A Dime a Dozen

A Dime a Dozen – very common; not special because it is so common.

Use: I grew up in a small farming town. Everyone drove big old trucks. The first time I saw a BMW, I was amazed. But now that I live in Los Angeles, BMWs are a dime a dozen.

BMWs are really common in Los Angeles, so seeing one is nothing special.

www.languagesystems.edu

To Have A Crush On Someone

Idiom: crush/to have a crush on someone; used as a verb

First Example:

Christina: Hey Sarah, welcome back from your vacation.

Sarah: Thanks.  It was great.  Any changes around here?

Christina: Well, they hired a new guy last week, Eric, and he's really sweet. Plus, he's kind of handsome.

Sarah: Yeah, I met him earlier.  Wait, you have a crush on him, don't you?

Christina: What? No. He's only been here a week.

Sarah: Then how do you explain the new dress? And the new hair style? And the makeup?

Christina: Well, OK, maybe I have a little crush, but I think he's married.

Sarah: I didn't see a ring when I shook his hand.  And don't look now, but he's looking at you right now. 

Christina: Really?

Sarah: I think I sense the beginning of an office romance.

Meaning: The expression "to have a crush on someone" means to have very strong feelings for someone.  However, when "crush" is used to describe attraction, it usually implies that the attraction is one way and that it likely won't last.  In the example above, Sarah thinks that Christina has a crush on their new coworker, Eric.  While Christina initially denies it, she finally admits that she does have a crush, but then she explains why it is only a crush: she thinks he's married.  However, Sarah says that he wasn't wearing a wedding ring, and then she notices that he is looking at Christina she suggests that Christina's crush could turn into an actual romance.

In addition, "crush" doesn't always have to be used with "have" or "on", as in the following example:

Timothy: I noticed you keep staring at Melissa. Are you interested in here?

Cole: Kind of.

Timothy: You should ask her out.

Cole: No.  It's just a little crush.  I'll be over it soon.

Timothy: Why not! If you like her, ask her out!

Cole: I don't think she would ever go out with me. Plus, she's a good friend.  If I asked her out, then it would be awkward when we hung out. 

In this case, Cole likes Melissa, but he says it's "just a little crush," meaning that he likes her, but it's not serious.  He has decided not to ask her out because he doesn't want to make their friendship awkward.

Note: this idiom is related to LSI's upcoming Valentine's Day party.  For more information, contact the Marketing Department or ask the front desk at your school.

www.languagesystems.edu

Those Three Little Words

Idiom: those three little words; used as a noun

First Example:

Rachel: How was your weekend?

Charlene: Fantastic! Tom took me to a really amazing restaurant, and then we went for a walk on the beach.

Rachel: Aww! That sounds so sweet!

Charlene: And then the best part - he finally said those three little words I've been waiting for.

Rachel: Wow! So you guys are really getting serious! 

Charlene: I think so.

Meaning: The expression "those three little words" refers to the phrase "I love you."  Since "I love you" is considered such a strong and powerful thing to say, we often use the phrase "those three little words" to refer to the phrase in conversation.  Usually, this is used when at least one person in a couple hasn't said it to the other, but it can also be used for the first time one partner says "I love you" to the other, as in the above example.  In this example, Charlene is excited because Tom finally told her that he loved her.  

Here is another example:

Dale: How are things going in your new relationship?

Colby: Pretty well.  I can't believe we met online.

Dale: How long have you guys been going out?

Colby: A little over a month.

Dale: Wow! If you don't watch out, someone's gonna slip up and say those three little words!

Colby: It wouldn't surprise me. I'm actually really happy

Dale: Glad to hear it.  You two seem like a really great match.

In this instance, Colby says that his new relationship is going really well, and Dale jokingly warns that someone is going to slip up (which means "make a mistake") and say "I love you" to the other.  This expression is often used in contexts such as this, when a relationship is getting serious but no one has said "I love you" to the other person yet.

