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1098. We talk with cognitive scientist Dr. Vicky Lai about how frequently we use metaphors and what happens in our brains when we hear them. We also look at her research on irony and its effect on emotion, and how people recovering from cancer use metaphors differently depending ... Show More

1097. Do you wonder whether "bacon" can be plural? We look at the difference between countable and uncountable nouns. Then, we look at how the Martha's Vineyard accent developed and what it tells us about language and society.The "countable" segment was written by Karen Lunde, a ... Show More

1096. This week, we look at the world of emoji with Keith Houston, author of "Face with Tears of Joy." He discusses the long history of emoji, from ancient origins to early computer character sets, and the formal process of proposing new emoji to the Unicode Consortium. We also l ... Show More

Idioms 

Idioms 

An idiom is a phrase that you can't guess the meaning to if you haven't heard it before. These are some useful ones that anyone learning English should know. (To see them written out, check the YouTube version of this episode!) 

Learn an English expression about being polite. 

Weird or weird? English spelling is fascinating – but it's not always straightforward! 

In today’s lesson you will listen to one English dialogue and learn 2 new English idioms. The two idioms are "Catch his eye" and "Catch red-handed". These English idioms will enhance your ability to properly use advanced English idioms. This lesson will help you sound more like a ... Show More

Learn an English expression with bite!