Idioms
Today I showed this book to Steven at the bookstore and said, “Steven, look at this book! I think it will like, help me with my vocabulary! And sounding smarter and stuff.”
Alright, that is not a direct quote, but it is unfortunately close to what I actually said.
I’ve wanted to improve my vocabulary for sometime now. And one of my coworkers has an extremely wide range of vocabulary, and I am just a teensy bit jealous…
I bought the book and started working in it tonight when I realized each daily worksheet has a feature called “Today’s Idiom.” Apparently, an “idiom” is what I actually meant the other day when I said “A lot of my older colleagues use figures of speech I have never heard before…”
So, I am going to introduce a new feature on my blog to help me learn the idioms – I will share them here at the end of each post, in a section called “Today’s Idiom.” Well, I’ll do that until I get sick of it anyway.
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Today’s Idiom: to eat humble pie – to admit your error and apologize
A few weeks ago, when Christina and Kyle were here, we challenged them to a game of bowling. After losing miserably, Steven and I both had to eat humble pie. (Steven and I don’t like the taste of humble pie, so on Friday we each bought our own custom bowling ball. Now Christina and Kyle are going to get some humble pie in their FACES the next time they’re here.)
Themocracy
Another way to improve your vocabulary is by doing crossword puzzles. I’m not saying I think you need to, just trying to provide alternatives that you might enjoy. 🙂
Lisa – I tried crosswords and I am SO SO bad at them! I think the ones I tried were at an advanced level. Yesterday I saw some “gentle” crossword books at the store and I thought about buying one. They seem like a fun hobby and a good way to improve your vocabulary. Maybe I will pick some up after I am a few weeks into this book and feeling pretty confident 😉
There’s always the toiletpaper with definitions on it too. 😉 Actually, read some of the classics and you’ll be all caught up in the space of a book.
(I stink at crosswords. It all just looks like an elaborate hopscotch game to me.)
This is an awesome idea for your blog–adding an idiom a day. Wish I’d’ve thought of it. Maybe I’ll steal the idea and go somewhere else with it instead. 😉
As for crosswords…start with easier ones, use pencil, and DON”T be afraid to cheat!! I’ve been doing them since I was 12 or so. I still use pencil–because I don’t like a messy grid–and I not longer cheat…but I almost never finish one all the way. It was also helpful to buy a crossword dictionary. And remember: sometimes the creator of the crossword is just on a totally different wavelength.
Kyra (savy) – Hey! Where do you get that tp?! Sounds cool 😉
Cat. – Go for it! I would like to see what you come up with – it will probably help me learn too. What is a crossword dictionary? Awhile ago, kapgar recommended this site for cheating… 😉
I love this idea! Has it helped you a lot?
Just ordered this book with your link. I need vocab help too 😉
javaqueen14 – It has helped quite a bit! Steven and I do a day together, then I add the new words to an ever-expanding email so we can look at them from time to time to review.