Now, the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
Making choices is necessary, but not always easy. Many of our expressions tell about this difficulty.
One of these expressions is Hobson’s choice. It often is used to describe a difficult choice. But that is not what it really means. Its real meaning is to [...]

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Now, the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
Baseball is America’s national sport. So it is not unusual that many popular expressions come from baseball. But first, let me explain a little about the game.
Each baseball team has nine players. The pitcher of one team throws the ball to a [...]

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I’m Susan Clark with the Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
The Italians have an old saying, “Il dolce far niente.”  The words mean it is sweet, or enjoyable, to do nothing.
On weekends and during holidays, many of us enjoy doing nothing. But most of the time we have to work. And, to keep our [...]

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Now, the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
Some unusual words describe how a person spends his or her time.  For example, someone who likes to spend a lot of time sitting or lying down while watching television is sometimes called a couch potato.  A couch is a piece of furniture that people sit [...]

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Now, the Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
Hang is a simple word. But there are many meanings for hang. Especially when it is used with other words. Two often-heard expressions are to hang tight and to hang loose. 

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Now, the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
Today’s word is belittle. It was first used by Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States.
Many years ago, a French naturalist, the Count de Buffon, wrote some books about natural history. The books were a great success even though some critics did not [...]

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Now, the Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. These are the living speech of a people. And a story can be told about each of them.

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