tête-à-tête

My mom finished a degree in a university but typical of many country folks, she had lots of superstitious beliefs. For example, she wouldn't let us sweep dirt out when it was past six in the evening. The explanation: it would mean tossing blessings out of the house. So whenever she tidied the kitchen after dinner, she would whisk everything into a corner until morning. Not seeing any rational basis to it, I would often ignore this custom and get rid of every morsel of dirt that would go under the broom. Things would go a little crazy, messy, and scanty but I actually thought we were still much better off than most families. There's one superstition, though, that had always tickled my sense of reason.

Back in elementary, my classmates and I had to compete in a jingle contest. I was the team leader so, much was expected of me. On the day of the competition, my mom prepared two hard-boiled eggs, a hotdog, fried rice, and a glass of milk. I ate just one of the eggs but my mom said I had to eat both. Inquisitive as a kid, I asked why it had to be two. She explained that the hotdog meant 1 and two eggs were two zeros that, side by side, all form 100 for a perfect score. And the fried rice? In case everything else wouldn't work. Funny and illogical as I thought it was, it actually worked! We shouted the loudest, jumped the highest, and smiled the widest all the way to the top spot. We performed really amazingly at that time. Could it have been a simple coincidence? I had heard stories like that of a woman's passing a board exam because she wore the same shirt that her mom was in during her own exam and a guy winning the lotto twice because he bet in the same outlet. But they were not enough to make me believe such rituals really worked. On the other hand, I couldn't dismiss the possibility because my mom's "lucky recipe" worked over and over.

Before I graduated from elementary and high school, my classmates and I had to take two assessment exams called the National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT) and the National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT) respectively. For those two exams, I had the "right" ratio of eggs and hotdogs and a glass of milk at breakfast. I topped both tests. But NSAT was more rewarding because it added three more medals on my neck on graduation day for getting the highest scores in English, Science, and Filipino. Then there was winning a regional news writing contest which was my ticket to the historic Manila Hotel. Just hours after arriving from Manila, I took the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) and passed.

What I really loved about those achievements was that, my mom never credited them to her "lucky recipe." She would always tell me that they were the fruits of rightfully using my knowledge to my advantage. I think what she really meant was, she was proud of me. And if there's any "recipe" that really helped me become the best, it was the combination of her and dad's unchanging love and prayers for me and my siblings.

Copyright © 2009 by DenniSinned2. All rights reserved.

Labels: assessment tests, contest, egg, English class, hotdog, jingle, manila, neat, nsat, superstition, university of the philippines, upcat

Did you get a load of idioms lately? Well, they are in every nook and cranny. They may get on your nerves but for someone who speaks English like you, idioms come in handy in getting messages across. First, because they cut short what you mean. You say you had to do the dishes and the laundry so you stood your friend up so you had to make it up to him, instead of saying that you had to wash the dishes and the laundry so you didn't meet your friend on purpose so you had to compensate for the inconvenience. Idioms help us do away with lengthy explanations. Isn't it easier to say that after speaking with your friend for ten minutes with regard to a person who attempted to break into your house you hung up than saying that you pushed the "end" button of your phone? "I gave my old stuff to someone else for free" can simply be "I gave away my old stuff." If you say you tried on the shirt, you don't have to say that you wore the shirt to see if it would fit. However, the problem with idioms is that if you can't make out the meaning, it may not be helpful to break them down and judge by analyzing each component. For example, you call someone down not because you want him to descend but because you want to scold him for maybe telling you to get off at the wrong stop. If you put away the groceries, do you throw them out into the garbage bin? If calling back someone is a sign of courtesy, is talking back to anyone praiseworthy? Since carry on means continue doing something, does it follow that wait on means continue waiting? Talking out is negotiating so talking into is bickering? Sometimes it's hard to come by good explanations from friends so if you aren't sure, look them up in the dictionary.

On the other hand, we use idiomatic expressions because we want to be indirect in talking about situations. Say, your neighbor runs over your cat and now it's about to bite the dust but you are keeping your fingers crossed that it will be back on it's feet soon because you know that to take it to the vet may mean breaking the bank. So you hold your horses as you don't want to burn your fingers. Initially, your neighbor doesn't admit to his fault which is a red tag to a bull. The bull being you. Later that day though, he has a change of heart and he decides to take care of the expenses. You think of calling the dogs off and just bury the hatchet. Imagine you are working in a company in the red. Your boss has to make heads roll because the company can't keep up with the global financial crisis. You are not a person who has deep pockets and you are worried how to make both ends meet. You think about the times your boss repetitively called you a diamond in the rough and you just needed to learn the ropes more to follow in his footsteps. But the now that the company is on the rocks and the die is cast, your days in the sun are gone and you're back to square one! You want to cry your eyes out but it's useless so you come to grips with the situation by looking for another job, come what may. You don't want to get stuck at home and just be a couch potato.

Also, sky is the limit in using idiomatic expressions. There are idioms for almost any situation. After breaking up with your significant other because he says he loves you but he doesn't put his money where his mouth is, you feel blue like you are going nuts. You bite your tongue but your friends notice that you are off color and they just can't turn a blind eye to that. A friend gives you a piece of her mind then you suddenly see light at the end of the tunnel and realize that you need to move on. And part of it is painting the town red and becoming a social butterfly. So you and your friends, dressed to kill, go to a bar where every Tom, Dick, and Harry is worth feasting your eyes on. You let your hair down and dance like there's no tomorrow. In the blink of an eye you become the life and soul of the party.

You can also see idiomatic expressions in the news. While Miss California is the apple of other people's eye, to some her name is mud for calling a spade a spade on gay marriage. But despite being a hot potato, she still manages to be as cool as a cucumber. Joan Rivers on the other hand was at loggerheads with Annie Duke during The Celebrity Apprentice calling the poker player "a despicable human being" and "a Nazi." The elder Rivers blew a fuse and all hell broke loose when her daughter Melissa was booted out following her team's (in which Duke was a member) loss in the task to create a four-page spread for Sports Illustrated. Meanwhile, the number of A H1N1 infections is rising. The Philippines with six confirmed cases is now in the same boat as other Asian countries. But the government pours oil to troubled water saying that if push comes to shove, the Department of Health is prepared and sure that we can weather the storm.

Using idioms though may not always be appropriate or necessary. Always consider your audience or the person you are talking to. If you think they will understand your point better by using simple terms or explaining the situation, do so. For example, "Shut up!" may work better than "Cease talking!" After all, we use a language not only to impress but to express.

Copyright © 2009 by DenniSinned2. All rights reserved.

Labels: annie duke, celebrity apprentice, English class, expressions, h1n1 virus, idiomatic expressions, idioms, joan rivers, miss california