INNUENDO, by Queen

INNUENDO

Noun: a comment or remark which hints at an accusation or suggestion, without saying it directly.

Example

“The teacher said that all students needed to be on time for class, which was innuendo aimed at Dave, who had been late twice that week.”

Another good example is from gangster films, where a gangster is making a shop owner pay money to prevent the gang from destroying his shop. The gangster will say something like, “This is a nice shop. It would be a shame if anything happened to it.” The innuendo here is that if the owner doesn’t pay up, the gang will destroy his shop.

Innuendo is one of those things about any language that make it more difficult for non-native speakers to understand what you are speaking about – much like idioms and metaphors. This is because the thing you are talking about is not mentioned, but you “talk around” the subject. By definition innuendo means “to point” to something, without saying it out loud.

This can be done by talking generally about a subject that applies to only one person, by using figures of speech like puns and metaphors, or referring to a phrase from a film or book that everyone knows. Innuendo can also be used to suggest something that it might not be polite to talk about in public. This only works if both speakers understand the innuendo being made.

When a phrase can have both an innocent and a not-so-innocent meaning, it is called a double entendre, (from French) or “double meaning”.

Origin

The word “innuendo” comes from the Latin word meaning “to point”.

FROM: http://kaplaninternational.com/blog/definition-innuendo/

Ooh ooh

While the sun hangs in the sky and the desert has sand
While the waves crash in the sea and meet the land
While there's a wind and the stars and the rainbow
Till the mountains crumble into the plain

Oh yes, we'll keep on trying
Tread that fine line
Oh, we'll keep on trying
Yeah
Just passing our time

Ooh ooh

While we live according to race, colour or creed
While we rule by blind madness and pure greed
Our lives dictated by tradition, superstition, false religion
Through the eons and on and on

Oh, yes, we'll keep on trying, yeah
We'll tread that fine line
Oh oh we'll keep on trying
Till the end of time
Till the end of time

Through the sorrow all through our splendor
Don't take offence at my innuendo

Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh
Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh

You can be anything you want to be
Just turn yourself into anything you think that you could ever be
Be free with your tempo, be free, be free
Surrender your ego - be free, be free to yourself

Ooh ooh, yeah

If there's a God or any kind of justice under the sky
If there's a point, if there's a reason to live or die
Ha, if there's an answer to the questions we feel bound to ask
Show yourself - destroy our fears - release your mask
Oh yes, we'll keep on trying
Hey, tread that fine line
(Yeah) yeah
We'll keep on smiling, yeah
(Yeah) (yeah) (yeah)
And whatever will be - will be
We'll just keep on trying
We'll just keep on trying
Till the end of time
Till the end of time
Till the end of time

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?

BUNGHOLE OF THE WEEK: POINT BLANK

Point blank range is a range so close to the target that one cannot miss. The original sense, however, is slightly different. It refers to the range close enough that one can aim an artillery piece directly at its target without adjusting for the fall of the shot. (Gravity causes the shot to start falling in a parabolic arc the moment it exits the barrel of a gun, but at very close, i.e., point blank, ranges the fall is negligible.) The English term probably comes from the Middle French de pointe en blanc, which appears in 1569. English usage appears only a couple of years after this. From Leonard Digges’ 1571 A Geometrical Practise Named Pantometria:

Hauing a table of Randons made, mounting your peeces accordingly, no vessel can passe by your platfourme (though it be without poynte blancke) but you may with your ordinaunce at the first bouge hir and neuer bestow vayne shotte.

The words point, meaning small bit or degree, and blank, meaning void or nothing, were probably chosen because the amount of adjustment needed to hit the target at such ranges is negligible. The phrase is often construed to refer to point, to aim, and blank, the white bullseye. This does not comport either with what we know of the early uses of the phrase, nor with how verb-noun phrases are formed in English. In almost all cases, the nouns are the direct objects of the verb, as in cut-throat or stop-gap. This is not the case with point blank.

From: http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/point_blank/

PAPERWORK EXPLOSION

THE TWITS, by Roald Dahl

THE TWITS, by Roald Dahl

IDIOMS WITH PARTS OF THE BODY

· Arm, back, blood and bone

- To give one´s right arm to … (Dar lo que fuera por...)
I´d give my right arm to have that wonderful job.

