Expression: Get your feet wet

To "get your feet wet" means to start something by trying it a little bit. It's like when you're going into the sea or the pool, and you start by just putting your toes in the water. Here are a few examples:

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You: How's your swing dance class?
Your friend: Pretty good, although we're just getting our feet wet with some easy steps.

***

Your boss: How's your English coming along?
You: Um, pretty good...
Your boss: Would you like to come to the next management meeting?
You: Uh...
Your boss: It would be a good chance for you to listen and get your feet wet... You wouldn't have to talk if you didn't want to...
You: Okay! Thanks!

***

Bob was really excited about learning the new software. Before signing up for a course, he decided to get his feet wet by playing around with the app himself to see how it worked.

***

It's important to note that we always use a possessive in this expression. We never say "get the feet wet."

Dial it back

To dial it/something back is to reduce the amount of it.

You might see this expression in a recipe, for example: "If you don't like it too spicy, just dial back the amount of chill pepper."

Or I might write in an email, "I'm dialling back my business travel for the next few months."

This expression is easy to visualise: you can think of turning a dial to reduce the volume of music. I realize that this pretty analog for today, when you will usually see a slide bar for volume on your iPhone, etc. But back in the day, radios and stereos had a round knob for the volume. You would turn it to the right to make it louder, and to the left to "turn it down."

Autumnal: adjectives of seasons

Autumnal is an adjective to say that something is like Autumn. For example, we might comment that the weather is autumnal; we could also use it for food, clothing, or mood.

I suppose that autumnal could mean very diffident things to different people. For some, autumn is a grey, rainy time of year, whereas other might experience it as vibrant and colourful.

The other seasons also have their adjectives: wintry, summery and springlike.

So, how are things where you are?

In the midst of

In the midst of is pretty much the same as in the middle of, with one important difference.

We say in the midst of about activities, and it means that we're busy doing something at the moment.

Whereas in the middle of can also refer to location, as in "La Boqueria market is in the middle of Barcelona."



Here are a few examples of how they are similar, and how they're different:

You: Hi, do you feel like meeting up?
Your friend: I'd love to, but I'm in the midst of packing.
You: Really? Where are you going?
Your friend: Rio...


Your boss: Are you in the middle of something right now?
You: Not really. What's up?

You: Where's that bookstore you were telling me about last week?
Your colleague: It's right in the middle of town, on College Ave.

So, what are you in the midst of right now?

Summer English idea: Read some comics in English

Hi! I hope you're having a really good summer so far, enjoying whatever means summer to you.

If you're working on improving you English, what about reading some comics?

This will be especially helpful if you can find some of your favorites. Since you've read them in your native language, you'll already be familiar with characters and story lines. This makes learning on the language level much easier!

Here are a couple of links: Yahoo comics and GoComics

Enjoy!

-ism and -ist

-ism usually appears as a suffix, and relates to "a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, typically a political ideology or an artistic movement."

You can see this in words like feminism (being pro-women's rights), racism (discriminating against people because of their race), etc.

-ist refers to a person who embraces one of these practices or beliefs. Feminist, racist, etc.

In this TED talk, Joi Ito argues against being a futurist (someone who focuses on the future as a means of innovation) and for being a "now-ist".

I found this talk inspiring, and I hope you will too.

A nice surprise

I've been away from Thinking in English for a couple of months, so it's been a very nice surprise to find that people are still visiting and finding something valuable.

It's also been great to read some comments on an earlier post in which I questioned whether or not to continue. Knowing that some of you would like to keep reading is very inspiring!

I'll work on coming up with some new material. Thanks for your great support.

To be or not to be...

The quotation above is probably the most famous one from Shakespeare. It occurs in his play "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" and expresses Hamlet's questioning of his own existence. In short, he's wondering if life is worth continuing.

This blog is wondering the same thing. To be or not to be? Keep going the same way or change into something else?

If anyone has any input on this, it would certainly be appreciated. Thanks for reading and keeping in touch!

Move the needle

To move the needle is to change something, usually in a positive way. The needle in this case is the indicator which measures something. In the photo here, you can see that the needle is at 120.

We often use this expression in business. For example:

"Our efforts to move the needle with regard to getting new customers in Asia didn't have any effect until we hired a local sales rep to help us."

"The last marketing campaign really moved the needle. Our new sign-ups rose by 18%."

Epic!

Epic can be a noun or an adjective. As a noun, it refers to a long story or poem, usually containing a lot of adventure.

As an an adjective, it can have two meanings. When it describes a story or film, it gives you the sense of an epic: long and full of adventure. But it has also come to mean "really great or amazing." Below you can see some examples:

Advertisement: "Warship II continues the epic tale of the battleship Armageddon and its courageous crew members. Don't miss this thrilling continuation of a story you'll never forget!"

***
You: How was your trip to Paris?

Your friend: Epic! We found this great neighbourhood on Saturday and spent the whole night there!

***
This image comes from Etsy, and you can find the item here.

English in Asia

I'm writing from Kuala Lumpur, my first stop on this first trip to Asia.

One of the most striking things here, at least for me as a business traveler, is the high level of English.

I realize that there are a lot of cultural and historical reasons for this, not least of which is the current status of SE Asia as an important emerging market. Nonetheless, it's impressive, especially coming from Barcelona, where English is still a growth area.

What I would point out is that in places where English is important for tourism, it's almost like clothing or personal style. It creates a first impression which lingers.

I've been surprised here by the very idiomatic use of English in speaking, but especially in signage, websites, menus and advertising.

At least on that one level, it makes a traveler feel welcome and able to understand.

