Siamese Twins

Henry Watson Fowler (1858 - 1933) used the term Siamese twins to refer to groups of words that are joined by and or or. One critical point about Siamese twins is that you cannot reverse the words. For example, black and white but not white and black.

Here is a list of other word pairs that I think are more common everyday conversation:

back and forth: 前後に(= to and fro), (前後[左右]に)行ったり来たり

• The lawyers argued back and forth.

bells and whistles: 必要とはされないが楽しいまたはあると便利なソフト機能

• New cell phones have a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles.

black and blue: （打撲で）青黒いあざになった

• My arms and legs were black and blue after the motorcycle accident.

cat and mouse: 猫とネズミ：ネズミになった子が猫になった子につかまらないようにして遊ぶ遊戯

• The CIA and KGB played deadly cat and mouse games during the Cold War.

down and out: 一文なし

• He was down and out after losing all of his money at the casino.

here and there: あちこち

• The young man lived here and there before settling down and getting married.

high and dry: 見捨てられている

• We were left high and dry when our company moved to China.

ins and outs: ノウハウ; 何もかも

• The engineer worked hard to learn the ins and outs of the system.

knife and fork (not fork and knife)

ladies and gentlemen (never gentlemen and ladies)

lost and found: 遺失物取扱所

• I went to the station lost and found to get my wallet back.

loud and clear: はっきりと分かる

• It was loud and clear that he was angry after slamming the door shut.

mother and father (not father and mother)

night and day: 昼も夜も休まずに

• We worked night and day to meet the deadline.

nuts and bolts: 基本を心得ている

• You can't move to a higher level until you learn the nuts and bolts.

pros and cons: メリットとデメリット; 利点と不利点]

• Using a credit card has its pros and cons.

sick and tired: 嫌気が差す, うんざりする

• I am sick and tired of her constant complaining.

stop and go: のろのろ[運転]

• I was stuck in stop-and-go traffic for three hours.

thick and thin: 楽な時もつらい時も

• Their marriage survived through thick and thin.

tooth and nail: 猛烈に戦う

• Hillary Clinton is fighting tooth and nail to become the next president.

Here are a few more phrases. What do you think they mean? Please leave a comment or ask me in class!

touch and go
up and coming
all or nothing
day or night
more or less
rain or shine
sink or swim
sooner or later
black and white
give and take
hit and miss

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This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.

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アンミ英会話教室
２３４－００５３神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央２－６－３
パークサイド日野１０２号
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/ | support@anmi-eikaiwa.com
Tel. 045-841-4218 | Fax 045-841-4288
携帯リンク http://www.anmiweb.com/mobile/

Hay Fever

If you visit the アンミ英会話教室 these days, you might hear the following conversation:

Student: Did you catch a cold?
Chip: No, I have hay fever.
Student: Really? I am sorry to hear that. How long have you been suffering from hay fever?
Chip: I've been suffering from hay fever ever since I was a baby.
Student: Huh? Do you have hay fever in the States, too?
Chip: Yes, of course. Hay fever is a common ailment all over the world--not just Japan.
Student: Oh, I didn't know that. I thought it was only caused by Japanese cedar trees.
Chip: Oh, no. Hay fever is caused by almost any pollen.

Well, this week has been a very tough time for me because of my hay fever. How about you? Are you suffering from hay fever?

Today's post is related to hay fever terminology and useful conversational phrases.

Here is a few list of important terms:

1. Hay fever (everyday English): 花粉症 (hay: 干し草、まぐさ; fever: 熱)
2. Pollinosis (medical English): 花粉症
3. Symptoms: 症状、症候、兆候
4. Sneezing: くしゃみ
5. Runny nose: 鼻水の垂れている鼻
6. Watery eyes: 目が潤む、涙が止まらない
7. Postnasal drip: 後鼻漏
8. Sore throat: 咽喉炎
9. Nasal congestion: 鼻詰まり、鼻閉
10. Ear pressure: 中耳圧
11. Sleep disturbances: 睡眠障害
12. Nasal discharge: 水様鼻汁分泌
13. Medicine: 薬、医薬
14. Antihistamine: 抗ヒスタミン剤
15. Eye drops: 目薬
16. Face mask/facial mask: フェイス・マスク
17. Itchy eyes: 目が痒い［ムズムズする］
18. Pollen: 花粉
19. Handkerchief/hankie: ハンカチ、ハンカチーフ
20. Kleenex: ティッシュ（ペーパー）(商標であるが、米国では tissue と言わずに Kleenex と言うことが多い.)