- To keep someone at arm´s length (Mantenerse alejado de alguien)
He´s a weird man. You´d better keep him at arm´s length.

- With open arms (Con los brazos abiertos)
They welcomed her with open arms.

- Behind someone´s back (Sin conocimiento de alguien)
He was furious when he discovered they had insulted him behind his back.

- To see the back of something (Ver algo terminado).
I´m looking forward to finishing all this work. I´ll be glad to see the back of it.

- To get someone´s blood up (Ponerse de los nervios, odiar algo)
It gets my blood up to see how bad behaved those children are.

- To be in someone´s blood (Llevar algo en la sangre)
She´s really good at dancing. It must be in her blood.

- To make no bones about something (Decir algo que puede ser desagradable directamente y sin rodeos)
He didn´t make any bones about it and told his wife he had met another woman.

- To have a bone to pick with someone.(Tener una cuenta pendiente con alguien)
He´s got a bone to pick with her since she refused to help him with the report.

· Brain, chest, ear and elbow

- To be wet behind the ears (No tener experiencia)
He´s just finished his degree and is still wet behind the ears.

- To go in one ear and come out the other (Entrar por un oido y salir por el otro)
I´ve told him a million times but it goes in one ear and comes out the other.

- To keep one´s ear to the ground (Mantenerse atento)
I´ve heard they´re selling that house very cheap, so keep your ears to the ground.

- To be up to one´s ears (also eyes or neck) (Estar hasta arriba de …)
I´m up to my ears in all this work.

- To play something by ear (improvisar)
I haven´t planned anything for the weekend. Let´s play it by ear.

- To get something off someone´s chest (quitarse algo de encima, confesar)
I´ve been worried since we argued, so I´ll tell her the truth and get it off my chest.

- To rack one´s brains (devanarse el cerebro)
I´ve been racking my brains for hours but at last I´ve come up with a solution.

·Eyes and fingers

- To be up to the eyes in something (estar hasta el cuello de…)
I´m up to the eyes in work today.

- To catch someone´s eye (atraer la atención de alguien)
She fancies him and keeps on trying to catch his eye.

- To turn a blind eye to something (ignorar algo)
He prefers turning a blind eye to his debts and not worrying about them.

- To keep one´s fingers crossed (cruzar los dedos)
I´m taking my driving test for the fourth time. So, fingers crossed!

- To have a finger in every pie (estar involucrado en muchas actividades)
She has a finger in every pie: she does yoga, heads several associations…

- To be all fingers and thumbs (tener poca habilidad con las manos)
I broke three glasses and two plates today. I´m all fingers and thumbs!

· Neck, nose and shoulder

- To be neck and neck (estar a la misma altura)
The cyclists were neck and neck up to the last minute.

- To be up to the neck in something (estar hasta el cuello)
They´re up to the neck in housework.

- To pay through the nose for something (pagar demasiado por algo)
They paid 500 euros for an old TV set. Definitely, they paid through the nose!

- To give someone the cold shoulder (ignorar a alguien, dejar de hablarle)
After they argued, she´s been giving him the cold shoulder.

- To rub shoulders with someone (codearse con alguien)
Now that she is managing director she rubs shoulders with important people.

- To breathe down someone´s neck (observar/leer por encima del hombro de alguien)
I wish she´d stop breathing down my neck when I´m reading.

· Tongue and tooth

- To have a sweet tooth (ser goloso)
Children usually have a sweet tooth. They love sweets.

- To hold one´s tongue (callarse algo)
I thought her outfit was awful but I hold my tongue.

- To have something on the tip of one´s tongue (tener algo en la punta de la lengua)
I had the word on the tip of my tongue but couldn´t remember it.

