menos de 1 minuto Jack Scholes The reason a dog has so many friends is because he wags his tail instead of his tongue. Rumi To wag When a dog wags its tail it moves it from side to side. When you wag your finger or your head you shake it from side to side or up and down, often as a sign of disapproval. To start / set tongues wagging To cause people to start talking about someone’s private affairs and say unkind things Continue lendo→
menos de 1 minuto Jack Scholes Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond your grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. TO ALIGHT To land (formal) Cf. Lançamento: Aprenda inglês com humor GRASP SYN – grip 1. A strong hold of somebody or something. He shook my hand with a very firm grasp. 2. A person’s understanding of a subject, especially something difficult or complicated. I have a good grasp of English grammar, but Continue lendo→
menos de 1 minuto Jack Scholes What’s done cannot be undone. William Shakespeare (Macbeth) To undo To cancel or remove the good or bad effect of an action. Un- The prefix un- is often used with verbs to describe the opposite of a process or the reverse action. To lock – to unlock To pack – to unpack To roll – to unroll To plug – to unplug To dress – to undress To screw – to unscrew To tie – to untie The Continue lendo→
menos de 1 minuto Jack Scholes I know my wife Mercedes so well now (after our 30-year relationship) that I have not the slightest idea who she really is. Gabriel García Márques A 30-year relationship – numbers and measurement In measurements we often use the structure – number + noun + noun. Note that: 1 The number is usually joined to the first noun with a hyphen ( – ). 2 The first noun is used in the singular. Here are a few more Continue lendo→
menos de 1 minuto Jack Scholes Difficulties are opportunities to better things, they are stepping stones to greater experience. Perhaps some day you will be thankful for some temporary failure in a particular direction. Cf. Falsas Gêmeas: EXPERIENCE x EXPERIMENT Cf. Como traduzir “FAIL”? Cf. Falsos Cognatos: PARTICULAR STEPPING STONE 1. One of a line of big, flat stones you step on to cross a river. 2. A step in a process that helps you to make progress or begin to achieve something. Your present job is just a stepping Continue lendo→
2 minutos Cocky by Jack Scholes COCKY / COCKSURE The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. – Bertrand Russell Cocksure / cocky Too confident about yourself and in an annoying, often unpleasant or rude way. Informally, the word cocky is more common. He was a bit cocky when he was a teenager because he was always getting the best grades in his class. A pronúncia de cocky no Macmillan Dictionary Clique nos links a Continue lendo→