Any port in a storm

Any port in a storm is an expression that needs a little explanation. A port is where ships can come in from the sea. So if you imagine being on a ship in a big storm, you can see that finding a port would be good. But we use this expression when we choose something simply because it's necessary. We wouldn't choose it under normal circumstances, only in an emergency, or when no other option is available. This expression is sometimes used humorously. Take a look at the examples and see if you can pick out the the one that the speaker intends to be funny.

You: I really need to use a bathroom.
Your friend: Uh, there really isn't any decent place to stop along here.
You: What about that gas station we just passed?
Your friend: Didn't that look kind of dirty?
You: At this point, it's any port in a storm.


Bob: Did I just see you dancing with James?
Alison: Well, yes.
Bob: Wow.
Alison: I know. But my feeling right now is, any port in a storm!

Like hell

Like hell is an expression which changes depending on how it's used.

If you use it after a verb, it works like an extreme adverb. A few examples:

When the crew saw the bear, they ran like hell. (They ran really fast)

"I closed the door on my finger this morning... It hurt like hell!" (It hurt a lot)

We tried like hell to prevent the highway expansion, but we failed in the end. (We tried really hard)

On the other had, if you use like hell alone, it's an exclamation which means "no way" or "absolutely not." Here we go:

You to your colleague: "Bob's going to tell our boss that we're not going to the offsite because we don't believe in offsites."

Bob to you and your colleague: "Like hell!" (No way, I would never do that.)

Though at the end of a sentence

When you hear or read though at the end of a sentence, it means however. It indicates that there's a contradiction or condition relating to what has already been said. Here are a few examples:

You: Did your mom like the restaurant?

Your friend: Well, I'm not sure. She didn't seem to like the menu, and she had a hard time deciding what to order.

You: Oh. That's too bad.

Your friend: She finished everything, though!

***

Dear Bob,

Thanks for sending the presentation. I think it looks good in general, and I like the images you've added. We shouldn't be overconfident, though. What would you think about getting Janice's opinion before we meet with the client?

***

Your boyfriend: It's going to rain.

You: Yeah, I know.

Your boyfriend: I still want to go the park, though. What about you?

***

P.S. A warm thank you to Pal, who suggested a post about this!

See you soon

This is a special post dedicated to readers in Spain.

"Hasta ahora" is a common expression here. Sometimes people translate this into "see you now" in English.

The truth is that I really like the expression "see you now." The other truth is that we don't really say it this way in English. We say "see you soon" or "see you in a few minutes" or even "see you in a few."

So, your English will sound more idiomatic if you start using these expressions when you would say "hasta ahora."

Un fuerte abrazo,

Val

The long and short of it

People use this expression to summarize, to give the conclusion to a story, situation, or dilemma. Usually a person will be telling a story or presenting a situation, and when the conclusion is near, he or she will say, "so the long and short of it is..."

Here are a few examples:

You: "How are the wedding plans going?"

Your colleague: "Not very well, actually."

You: "Really? What's happening?"

Your colleague: "Well, we made all the reservations almost a year ago, and paid deposits, and then yesterday we got a call from the hotel saying that they're in the middle of renovations, and the project isn't going as quickly as they expected, so the long and short of it is that they're offering us a part of the building but not the part we wanted and paid for."

You: "Oh no!"

***

In a business presentation: "As you can see from last quarter's results, we're losing market share to our two biggest competitors. The long and short of it is that they're outspending us in marketing in all media."

No-brainer

A no-brainer is a dilemma which appears to have an obvious answer. If you're trying to make a decision, and you explain the options to someone else, they may tell you that it's a no-brainer, meaning that you don't need to use your brain to decide because the right choice is obvious.

This is very subjective; what may be a no-brainer for your colleague may not be for you. Here are a few examples of how to use this noun:

You: What do you think? Should I apply for the product director position?
Your colleague: That's a no-brainer! You're perfect for it and it would be a big promotion for you.

***

Your friend: I thought choosing a new tablet was going to be a no-brainer, but there are more options than I realized.

***

Advertisement: Make choosing your product a no-brainer with our fresh design! Contact us today for a free assessment of your brand.

To not be cut out for something

If you're not cut out for something, it means that you don't have the ability or willingness to do it or be it.

For example, I'm not cut out to be a surgeon, or any kind of doctor. The sight of blood and needles makes me feel faint!

I'm also not cut out to be an engineer or a financial analyst, because my math skills aren't strong enough.

I'm not cut out for mountain climbing or skiing, because my knees are not good.

What about you? What aren't you cut out for?

Tiring vs. tiresome

If a task is tiring, it makes you feel tired. Many things can be tiring, like waiting in line, filing out forms, doing certain kinds of housework.

Tiresome is an adjective that describes a person or activity that makes you feel bored and/or annoyed. So it's a bit different from tiring, because there's a more negative and emotional meaning. Here are a few examples:

You: How are you?
Your friend: Not that great. I've been in a really tiresome meeting for the last two hours, talking about the same things over and over again and not getting anywhere.

*****

You: Do you ski?
Your colleague: Not really. I used too, but the whole process was just too tiring. All that preparation and expense for such a short time actually skiing!

Practice made visible

I've posted a lot here about practice being important to improving your English. Here's a nice video about someone learning to dance in a year, by practicing a little every day.

What I really appreciate here is the very beginning. It's not often that we get to see someone doing something from the start, or near the start. I think this leads us to believe that others are born masters, and we won't be able to achieve what they can. For me, seeing someone at the beginning of learning to dance is inspiring.