- To bite one´s tongue off (morderse la lengua)
I knew he was lying and I wanted to tell the others, but I bit my tongue off

MORE BODY IDIOMS AT YOUTUBE

THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH

THE MINDSCAPE OF ALAN MOORE (2003)

ENRICH YOUR VOCABULARY (I)

ENGLISH TENSES CHART (click on the image)

MISSING U

This is the tale of the letter named i, a
lonely author who lived life with a sigh
Typing her treatise on the common green pea
i encountered a problem while pressing one
key
The harder she pushed, the worst was still
true
i declared to herself “I’m missing my _”
A panic seized i and she looked to the sky
Confirming her fear that all was awry
i dashed through the city and away from the
crowds
Fleeing the streets and all that was loud
Climbing a cliff overlooking the sea
i searched for a sign that would answer her
plea
“My writing is hindered, my home life is
stark.
_pon a jo_rney for _. I m_st now embark.”
She hopped on a ship and it sailed double
quick
Clutching her side, i felt quite seasick
She arrived at a jungle all filled with
suspense The lump in her throat said she’d moved well
past tense
The bees they were buzzing, the blue jays
flew near
But i gathered her courage and slashed past
her fear
She burst through to a vista all cloaked in
blue
And i’s eyes slowly widened as they took in
the view.
Umbrellas, ukuleles and UFOs too,
All could be found in this haven of u.
“You’re welcome to stay, but you won’t see
much here.
When the b_rds flew away so went the cheer.
The f_sh are long gone, no Key l_me p_e,
There’s plenty of sorry, but not even one
i.”
She peered at his face: kind, handsome and
true.
“I am none but i. U is that you?”
u looked at me then like I will never forget
and I took your hand on the day that we met.
So that is the story according to me
Of how i found u and they became we.

THE PROS AND CONS OF HITCH HIKING, by Roger Waters

An angel on a Harley Pulls across to greet a fellow rolling stone Puts his bike up on its stand Leans back and then extends A scarred and greasy hand...he said Hells Angel :"How ya doin' bro?...where ya been?...where ya goin'?" Then he takes your hand In some strange Californian handshake And breaks the bone Angels Moll :"Have a nice day" A housewife from Encino Whose husband's on the golf course With his book of rules Breaks and makes a 'U' and idles back To take a second look at you You flex your rod Fish takes the hook Sweet vodka and tobacco in her breath Another number in your little black book These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking Oh babe, I must be dreaming I'm standing on the leading edge The Eastern seaboard spread before my eyes "Jump" says Yoko "Oh No! I'm too scared and too good looking" I cried "Go on",she says "Why don't you give it a try? Why prolong the agony all men must die" Do you remember Dick Tracy? Do you remember Shane? Joey :"And mother wants you" Could you see him selling tickets Where the buzzard circles over Joey :"Shane" The body on the plain Did you understand the music Yoko Or was it all in vain? Joey :"Shane" The bitch said something mystical "Herro" So I stepped back on the kerb again These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking Oh babe, I must be dreaming again These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking

YOU MAY WANT TO WATCH IN THE FLESH

HOW TO PRONOUNCE -ED ENDINGS

AUDIO

The past simple tense and past participle of all regular verbs end in -ed. For example:

base verb (v1)	past simple (v2)	past participle (v3)
work	worked	worked

In addition, many adjectives are made from the past participle and so end in -ed. For example:

• I like painted furniture.

The question is: How do we pronounce the -ed?

The answer is: In 3 ways - / Id/ or / t/ or / d/

If the base verb ends in one of thesesounds:		example base verb*:	example with -ed:	pronounce the -ed:	extra syllable?
unvoiced	/t/	want	wanted	/ Id/	yes
voiced	/d/	end	ended
unvoiced	/p/	hope	hoped	/ t/	no
	/f/	laugh	laughed
	/s/	fax	faxed
	/S/	wash	washed
	/tS/	watch	watched
	/k/	like	liked
voiced	all other sounds, for example...	play	played	/ d/
		allow	allowed
		beg	begged

* note that it is the sound that is important, not the letter or spelling. For example, "fax" ends in the letter "x" but the sound /s/; "like" ends in the letter "e" but the sound /k/.

Exceptions

The following -ed words used as adjectives are pronounced with /Id/:

aged blessed crooked

dogged learned naked

ragged wicked wretched

So we say:

• an aged man /Id/
• a blessed nuisance /Id/
• a dogged persistence /Id/
• a learned professor - the professor, who was truly learned /Id/
• a wretched beggar - the beggar was wretched /Id/

But when used as real verbs (past simple and past participle), the normal rules apply and we say:

• he aged quickly /d/
• he blessed me /t/
• they dogged him /d/
• he has learned well /d/ or /t/

FROM: http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/-ed.htm

THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH

WHAT IF YOU WERE BORN IN SPACE?

