Archive for February, 2009

Expression: Plan B

Feb 28th

Posted by The Culips Team in Catch Word

3 comments

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planbSometimes we have a plan to do something and it does not work. In that case we need to plan something different, and that is when we use this expression. If you want to listen to this podcast, but your internet is not working, you will have to go to Plan B! What is your Plan B?

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Maura: So an example could be that I wanted to make something for dinner, I wanted to make pizza but then I realized I didn’t have tomato sauce so I went to Plan B, I decided to make something different for dinner.
Jessie: Right. So in that case, making pizza was your first plan and it didn’t work out so your Plan B was to make something else.
Maura: Yeah, I made pasta instead.
Jessie: Oh that sounds good.
Maura: Yeah, it was a good Plan B.
Jessie: You can also say something like, if I can’t pass this exam by studying hard, Plan B is to cheat on the exam.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Hamed Saber

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Oscar Time

Feb 23rd

Posted by Maura in culture

1 comment

Hey everyone!

Did any of you watch the Oscars (the Academy Awards)? Every year I watch and every year I feel it is a bit boring. There was a lot of stuff on the show that I didn’t find interesting.

The best part is definitely seeing all the stars, and seeing how they look…and of course, seeing who wins which awards. Arguably, the only categories that are interesting are Best Picture, Best Actor/Actress and Best Supporting Actor/Actress.

It was really exciting when Slumdog Millionaire won for Best Film of 2008! Here is the clip of them accepting their award!

For a full list of all the winners, click here.  And if you haven’t seen Slumdog Millionaire yet, go see it!

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Expression: The Tip of the Iceberg

Feb 22nd

Posted by The Culips Team in Catch Word

3 comments

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iceburgWe, in Montreal, hope this snowy weather is not just the tip of the iceberg! This expression, the tip of the iceberg can be used to talk about many other things than the weather. We often use the expression when there is some kind of problem. Do you know this expression? If not, check out this episode.

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Jessie : So we almost always use this to talk about something negative, like a problem but sometimes people use it as positive or neutral. An example of a way we might use tip of the iceberg as a negative is to say something like, the layoffs at the company were just the tip of the iceberg, but soon the entire business went bankrupt.
Harp : So when we look at this example, the layoffs are the tip of the iceberg, they are just the small part of the problem.
Jessie : Right maybe only one or two people lost their jobs.
Harp : Exactly but when the business goes bankrupt, that’s the whole iceberg, the whole problem is that everyone loses their jobs.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Jeffmcneill

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Love at first sight

Feb 19th

Posted by Harp Brar in Expressions

No comments

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Every time that I hear this expression I automatically get this song stuck in my head.

It’s a very catchy and fun song. I really don’t believe in love at first sight in the traditional sense, I don’t think that I could see someone and be in love with them just by seeing them. Even with my boyfriend, I thought right away that he was very cute but I didn’t think that I was in love. BUT I do believe in love at first sight when it comes to shopping! When something catches my eye, for example a beautiful dress, I know that I love it right away. What about all of you? Do you believe in love at first sight? Let us know by writing a comment here.

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Culture: Love At First Sight

Feb 14th

Posted by The Culips Team in Close Up

1 comment

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cupidHappy Valentine’s Day! In this episode we are talking about the phenomenon of falling in love at first sight. Actually Robin and Harp are continuing their conversation from last episode and Maura explains some of the expressions they use. You’ll also learn about Cupid! Do you know Cupid?

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Robin : But how long does it take to fall in love with somebody?
Harp : I don’t think there is a time I would put on it but more than just one meeting. The first meeting would get me interested in someone
Robin : And then the second one you would fall in love. Alright!

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Maura : “Fall in love” Does everyone know this expression? When you meet someone and you start to love them, this is called falling in love. Maybe we say “fall” because you have no control over it. When you feel love, you can’t control it either.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Blue Stone Graphics

Valentine's Day is coming soon!

Feb 12th

Posted by Maura in culture

No comments

Hello everyone!

