Friday, February 15, 2013

Hands down

I think this is HANDS DOWN the best orca footage I've seen online, and I've seen quite a few. It's a short video clip of the birth of an orca at Sea World San Diego. Orcas are also called killer whales and are one of my favorite animals on the planet. If you look closely, the mother is pushing its newly born CALF (baby orca) to the surface so it can breathe. Orcas are mammals and have to SURFACE to breathe air.

Hope you enjoy the footage. It's short, but sweet. :-)




HANDS DOWN means it's undisputed, there's no contest, or there is no question when comparing something or someone with others. This idiom is usually used with comparative or superlative adjectives.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Getting a kick out of something

I GOT A KICK OUT OF reading this sign at a cafe inside Grand Central
Station and seeing people pay just 5 cents for coffee. There were
 long lines of customers taking advantage of the offer.

I'm so busy these days that I GET A KICK OUT OF DOING anything out of my routine. Last Friday, I stopped by Grand Central Terminal in New York City to check out its anniversary celebrations. The train station turned 100 years old last weekend, and to COMMEMORATE (officially remember) this MILESTONE (important event), some stores and restaurants inside offered 1913 prices for some items. I had a bar of fudge for 27 cents in the Grand Central Market. Some shops offered coffee for 5 cents and bread for 6 cents. I definitely GOT A KICK OUT OF handing the cashier three DIMES (ten-cent coins) for something that would have cost about two BUCKS (dollars).

GETTING A KICK OUT OF something means to find enjoyment in something. This expression can be followed by a noun or a gerund (verb+ing). You can GET A KICK OUT OF a friend's jokes, or you can GET A KICK OUT OF listening to a friend's jokes. So what do you usually GET A KICK OUT OF?