Snap out of it!

To snap out of it is to move quickly back to one's normal or usual condition. People often use this as an imperative; if they think you're acting strange, or under a bad influence, they'll say "Snap out of it!"

One of the best movie scenes with this expression is from Moonstruck. The Nicholas Cage character is in love with the Cher character, and she thinks his love is crazy, especially because he's younger than she is. Here's the clip:

In the same boat

In the same boat is an expression which means in the same situation.
Here are some examples:
You: I have so many meetings! I can't get my work done!
Your colleague: Yeah, we're all in the same boat.
*****
Him: I was completely lost, and I went up to some people to ask for directions, but they were in the same boat! So we decided to walk around together for awhile, and we ended up spending the rest of the day together.
****
"On the first day of a new job, it's natural to be nervous. Just remember that we were all in the same boat when we started!"

Field Trip!

A field trip is an excursion that you take as part of a course or class.
Not long ago, Marc and I took a field trip to the Fundació Joan Miró for our Friday English class.
Since Marc is a very creative and innovative Catalan guy, I thought he would enjoy the big retrospective show of Miró's work, and I knew I would enjoy hearing his thoughts about it, since Marc always has interesing ideas and insights.
Thanks for going on a field trip, Marc! I hope we have many occasions for them as we go along!

Dreaming in English

One of my favorite people has been watching a lot of TV programs in English recently. I think she often puts on the subtitles in English, which is very helpful in terms of learning new words and expressions, and also understanding characters who talk really fast!
Of course this is a great practice in itself, but it has a surprising side benefit: sometimes she dreams in English. So she might wake up with a word in her mind, remembered from a dream. She writes this word down, and then looks it up and learns the meaning.
I don't know if you've ever experienced anything like this, but I have. Reading for an hour or so in Spanish before going to sleep often has a similar result for me. And the best part is that these practices are a kind of mental immersion in language, which continues while you're sleeping... What a great way to learn!
I've noticed recently that this English dreamer's speaking has really, really improved, definitely due to watching TV programs, but also because of these dreams.
So, why not try a little English before bed?

P.S. This post is dedicated to JL, a great learner and a spectacular person. And the image is reblogged from eros & thanatos.

Hype, hoopla and hullabaloo

These three words are all nouns, and they all mean excitement (some people would say noise) generated by an event, a new book or film, a new trend, etc. Hype is the most commonly used, and it can also be a verb. Hoopla and hullabaloo are more old-fashioned, but I think they sound great, so why not use them sometimes just for fun? Here are a few examples of the usage:

You: "What's all the hoopla about?"

Your colleague: "The company has just won an award."

***

You: "I never go see films that have a lot of hype; I find that they're usually disappointing."

Me: "Yeah, I know what you mean. But sometimes hype is justified, don't you think?"

***

There was a lot of hullabaloo about John's new restaurant when it first opened, but the hoopla died down when people discovered that the service there was terrible.

***

Marketing Director: "I think we should hype the new features as much as possible, don't you?"

Communications Director: "Absolutely, and the sooner, the better!"

P.S. The image here is from www.businessinsider.com

Ouch!

When you hurt yourself in a way that isn't very serious, or when someone else hurts you a little(by stepping on your toe, for example), it's typical to say "ouch".
We also say this sometimes as a comment, about someone's injury, or also about an insult or sarcastic response. Some examples:
You: What happened?
Me: I burned myself cooking last night.
You: Ouch!
Me: Yeah, it really hurt!
************
You: What did your boss say?
Me: He said I should spend more time working and less time blogging.
You: Ouch!

P.S. Ouch has the same sound as down, brown, and couch.

Today

...I'd like to wish you a happy Groundhog Day!

Whether your winter will be long or short, I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. This image is from Wikipedia