English Language

2021-09-27 06:30:01 a pain in the neck

Meaning
You can say someone is a pain in the neck if they annoy you, or something is a pain in the neck if you don't like doing it.

For example

Lenny's being a pain in the neck today. He keeps interrupting me while I'm trying to work.

It's a real pain in the neck when you're trying to get some sleep on the train and people keep shouting into their mobile phones all around you.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#Idiom_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-27 06:30:01 Patience is a virtue

Possible meaning
The ability to wait for something without getting angry or upset is a valuable quality in a person.

Note
patience (noun) = the ability to wait calmly; the capacity to accept delay without getting angry | virtue (noun) = a quality or trait that most people consider to be morally good or desirable in a person
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#Saying_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-26 06:30:03 pack heat

Meaning
to carry a gun

For example

Someone in the crowd who was packing heat has been taken away by the Secret Service guys.

Can you believe that some of these kids come to school packing heat? Where do they get the guns from?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#Slang_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-26 06:30:03 pack away (1) Synonym: put away

Meaning
If you pack something away, you put it back where it's usually kept after you've finished using it.

For example

pack sth away Have you packed the fishing rods away or are they still in the car?

pack away sth How many times do I have to tell you to pack away your golf clubs after you've finished using them?
━━━━━━━━━━━
#Phrasal_Verb_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-25 06:30:03 (something) occurs to you

Meaning
If something occurs to you, you think of it.

For example

Has it ever occurred to you that your daughter's happiness is more important than what your friends might think if they know she's gay?

I was surprised when I heard that Anne had quit. It had never occurred to me that she wasn't happy working here.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#Idiom_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-25 06:30:03 Oil and water don't mix

Possible meaning
If you add oil to water, the oil tries to stay separate. This proverb is a way of saying that certain people or characteristics do not go together.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#Saying_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-24 06:30:04 ocker

Meaning
a crude and obnoxious Australian

For example

These ockers we met think getting drunk on beer and throwing up is cool. They were complete idiots!

Most Australians don't like ockers and the image of Australia they create.

Note
usually refers to men, though female ockers do exist in small numbers

Variety
This is typically used in Australian English but may be used in other varieties of English too.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#Slang_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-24 06:30:04 object to Synonym: oppose

Meaning
If you object to something, you don't think it's a good thing or a good idea, so you oppose it or you are against it.

For example

object to sth Some politicians object to the new law that will improve health care for children because it might mean lower profits for big drug companies.

object to sth Most people object to the huge bonuses that banks and financial companies pay their top executives.

Note
Nouns often used as objects with object to: decision, verdict, plan, idea, proposal, law
━━━━━━━━━━━
#Phrasal_Verb_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-23 06:30:04 (someone's) name is mud

Meaning
If someone's name is mud, other people are angry with them, or they're no longer popular, because they've done something wrong.

For example

Ian's name is mud now because everyone thinks he was the one who stole the money.

If any athletes test positive for a banned substance, their name will be mud.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#Idiom_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment

2021-09-23 06:30:03 Nature abhors a vacuum

Possible meaning
Empty spaces become filled very quickly.

Note
nature (noun) = the force that we regard as controlling the physical world, plants, animals etc | abhor (verb) = detest; hate | vacuum (noun) = a space with nothing in it (not even air or gas)

Origin
Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, 384-322BC) first suggested that "nature abhors a vacuum" to explain why water pumps worked (an astute if not totally accurate observation).
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
#Saying_of_the_Day
@EnglishoftheDay
@QuizoftheDay Open / Comment