When we rub someone up the wrong way, we annoy, anger or irritate them. When people rub us up the wrong way, they usually do not know they are doing something wrong.
"My young brother rubs me up the wrong way. He is so annoying."
"The way he talks really rubs me up the wrong way."
Today's joke is based on the double-meaning of fan.
The big objects you can see in the picture are wind turbines. They look like large fans - the machines you use to keep you cool.
A carpenter uses both nails and screws. Nails are used with hammers. Screws are used with screwdrivers. Nail and screw are also used in these expressions.
Screw up: to make a mistake; to do something incorrectly.
“I don't know what I did, but I somehow screwed up the computer.”
When something is useful, convenient or helpful we can say it is handy.
“An iPad is a handy thing to have when you travel.”
“My apartment is handy for school.” – My apartment is near to school.
When people get their wires crossed, they have a different understanding of the same situation. They get confused, mixed up or make a mistake.
An electrician is a person whose job is to put in, check or repair electrical wires and equipment.
This month we take a look at two meanings of the verb spread.
Spread: to move a soft substance across a surface so that it covers it:
"Spread butter on the bread"
"He spread a thin layer of glue on the paper."
When something is funny it makes us laugh. For example, a comedy movie is funny or a joke is funny.
Funny is also used to describe something that is strange or unusual.
Let's take a look at the verb drift and the phrasal verb drift apart:
Drift (verb) - When something is carried by currents of water (or air) it drifts. The water moves it, usually slowly:
"Didn't you notice that the boat was starting to drift out to sea?"
Let's look at two uses of catch:
As a verb catch can mean to capture; not allow a person, animal or thing to escape:
"The fisherman caught a fish in his net."
"The police are still trying to catch the man who escaped from jail last night."
This cartoon is based on the idiom get a grip.
Get a grip means to understand how to deal with something or to control your emotions.
Examples:
"This book really helped me get a grip on politics."