Note: this idiom is related to LSI's upcoming Valentine's Day party.  For more information, contact the Marketing Department or ask the front desk at your school.

http://languagesystems.com/

Grab a Bite

Idiom:  Grab a Bite; used as a verb phrase.

Example 1:  

“I am SO hungry right now!  Which restaurant do you guys want to go to for lunch?  We could grab a bite at the Japanese Restaurant down the street.”

Meaning:  To Grab a Bite basically means to get something to eat.  In this example, the speaker was extremely hungry and wanted to find out where they would go for lunch.  The speaker then suggested that they get something to eat at the Japanese Restaurant that was nearby.  This idiom can be used in a casual way to suggest places to get something to eat.  Typically, this idiom implies a small amount of food, such as a snack, lunch item, or fast food.  It is NOT usually used to describe larger portions of food, like those eaten during dinner-time.

Example 2:

“I was in a hurry to meet my boss for the two o’clock meeting, so I grabbed a quick bite at the nearest fast-food restaurant that was along the way.”

Meaning:  In this example, to Grab a Bite is used to describe a small amount of food that would quickly satisfy the speaker’s hunger.

This idiom is from the book "The Slangman – Guide to Street Speak 1," which is used as supplementary Idioms material in LSI’s Intermediate Conversation classes.

For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/

Layover

Idiom:  Layover; used as a noun.

Example:  

“We had a three-hour Layover in Korea during our airplane trip from Los Angeles to Bangkok in Thailand.  As a result, my total travel time from Los Angeles to Bangkok was over 18 hours long!  That’s what happens when I buy cheap airplane tickets!”

Meaning:  Layover refers to the stop in one or more cities that one makes when traveling by airplane.  In this example, the speaker had a 3-hour stop in Korea during his flight to Bangkok.  As a result, the overall travel time included both his flight time along with the time he had to wait while changing planes in Korea.  This idiom can be used to describe an air travel situation that has 1 or more scheduled (or unscheduled) stops in their itinerary.

This idiom is from the book "The Slangman – Guide to Street Speak 1," which is used as supplementary Idioms material in LSI’s Intermediate Conversation classes.

For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/

Nail-biter

Idiom: Nail-biter

Meaning: something (such as a game or movie) that causes people to feel nervous because the ending is not known until the final moment

Example #1:

Jan: I’m so excited for the Super Bowl this coming Sunday!!

Steve: I know! The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos are both really great teams. 

Jan: I think it will be a real nail-biter! We won’t know who wins until the very last minute!

Steve: I’d rather watch a game that is a nail-biter than a lopsided game where one team scores all the points.

Jan: Me, too! Just as long as my team wins!

Example #2:

Selena: Have you seen that new movie, “An Unsolved Crime?”

Jackie: No, but I’ve heard that it is a real nail-biter!

Selena: Yes, it is. I had absolutely no idea who had done the crime until the last second. Then, I was really shocked!

Jackie: Don’t tell me! I still want to see it.

Selena: OK. You’ll love it! The final scene is especially nail-biting.

Meaning: "A nail-biter” is something (like a close game) that causes tension or anxiety.  In the first example, two really good teams are playing for the championship in American football. It will be a close game and no one will know who will win until the final moments of the game. This will cause fans of the teams to be nervous or tense.  In the second example, the movie is very suspenseful and the ending is unpredictable. In this example, both “nail-biter (noun)” and “nail-biting (adjective)” are used to describe the movie.  For more information, please visit: www.languagesystems.com. 

On the Rocks

Sometimes idioms can have two completely different meanings.  This is what keeps English so interesting!   The expression “on the rocks” can have a negative meaning about a romantic relationship, but it can also refer to how you would like your cocktail served!

First example:                                                     

Leila:  Hey, Sarah, how’s it going? 

Sarah:  Oh, pretty good, I guess.

Leila:  What!!!  You are a newlywed; you should be feeling better than that! What’s up?

Sarah:  Well, to be perfectly honest, I am not that happy.

