Here’s an Irish Blessing just in time for St. Patrick’s Day… Irish Blessing   May your pockets be heavy And your heart be light.   May good luck pursue you Each morning and night. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! -Mama Lisa

“Who Laid an Egg?” is a kids saying meaning, “Who farted?”  The cartoon above is a play on the expression by 5th grader Lila Pomerantz.

I saw a note on Facebook about the saying “Mama had a baby and its head popped off”.  It’s said when you see a dandelion.  While saying it you pop off the dandelion head like in the video below.  I had never heard this one. It’s a bit like what kids say when they walk on...

Jeremy Shatan wrote from New York: "It’s the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. Around this time of the year, my mom would always say: ‘Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, the boid is on the wing.’ Yes, just like that." This saying is all in "New Yorkese", a New York accent.  It...

A while ago, I talked about how my daughter’s class made drawings illustrating the literal meanings of idiomatic expressions.  This is a great way to help children, and people learning English as a second language, to understand these sayings.. One drawing my daughter did was an illustration of the expression "follow your nose".  "Follow your nose"...

My daughter’s fifth grade class was given a really interesting assignment.  The teacher asked them to make drawings that illustrated the literal meanings of common sayings. In American English "You’re on a roll" means you’re going from success to success.  Here’s a drawing my daughter did of the literal meaning of being on a roll! ...

Photo of Poison Ivy There’s a saying to help identify Poison Ivy… "Leaves of Three, Let it Be!" So if you see a plant that has three leaves be extra careful!  See the photo above of poison ivy?  The leaves look a bit like ivy.  Unfortunately, I took this in my own...

Yesterday, I was talking with a lady, whose parents are from Italy, about how happy I am that it’s finally March. She said, “Why?” I said because February is finally over. She said, “Marzo è pazzo”. It’s an Italian saying meaning “March is crazy”… you can never depend on March...

Oscar Teliz told me his grandmother used to say in Spanish, “No hay mal que dure cien anos, ni cuerpo que lo soporte” which is an obscure saying meaning, “No bad occurrence will last forever, and if it did, you wouldn’t be able to stand it anyway.” My grandma always said, “What will be, will be.”...

Now’s a good time to keep this proverb in mind… if you’re going to take a walk on the beach or near a river… you may want to check a high tide chart… because… Time and tide wait for no man. My husband and I almost learned this lesson the hard way today.  We were taking...