American Anthony

A Crummy Cook

Anthony — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:28:31 +0000

I’m a crummy cook. But this chicken salsa dish I made wasn’t crummy! It was really good. There are a few things I can can cook well. Anyway, I need to learn basic cooking techniques and more recipes.

How about you? Can you make something delicious?

Vocabulary

Crummy means not good or low quality.

Sentences

“I’m a crummy cook.”

“This tastes crummy.”

Pronunciation

“I’m a crummy cook.”

“This tastes crummy.”

American Slang – Sucker

Anthony — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:58:03 +0000

In this American Slang lesson, I teach you the slang “sucker”. By the way, are you a sucker for anything? If so, leave a comment below and tell us about it.

Vocabulary

1. someone who is easily deceived or naive

2. easily attracted to something (sucker for…)

Sentences

1. I was a sucker to believe John would pay me back.

2. I’m a sucker for cheese cake.

Pronunciation

1. I was a sucker to believe John would pay me back.

2. I’m a sucker for cheese cake.

(Pronunciation Tip: In the first sentence, the word to is reduced to “ta”. In the second sentence, the word for is reduced to “fa”.

What the Hell Are These?

Anthony — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:53:48 +0000

I was eating these a while back. I was thinking, hey these are pretty good. Then I thought, wait, what the hell are these? Haha! Do you know? I have no idea.

Vocabulary

“What the hell” shows confusion and or anger. Hell is a swear word. It’s not polite for business or formal situations. However, you will hear this A LOT in everyday English (on the street) and in movies and music.

Sentences

What the hell?

What the hell are these?

Pronunciation

What the hell?

What the hell are these?

[Natural Pronunciation Tip: Notice the "silent t" in the word what. You can achieve this by resting and holding your tongue on the gum ridge behind your front teeth. You can also stop the airflow from your throat. Basically, it sounds like "wha".]

Have You Heard This Tune?

Anthony — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:04:06 +0000

Have you ever heard the song “Secrets” by One Republic? It’s a pretty good tune. This one is from the album “Waking Up”. Enjoy!

Vocabulary

Tune means song.

Sentences

“This is a pretty good tune.”
“Let’s put on some tunes.”

Pronunciation

Natural Pronunciation Tip: In the first sentence notice how the double t in pretty is pronounced with a d sound. This is very common in american pronunciation.In the second sentence notice how the words “put” and “on” are reduced to “puton”. And again, you can here the t in “puton” pronounced as a d (“pudon”).

American Slang – Wing It

Anthony — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:21:29 +0000

In this American Slang lesson, I teach you the slang “wing it”.

Vocabulary

1. to do something without the ability or knowledge

2. to do something without preparing

Sentences

1. I’ve never fixed a flat tire before, so I had to wing it.

2. I didn’t have time to prepare for the speech, so I had to wing it.

Pronunciation

I’ve never fixed a flat tire before so I had to wing it.

I didn’t have time to prepare for the speech so I had to wing it.

(Note how “had to” is reduced to “hadta” in the first sentence. In the second sentence it sounds like “hadda”.

Do you like Pop or Soda?

Anthony — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:31:42 +0000

Do you like pop or soda? OK, that’s a trick question because they mean the same thing. Pop and soda both mean soft drink (or carbonated beverage). Drinks like Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Mt. Dew and Root Beer fall in this category.

Depending on where you live in America, you call it a “pop” or “soda”. There are some other slang, but these two are the most popular.

It’s funny. Sometimes people even argue about whether it should be called pop or soda. I don’t really care. I just like to drink it!

Anyway, I found this website that has a map of where people say “soda” vs “pop”. It’s guess it’s a serious topic!

http://popvssoda.com/

Vocabulary

“Pop” and “soda” mean soft drink.

Sentences

Can I have a pop?

You drink too much soda.

Pronunciation

Can I have a pop.

You drink too much soda.

Pronunciation

[Natural Pronunciation Tip: In the first sentence, notice how the words have and a are reduced to "hava". In the second sentence, listen how the word you sounds more like "ya".]

American Slang – Freak

Anthony — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:37:00 +0000

In this American Slang lesson, I teach you the slang “freak”.

Vocabulary

“Freak” has three different meanings:

1. an unusual or abnormal person (impolite to say call someone this!)

2. an unusually talented person (good meaning)

3. to be an extreme fan of something

Sentences

1. Hitler was a freak.

2. Michael Jordan was a freak.

3. I’m a basketball freak.

Pronunciation

Hitler was afreak.

Michael Jordan was a freak.

I’m a basketball freak.

Did We Go Overboard?

Anthony — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 04:06:46 +0000

I was looking at our Christmas pictures the other day. I started laughing when I saw our tree. I think we went overboard with the decorations and lights! Anyway, it was fun.

Vocabulary

Go overboard means too much or to be extravagant.

Sentences

“We went overboard this Christmas.”
“You can buy whatever you need but don’t go overboard.”

Pronunciation

“We went overboard this Christmas.”
“You can buy whatever you need but don’t go overboard.”

Looks Like a Pigsty

Anthony — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:28:41 +0000

My son’s room was starting to look like pigsty, so I decided it was time for us to clean up a bit. He’s loves making stuff. One day, we’re going to run out of space!

The colorful one is supposed to be a spider.

Vocabulary

A “pigsty” is actually a place where a farmer keeps pigs. In this case it means a dirty or untidy room / area.

Sentences

“Your room looks like a pigsty.”
“I’ve gotta clean up. This place is looking like a pigsty.”

Pronunciation

“Your room looks like a pigsty.”
“I’ve gotta clean up. This place is looking like a pigsty.”

You Can’t Eat this Muffin Top

Anthony — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:49:11 +0000

I keep hearing people talk about “muffin tops”. This slang makes me laugh. A muffin top is the fat that hangs over your pants. Can you see the similarity?

I’m slowly losing mine. How about you?

Vocabulary

A “Muffin top” top is the fat that hangs over the top of your pants.

Sentences

“I’ve got a muffin top.”
“I’m trying to get rid of my muffin top”

Sentences

“I’ve got a muffin top.”
“I’m trying to get rid of my muffin top”