Wax and wane On almost any clear night, you can easily see a perfect example of wax and wane. Way above your head, you’ll see the moon. The moon is waxing or waning except when it’s full. If the moon is getting larger night after night, it is a waxing moon. If it’s getting smaller night after night, it’s…
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Drop-a-dime
Phrase: Drop-a-dime If you are a fan of old movies, you may have heard the term drop-a-dime more than once. Back in the day, before the invention of smartphones or cell phones, for that matter, people had to use public payphones. I’m forty-four, and I remember walking up to the local payphone on the corner to apply…