Leila:  What do you mean? Aren’t you happy in your marriage?

Sarah:  Well, at first I thought so, but now I think that my husband Ryan has been seeing his ex-girlfriend Mary!

Leila:  Oh no! You have only been married for three months. I am so sorry!

Sarah:  Yeah, I really think my marriage is on the rocks. We seem to argue about everything, especially about his relationship with Mary. I’m not sure what I am going to do.

Leila:  You poor thing. I think you might need to think about marriage counseling.

Sarah:  Yeah, I’ve already thought about it. I’ll keep you posted as to what I’ll do.

Leila:  In the meantime, don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything. I feel really bad because I introduced the two of you!

Sarah:  Oh, Leila! I don’t blame you. Sometimes marriages work out, and sometimes they don’t. I’ll call you in a few days and let you know what’s going on.

Leila:  Okay, Sarah. Talk to you soon.

Sarah:  Bye, Leila. 

Meaning: When someone says that a romantic relationship is “on the rocks,” it means that things are not working out.  It means that the relationship is in danger of ending. Imagine a ship that is sailing the ocean and nearing an island. Somehow it comes too close to a reef or to some rocks, and the ship breaks apart. When a relationship is “on the rocks,” it is in a bad way. It may or may not be able to be repaired.  It is an idiom that can be used to symbolize that a love relationship is failing.

Second example:

Leila:  Hey, Sarah! I’m so glad you could meet me for a drink today. I haven’t seen you in ages!

Sarah: I’m happy to see you, too. Between marriage counseling and date nights with my husband, I have been pretty busy. It’s like we are falling in love all over again!

Leila: Oh, Sarah, I am so happy for you! I’m glad that you are trying to make your marriage work!

Sarah: Me, too. And I feel kind of silly. Remember what I told you about thinking that Ryan was seeing his old girlfriend?

Leila:  Yeah, you were suspicious. Was it true?

Sarah:  No, not at all. He was emailing her and calling her because he wanted to make arrangements to get back his old coin collection. He had put it into storage in her mother’s garage because he had been moving around so much.

Leila:  A coin collection! Wow, I didn’t know that anyone even collected coins anymore!

Sarah:  Yeah, Ryan does. He says it’s worth a few thousand dollars. He wanted to sell some of it so that he could take us on a cruise for Valentine’s Day! 

Leila:  No way! That is so romantic!

Sarah:  Yeah, he’s taking us on a cruise to Mexico, with stops in San Diego and Catalina Island!

Leila:  Sarah, I am so glad that your marriage is not in trouble. I was so worried about you.

Sarah:  Me, too, but I feel much better now.

Leila:  Well this calls for a celebration! Let’s have that drink. Bartender, I’ll take a shot of vodka, please!

Bartender:  And for you, Miss?

Sarah:  Make that vodka for me, too, but I’ll take mine on the rocks!

Meaning: In this situation, “on the rocks” has absolutely nothing to do with love or romantic relationships! In this situation, it describes how you would like your cocktail prepared. You can ask a bartender to make your drink “neat” or “straight,” which means a pour of liquor into a glass with nothing else. You can ask the bartender to make a cocktail, such as a martini; to be made “shaken” or “stirred”. Remember the 007 James Bond movies? James always asked for his martinis “shaken, not stirred.” A cocktail can be shaken in a shaker and then strained into a glass, leaving the ice behind in the shaker and not put into the glass. A stirred drink is poured in layers into the glass on top of the ice (such as vodka, soda water and cranberry juice) and then stirred by the bartender. Finally, a drink that is “on the rocks” can be a mixed drink or a straight pour of only one liquor that is poured directly on top of the ice and served that way. It is typically not stirred by the bartender. If you ask for a drink that is “on the rocks”, it means that you want it served on ice. Think of it this way, in this idiom, the ice cubes are shaped like rocks. The ice cubes are the “rocks”. This is what the expression comes from.

www.languagesystems.com