TYPICAL CONVERSATION WITH MY MOM

HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE TH- SOUND

CHEAP AND EASY DIY GADGETS

TRANSCRIPT 
I’m not lazy, just selective. I’m not willing to make something unless it’s easy, cheap, and super-useful. So in this episode of Upgrade Your Life, handy gizmos you can make for under a buck. Starting with — eeuuww —toothpaste mess in the bathroom. Cheap and easy solution — clean out a pump bottle. Fill it with toothpaste. It holds multiple tubes, which is nice, and now no caps to deal with, no dribble from the tubes … neat and tidy. One note — make sure you clean out that pump bottle well.

Staying with cleanliness, the back of your desk is a mess. Sure, you can buy fancy organizers for cords, but the cheapest way to do this: binder clips. Clip on the desk, thread the cords, you can even flip the handle to lock them in place. Genius!

Next, listening to music on your phone, but the speakers just aren’t loud enough. Solution — keg cup. Classy, right? Cut a slice out, place the device inside and it’s louder. How much louder? Well, as a tech reporter, I always have my decibel meter on hand. And the keg cup makes it ten to twelve decibels louder. This is great for music, speakerphone calls, and it also works with your iPad if you’re watching video.

Now the whole touchscreen thing is great, but sometimes you just want a stylus, the feel of a pen. Of course, you can go out and buy one but you can also make one using just a pencil, some cotton, tape, and a candy bar wrapper. Cut the candy wrapper, wrap the pencil, put the tape up high so your fingers will directly touch the wrapper. This totally works in a pinch, but if you’re gonna be doing a lot of fine work on a touch screen, spending eleven dollars for a real stylus is probably a good idea.

If you’ve ever had kids, or a geeky boyfriend, you got a tub of this stuff lying around. How about making a key-holder system? Drill hole, insert key-ring, attach to base, and voilà. Also cool, adding personalized little figures to watch over your keys.

Finally, every once in a while, you have a half a bag of chocolate chips left over. Solution — take a plastic bottle with a wide mouth, cut it, thread the bag through the neck, and now you’ve got a screw top for the occasional chocolate chip indiscretion. Thanks for watching. For Yahoo! News, I’m Becky Worley.

WORD STRESS RULES

word stress rules

THE TYPE, by Sarah Kay

The Type

Everyone needs a place. It shouldn't be inside of someone else. -Richard Siken

If you grow up the type of woman men want to look at,
you can let them look at you. But do not mistake eyes for hands.

Or windows.
Or mirrors.

Let them see what a woman looks like.
They may not have ever seen one before.

If you grow up the type of woman men want to touch,
you can let them touch you.

Sometimes it is not you they are reaching for.
Sometimes it is a bottle. A door. A sandwich. A Pulitzer. Another woman.

But their hands found you first. Do not mistake yourself for a guardian.
Or a muse. Or a promise. Or a victim. Or a snack.

You are a woman. Skin and bones. Veins and nerves. Hair and sweat.
You are not made of metaphors. Not apologies. Not excuses.

If you grow up the type of woman men want to hold,
you can let them hold you.

All day they practice keeping their bodies upright--
even after all this evolving, it still feels unnatural, still strains the muscles,

holds firm the arms and spine. Only some men will want to learn
what it feels like to curl themselves into a question mark around you,

admit they do not have the answers
they thought they would have by now;

some men will want to hold you like The Answer.
You are not The Answer.

You are not the problem. You are not the poem
or the punchline or the riddle or the joke.

Woman. If you grow up the type men want to love,
You can let them love you.

Being loved is not the same thing as loving.
When you fall in love, it is discovering the ocean

after years of puddle jumping. It is realizing you have hands.
It is reaching for the tightrope when the crowds have all gone home.

Do not spend time wondering if you are the type of woman
men will hurt. If he leaves you with a car alarm heart, you learn to sing along.

It is hard to stop loving the ocean. Even after it has left you gasping, salty.
Forgive yourself for the decisions you have made, the ones you still call

mistakes when you tuck them in at night. And know this:
Know you are the type of woman who is searching for a place to call yours.

Let the statues crumble.
You have always been the place.

You are a woman who can build it yourself.
You were born to build.