'knacksTM Well, I want to start a new series, and this is the first, so the format is a little rough. I have done the Words for the Week series for I guess 15 months and felt like a change. I hope you do, too.
What is a "Nick" knack? My dictionary defines as follows:
knickknack; a small ornamental article, a trinket
trinket; a trifle
a trifle; a small amount or to play or toy with something
I have chosen some parts of meanings obviously, but basically this is a chance for us to play with small bits of English, and learn some 'real native speaker' stuff.
We will look at idioms, cliche, slang, special usage, movies, stories, etc. We will also look at some commonly made non-native (and native) mistakes, to help you sound more like a native speaker.
I partly got this idea from reading a book (well actually RE-reading, 'cuz I ran out of new books), and yes, it WAS a Star TrekTM. In it, Spock has to send a message without getting people killed. He says something to the effect that he has studied English and has a good grasp on their idioms. Well, the term HE used is NOT standard English, but the idea holds. There is more to learn about English idioms than Freeze! This week, I hope to introduce my new idea, and get YOUR feedback.
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