日期：2009-03-16 Reader question: What does this quote describing a basketball game Our offense has gone south completely in the second half mean? And gone south in particular? My comments: It means they have been unable to score they could during the first half, bu... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-16 Reader question: In this quote Pierce has always been interested in women dressed as men, because, she says, that's how she grew up - a tomboy swinging from trees. what does tomboy mean? My comments: Tom is a boy. Tomboy is a girl a girl who behaves... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-15 Reader question: In this quote No player is above the team. You run into a lot of problems when the tail wags the dog what does the tail wags the dog mean? My comments: What the quoted lines mean to convey is the idea that players should cater to te... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-15 Reader question: What does this sentence Now, these are not events that will create crowds at water coolers mean? Particularly, water coolers? My comments: That sentence means these events will not draw much interest from people. Water coolers stand... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-15 Reader question: In this sentence Mom, you should put some of your things away. Baby proof this house, stated our oldest son Mark as he lumbered up the stairs followed by his wife, Kim, and fifteen-month-old Hannah what does baby proof this house me... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-13 Reader question: How to say 高姿态 in English? Is high posture a good translation? My comments: High posture smacks of Chinglish. A literary translation like that probably won't work. High posture sounds more like a physical positioning of the body,... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-13 Reader question: What does this sentence It seems their whole pecking order in the pub revolves around how soon I acknowledge them and how long I talk to them mean? Specifically what is pecking order? My comments: That sentence means that if, upon w... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-12 Reader question: What does this sentence Of course the opinions of newspaper reporters, radio personalities and television faces mean very little in the grand scheme of things mean? My comments: It means to people who do not read a newspaper, listen... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-12 英语中有许多拼写相近的单词,有的仅一个字母之差,意义却相差较远,可谓貌相近,意相远.因其貌近,难辨者众,常指鹿为马.其实这些词有很多都是同根生的兄弟姐妹.本文试图把某些常用貌近之词依貌分组列出,结合构词法分析其根,配以语句进行对比,希望能帮助英语学习者辨其貌,知... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-12 Reader question: In this headline New young poets have come to the fore what does come to the fore mean? My comments: New young poets have become visible. They have made their presence felt. They are perhaps coming into their own. In short, they are... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-12 Reader question: In this headline Warne has faint praise for Gilly what does faint praise mean? My comments: Praise is good. Faint praise is not. Something faint is weak (faint-hearted) and difficult to see (faint lines) or hear (a faint voice). Fai... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-11 Reader question: In this paragraph What a bummer! A study by the British Medical Journal reveals that although the Wii game console offers more activity than passive videogames, it is no replacement for real exercise what does What a bummer mean? My... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-11 Reader question: In this sentence I don't know what I have to do to make him see the light what does see the light mean? My comments: For someone to see the light is for them to be enlightened, to see a point that they previously do not see. Seeing... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-11 Reader question: In this sentence Globalization is not a zero sum game but a great opportunity for all what does zero sum game mean? My comments: Sum means total, as in sum total. Zero-sum means it all adds up to naught. A zero-sum game is one in wh... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-11 Guo writes: Please further explain these sentences He doesn't believe in fines; he believes in benchings. Guys make too much to care about fines, he says. Burying them gets their attention from your column From the Old School (February 5, 2008). I d... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-10 Reader question: This Never Seen the Light of Day is the title of a song. What does see the light of day mean? My comments: For something to see the light of day is for it to get its share of opportunity to succeed, to be shown, to be brought out an... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-09 Reader question: What does this He's from the old school, fool mean? My comments: Ha, it means the speaker is not very fond of he who is from the old school. The speaker considers him foolish, perhaps not in the straightforward stupid, unintelligent... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-09 Reader question: In this sentence history suggests profits will be far below expectations, possibly making those investments fool's gold what does fool's gold mean? My comments: Fool's gold is the common term for iron pyrite, a gold-colored mineral.... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-09 Reader question: What does the expression you do the math mean? What math? Give examples. My comments: You do the math is a colloquial expression that usually comes at the end of an argument as emphasis, emphasizing on an advantage or disadvantage o... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-05 Yan writes: Thank you for answering my letter so quickly that I didn't expect... I remember that you encouraged me just to fire away with questions when I for the first time write to you for some answers, so, here I'd like to talk about my trouble w... 阅读全文>>