— Good call. — But you know what? I’m going to give that guy a piece of my mind first. — Oh, are you now? You’re being ridiculous. That’s utterly unnecessary! — I don’t think so. — Okay, you do you.

— What a pack of lies! — Are you reading the news? — No, just browsing online. Some people really have a nerve. Where do they get such crackpot theories? — Mostly online. They just copy one another.

There's been a fly in the room for the past three days. I've tried to shoo it away several times, but it keeps resisting. The door is closed, yet the windows are wide open. I don't get why it

In the early twenty-first century, some “politologists” warned us with their predictions about Spain facing, without a doubt, a war over water in the not-too-distant future — a vision that seemed as

Ordinary questions like “What’s your favorite beach (bitch)?” can get us (as, ass) non-native English speakers into real trouble, unless you’re a badass at speaking the language or a sucker for

One thing that messes with my mind about some writers is how they can make the most bold statements in such fancy ways, and then trumpet them to the world as if it were nothing. That's quite a trick,

And there are thousands of examples like these. When globalization first began to show its paw under the door, many saw a sea of possibilities. But in hindsight, it hasn’t been all rainbows and

I can’t help but harp on the topic of AI. It occurred to me that there are way too many examples in history where technological revolutions really ruffled feathers. I’ll skip the era when some smart

My great-grandmother was dead set against using a mop to clean the floor — until her knees went on strike. My grandmother had the same attitude toward washing machines. She thought she did a better

If you usually hit the books just a few days before a test, you’re most likely to fail. Cramming names, dates, or formulas does nothing but overload your brain. And if you find yourself in a

— Want to see a mind-blowing magic trick? — OK… — Pick a deck of cards and fan it out. — Alright… now what? — Turn them over. The cards have to be face up. — Are you sure? — As sure as hell. Now I’m

— Want to know something really sus? — Is it about Pam? What has she done this time? — She told Brian that Laura has a crush on him. — Really? That’s sketchy. I thought she was the one who had a

— Walter, don't you have a dog? — I don’t have any, but I do have some cats. I adopted them last week. They were strays. Any advice? — No, as long as your cats bark. — Do you have a dog yourself? —

I have an hourglass in front of me. It's a little one filled with golden sand — perfect for the metaphor of time. Now I'm turning it over. The sand begins to fall, forming a pile at the bottom. I'll

Here's a pangram that covers (almost) all the sounds of American English (unless someone I know fooled me). What's it for? Technically, it's for practicing American English pronunciation. But before

This is a true story I heard told by a British actor on a TV show. I might have added a few details to practice storytelling and dialogue. I was at a restaurant in Spain. It was Sunday and we'd been

Inspiration is a myth. When you sit at your desk eager to put your words on paper, something is boiling inside you. That's not inspiration. That's you wanting to tell others you have something to

I'm having trouble today stringing my ideas together. It was really early when I woke up this morning. I usually get ahold of something to write about, so my post will start by introducing the topic

I put my foot in my mouth this morning when I was talking to an old neighbor. I was really glad to run into him. Back when we were neighbors, I had a good relationship with his wife. We often shared

Here I am again, with the book Advanced Grammar in Use in front of me. It’s a very well-known book among English students. I used to follow its grammar rules to a tee until I finally took my nose out