Do you have any special plans for Valentine’s Day? February 14th is also my friend Katja’s birthday, so I am going to be celebrating with her.

At this time of year, there are so many symbols of love around the city, in shops and in restaurants. You see lots of red, hearts and pictures of Cupid (listen to our podcast this Saturday to find out who Cupid is).

Walking around in my neighbourhood, I found that someone had created a Valentine’s snow sculpture! This is the first time I have ever seen something like this, but I thought it was so cute that I wanted to share it with you.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day

Culture: Happy Valentine’s Day

Feb 7th

Posted by The Culips Team in Close Up

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kristinamayIt’s one week until Valentine’s Day and to get you in the mood for love we are uploading our episode a week early! Maura talks a bit about the history of Valentine’s Day to start and then we listen to a REAL conversation between Robin and Harp about Valentine’s Day. What do Robin and Harp think about Valentine’s Day? (Their conversation will finish in next week’s conclusion episode, called “Love at First Sight”.)

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Harp : But one time my boyfriend bought me flowers and I was living in France and he was living in Canada and that was really romantic.
Robin : Really?
Harp : Really
Robin : Did you cry?
Harp : I didn’t cry but I was very happy.
Robin : OK, OK.
Harp : It was very unexpected but typically I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. How about you?
Robin : Typically I really like Valentine’s Day….

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: kristinamay

The Temperature Challenge

Feb 1st

Posted by Jessie in English

2 comments

Brrrr!

Photo by Ryan King

It’s pretty cold here in Montreal these days, but I’ve been drinking lots of hot tea to stay warm!  Maybe that’s why I started to think about all the ways we use temperature words in the English language.  There are so many expressions and idioms that have to do with hot and cold!

We can say that someone has “a cool head” if they can stay calm and think clearly in stressful situations.  If someone gets angry very easily, we can call them “hot tempered”.

Sometimes, expressions using opposite temperatures don’t have opposite meanings.  We can say that someone is “hot” if we think they’re good looking, or “cool” if we think they’re a really great, interesting person.  Both “hot” and “cool” are great compliments!

Here at Culips, it seems like we’ve all been thinking a lot about cold temperatures lately.  A lot of our recent blog posts mention snow, and a couple of weeks ago we did a Catch Word episode about the expression “to get cold feet”.  (If you don’t know what that means, go listen to the podcast!)

Personally, one of my favourite temperature-related expressions is “to be in hot water”.  In this expression, the term “hot water” is a synonym for “trouble”.  For instance, a guy will usually be in hot water if he forgets about his girlfriend’s birthday!

I’m curious about what other temperature expressions we can think of together.  There must be hundreds of them in the English language alone, but I also wonder what kinds of temperature expressions exist in other languages.

So here’s my challenge for all of our readers: (This means YOU!)

How many temperature idioms, phrases, or expressions can we think of?  Share them here as a response to this blog post.  Just click on the little speech icon to the right of the post’s title and write whatever you can think of.  You can include definitions too if you want, but you don’t have to.  You could even translate an expression from another language into English and share that!  As always, feel free to ask questions too!

Expression: Pig out!

Feb 1st

Posted by The Culips Team in Catch Word

2 comments

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Everyone likes to pig out sometimes! We usually pig out at parties or on special occasions. But sometimes we don’t need a special excuse to pig out. To pig out is related to food and eating. To understand exactly when and how to use listen to the expression pig out you have to check out this episode. (We suggest eating chips, chocolate bars and cake while listening!) Enjoy!

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Jessie: So if I was talking to my friend and I noticed that they were eating a lot, should I say “hey, you’re really pigging out”?
Maura: No, definitely not! It’s very rude to say it to someone.
Jessie: Really! Well, when could I say it then?
Maura: Well you would just use it to talk about yourself because you can say what you want about yourself. If you are eating a lot of chips or popcorn at a party, you could say “look at me, I’m pigging out!”

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: This year’s love

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