References:

1. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
2. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine
3. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
4. 英辞郎　第三版

Next, let's review a few phrases related to allergies:

1. I have hay fever.
2. How is your hay fever?
3. I am suffering from hay fever.
4. My hay fever is bothering me (a lot) today.
5. I am dealing with hay fever today.
6. My hay fever is really bad today.
7. My hay fever is killing me today.
8. Do you have hay fever?
9. What do you take for your hay fever?
10. Do you take anything for your hay fever?
11. Do facial masks really work?
12. Pollen is flying all over the place today.

Hay fever is caused by pollen from trees, grass, or weeds. Although hay fever is often caused by pollen from ceder trees in Japan, people like me suffer from pollen from almost any kind of tree, grass, or weed. In fact, I suffered from hay fever from March to October every year when I was a boy. Since I grew up on a farm in the Rocky Mountains, pollen from ragweed, alfalfa, corn, ceder trees, barely, wheat, Chinese elm trees, pine trees, and many more bothered me spring, summer, and fall. Since moving to Japan, I only suffer from hay fever during spring. Life is a lot easier for me in Japan!

Here are some interesting statistics regarding Japan and the States.

1. The approximate number of people suffering from hay fever:
Japan: 15 million
U.S.A: 34 million

2. The Thursday, February 14, 2008 edition of The Nikkei Business Daily reported that Japanese businesspeople would be happy to almost one month's salary for a cure to their hay fever, according to a survey of 412 men and women aged 20 to 39 by GlaxoSmithKline KK.

3. Hay fever was virtually unknown before 1800 and has become common only in the past 100 years. "All the epidemiological studies published in the past couple of years agree there's a trend to more allergy and lots of things are probably contributing, including the excessive use of antibiotics, poor diets lacking in antioxidants, pollution, and even the fact that improved hygiene means our immune systems are not being challenged by bacteria as often as they were," said Jean Emberlin of NPARU.

If you have five minutes to waste, please enjoy this video titled Hay Fever Blues:

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This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.

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アンミ英会話教室
２３４－００５３神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央２－６－３
パークサイド日野１０２号
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/ | support@anmi-eikaiwa.com
Tel. 045-841-4218 | Fax 045-841-4288
携帯リンク http://www.anmiweb.com/mobile/

Vehicles + On or In?

How would you say, "電車に乗る" in English? Do you remember what you were taught in junior high school? Of course, the answer is, "ride on a train."

The phrase, "ride on a [something]" is perfectly fine for a wide range of vehicles. See the examples below:


1. ride on a ship
2. ride on a bicycle
3. ride on a bus
4. ride/sail on a ferry
5. ride on a/the subway
6. ride on a tricycle
7. ride on an airplane
8. ride on a horse
9. ride on a mule
10. ride/sail on a yacht*
11. ride on a/the train

* ヨット and yacht are not the same thing. Brits say "sailing boat" and Yanks say "sail boat." Check this link for pictures of some of the world's most beautiful yachts!

So what about cars, taxis, pickup trucks, and small sailing vessels? For these kinds of vehicles, we say as follows:

1. ride in a car
2. ride in a taxi
3. ride in a van
4. ride in a pickup truck
5. ride in a semi-trailer truck/tractor-trailer (トレーラー車)
6. ride in a rowboat
7. ride in a canoe
8. ride/sail in a sailboat

"What is the difference?" you ask.

If you can walk onto the vehicle and move around, such as on a bus, train, or ship, then use the preposition "on" with "ride." If you cannot walk into the vehicle, like a car, the cab of a tractor-trailer, sedan, etc., then use the preposition "in" with "ride."

Just be careful that you don't say, "I rode on the car," which evokes an image of you riding on the hood, trunk lid, or on the roof of the car!

Can you think of other types of vehicles that we can add to the lists above? Can you think of any unusual vehicles where we might be able to say "ride on" or "ride in"? Click on the comments link below and tell me what you think!

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Disclaimer

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This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

---

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.

---

アンミ英会話教室
２３４－００５３神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央２－６－３
パークサイド日野１０２号
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/ | support@anmi-eikaiwa.com
Tel. 045-841-4218 | Fax 045-841-4288
携帯リンク http://www.anmiweb.com/mobile/