Cold feet

   

When you get cold feet, it means that you lose the courage to do something, because, for whatever reason, you are scared or nervous. You may be having doubts about going through with something.

1. Some people get cold feet when they are about to get married… but I never hesitated. In the movie, “Runaway Bride”, Julia Roberts has the habit of getting engaged and planning weddings, only to get cold feet at the last minute, leaving her fiancés at the altar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xD3xkxp4kg

2. A number of years ago when I was in Miami I was easily convinced to donate blood at one of those bloodmobiles (mobile blood units). They were about to stick a needle into my arm when I got cold feet and backed out (changed my mind).

3. Do you sometimes get cold feet when you are about to buy something expensive or do you ignore your common sense and buy something on impulse anyway?

4. Disney studios got cold feet recently and “…shut down production on The Lone Ranger, the Gore Verbinski-directed Western that was to star Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the title character… Disney pulled the plug [cancelled it] because of the budget.”

5. I almost went to a fortune teller once but I got cold feet. I decided that it wasn’t for me.

Give up

Give up: to quit/ stop trying/ surrender/ admit defeat/ abandon hope

-> Be wiped out: Be destroyed/ annihilated/ eliminated 

-> Keep on: continue/ persevere -> Moron: Stupid

1. In 1941, when the U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Harrow School to give a speech, he stood before the students and said, "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up! Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!"

2. When you want to encourage someone and tell them not to give up, you can also tell them not to throw in the towel. Do you encourage your friends to persevere and go on?

3.  Another way to say “lose hope” is “give up hope”. Have you ever given up hope and stopped trying to do something? Isn’t it interesting that we can give up hope, but that God can still carry us through despite being weak?

4. In Josh Groban’s song, “You are loved”, he sings, “Don’t give up, because you are loved”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTGOAp4L680

Have to do with

Have to do with: To be relevant to/ relate to/ pertain to. What does “x” have to do with “y”? = How does “x” relate to “y”? How is “x” connected to “y”?
-> Kicked out: to be expelled/ thrown out/ removed/ asked to leave
-> Diner = restaurant

1. Are you the kind of person that joins a conversation and starts talking about something that has nothing to do with the topic at hand? I sometimes do that without realizing it.

2.  In Time Magazine’s article, “What Condoms Have to Do with Climate Change”, it argues that with the Earth’s population now sitting at roughly 6.8 billion, “… simple arithmetic will tell you that the bigger the global population becomes, the harder it will be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions…” Can you connect the dots (find the logical connection)?

3. I was just reading a blog post titled, “Our circumstances have nothing to do with our happiness.” It goes on to say, “Sick or healthy. Rich or poor. Thin or fat. Tall or short. Curly haired or bald. None of it matters when it comes to waking up happy every day. What does matter is gratitude and perspective.” http://mgerber.blogspot.com/2011/11/our-circumstances-have-nothing-to-do.html. Do you agree, or do you think that our circumstances will inevitably affect whether we are happy or not?

Live up to

Live up to: To meet or correspond to someone’s expectations or standards. To live or act in accordance with. To be good enough.
-> Hype: The excitement and interest caused by advertising or propaganda.

1.  Some people feel that they can’t live up to their parents’ expectations of them. They study the career their parents want for them… they try everything, but it is not enough. Do you remember the song, “Perfect” by the group, “Simple plan”? Some of the lyrics say, “I try so hard to make you proud… Never going to be good enough for you… sorry, can’t be perfect.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fr_ai5Szps

2. Have you ever watched a movie that didn’t live up to the hype? Sometimes there’s a lot of publicity and hype surrounding a movie, but in the end it’s a letdown (disappointment). An example for me is the movie “Million Dollar Baby” with Clint Eastwood and Hillary Swank.

3. Do you think that Barack Obama is living up to his peoples’ expectations? Do you think it’s his job to fix an economy that was broken since before he became president?

Have in mind

   

If you have something in mind, you are thinking about something. You may have an idea or a plan. When you ask someone what they have in mind, you are asking them what they are thinking… for their opinion.

1. A few things to have in mind when deciding to study a new language are: How practical or useful it will be to your life, how much time you are willing to dedicate to studying it, how you will get enough practice and how it may impact your career.

2. When planning a trip abroad/ overseas, what are some of the things you should have in mind or take into consideration? Do you focus on economizing, safety, adventure, language, relaxation, meeting the locals, shopping or fun?

3. Seeing penguins is definitely not what most people have in mind when they think of Africa, but because of the cold Benguela Current that flows from Antarctica past Cape Town in South Africa, there are sizable colonies there that are easy to see.

4. What do you have in mind for New Year’s? Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to be?

Go away

Go away: to leave, disappear or... to go on vacation.

1. When you’re busy with something and don’t have time to chat, don’t you just wish that some people would go away and leave you in peace?

2. Some problems simply go away with time, while other problems will never go away on their own… you have to “face the music” and deal with them proactively. Do you agree with the following statement: “Problems that go away by themselves come back by themselves”?

3.  Here is a melancholic yet catchy song, “Go away” by the band “Eisley”: “So go away, go away and leave me on my own”. When you tell someone to go away, you are telling them to leave you alone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl5IX-zMaKw

4. Do you usually go away during your vacations/ holidays or do you stay in your own city – either at home relaxing or going out and doing activities? Usually my financial situation determines whether I can go away on vacation or not.