I DIG ENGLISH - just a cool blog about English

I hope you enjoy reading this blog
half as much as I enjoy writing it for you.
Because I have a ball.


Karola

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Girly Talk: Hair


Waaaaaasssssup? :)

At idigenglish.blogspot.com we have really been slacking off lately, haven't we? In our defence we can say that February is just not a good time for hard work. The first half is very corny and annoying and the second half is just about being done with the winter and waiting for the spring to come. That's when the slacking off part comes into the picture ;)

Oh, and we probably shouldn't be speaking to you in the first person plural. The other person on our team left a long time ago – just before the launch of the blog, you know, the spokesperson. Now we (I) need to handle the press on our (my) own ;) Plus we (I) don't want to sound douchey :P

to slack off – lenić się
in my defence – na moją obronę
be done with something, somebody – mieć czegoś/ kogoś dosyć
to come into the picture –tut. pojawiać się
first person plural pierwsza osoba liczby mnogiej 
the launch of something – start, wypuszczenie na rynek
the spokesperson – rzecznik, przedstawiciel
to handle something – zajmować się czymś
douchey – idiotycznie, pretensjonalnie (from 'douchebag')






PONYTAIL GIRL

Getting back to the subject of today's entry – hair. At school I was always the ponytail girl so much so that my friend would berate me for being boring and predictable. However, at one point, it did change. I started experimenting with different colours and cuts and was no longer the girl in a ponytail but the girl who gets up 30 minutes before the girl in a ponytail.

an entry – wpis
a ponytail – kucyk
so much so – do takiego stopnia
to berate – zwymyślać (to criticize or speak in an angry manner to someone )
predictable – przewidywalna
a cut – a haircut – fryzura

a girl in a ponytail wearing glasses and paint-covered overalls

BAD HAIR DAY

Some argue that your hair can determine your whole day and recommend taking an extra time in the morning to style it and make sure that it looks good. Still, even the best of us may experience an occasional bad hair day. A bad hair day is a day when your hair is unmanageable, unruly or windswept. (Note that some people find the last one attractive). It's funny how bad hair days always come at the worst of times – a job interview, a first date or a school picture day. It might seem that it's not exactly rocket science to manage and properly groom your hair but can you explain why following the same hair routine gives you different results? You shampoo and condition your hair while taking a shower. Then you towel-dry it with the same amount of time and pressure. Then you brush or comb it. Then you blow-dry it and sometimes you heat-style it with a curling or a straightening iron. And yet you can never be sure if today is not a bad hair day. On the other hand, there are days when you are in a hurry with just enough time to run your fingers through your hair and make a messy bun and yet everyone compliments you on how good your hair looks. Now that's crazy ;).

to determine – decydować o (to control or influence something directly, or to decide what will happen)
to style – tut. układać
unmanageable – trudne do opanowania
unruly – niesforne
windswept – potargane przez wiatr, rozwiane
note – zauważcie, proszę zauważyć
It's not (exactly) rocket science! – It's not very difficult.
to properly groom – odpowiednio pielęgnować
a hair routine – (codzienna) typowa pielęgnacja włosów
to shampoo – stosować szampon
to condition – stosować odżywkę
to towel-dry – suszyć ręcznikiem
pressure – nacisk, tut. siła
to comb – czesać używając grzebienia
to blow-dry – suszyć suszarką
to heat-style – układać używając sprzętu do układania włosów
a curling iron – lokówka
a straightening iron – prostownica
and yet  – i mimo to
a messy bun – luźny kok, (jakby w nieładzie)



FRINGE/ BANGS

The thing about getting a fringe (especially a full fringe) is that once you get it, you cannot “unget” it. You need to wait for it to grow out. Another problem is that there is usually one way for the fringe to be. Wind, rain or other people messing with your fringe will make it 'wrong' and will make you want to go to the bathroom to fix it. Don't get a fringe or bangs (as they call it overseas) if you are not ready for the hassle.

a fringe/ bangs – grzywka
to grow out – odrosnąć also (I'm growing my hair (out) – Zapuszczam włosy).
to fix – poprawić
overseas – za oceanem
a hassle – kłopot


COLOURING

My experience with colouring my hair is short but intense. In a short period of time I dyed my hair a reddish colour and then when I got bored with being a redhead, I dyed it blond. While I enjoyed the change and the feeling of being 'a different person', I was really happy to go back to being brunette. The colouring left my hair quite damaged, thin and always tangly and it took it quite some time to be its usual shiny and healthy self. Oh, and getting the roots done was a real hassle.

to colour, to dye (dyeing , dyed , dyed) – farbować
reddish – rudawy
a redhead – rudzielec
damaged – zniszczone
thin – cienkie
tangly – poplątane
roots – odrosty




And now some hair-related vocabulary. I hope you find it helpful ;)


hair elastics

a hair clip

bobby pins/ hairpins
a headband


hair rollers
hair extensions
a mohawk
a pixie hairstyle
ombre hair
pigtails with a parting in the middle
a braid/ plait
Please leave a comment and tell me about your hair :))

Karola

Saturday, February 4, 2012

My Digs: Corny


Hello everybody,

In the last post I briefly discussed how to be cool in the business world (i.e. how to transfer your cool onto your brand) and while that might help some people, it definitely doesn't apply to all of us, mere mortals. So what are we if we're not cool? Well, there are plenty of options. For starters, we could be normal/ average/ regular people, couldn't we? 'Nice' is a good word too, isn't it? If someone doesn't think you're interesting enough, 'nice' is always a good alternative. Nice and kind, I think. And on the other end of the spectrum we've got 'corny' and this is the word I would like to dedicate this post to.




When I first started hearing people use the word corny, I was a little bit confused. See, I might have studied English but every now and again I was too lazy to bother checking what a given word meant. That's what happened with me and the word corny. I didn't know the exact meaning of the word. However, I noticed it was used in roughly three different contexts: when a) someone was about to make an emotional and heartfelt comment, b) to describe a romantic comedy or c) to mildly offend someone by criticising their taste in clothes or their choice of jokes. And if we take into consideration how many different meanings cool has, it seems right that the opposite of cool, corny, should be just as versatile.

Corny is defined as

  • uncool
  • trying to be cool/ to impress but failing
  • unoriginal
  • overused
  • uninspired
  • formulaic
  • stupid
  • lame
  • cliché
  • banal
  • excessively sentimental/ romantic
  • cheesy
  • sickly sweet
  • soppy

Now let's take a look at different examples of how the word corny is used:

IT MIGHT SOUND CORNY STATEMENTS

It might sound corny, but I actually enjoy learning new things.
It might sound corny, but I wanted to try and make something different.
It might sound corny, but I don't do it for the money. I do it cause I really enjoy it.
It might sound corny, but I'd like them to follow their dreams.
It might sound corny, but I love it when someone holds the door open for me.
It might sound corny, but I try to treat absolutely everyone with a lot of respect.
It might sound corny, but I think nursing was and still is my vocation.
It might sound corny, but I really believe in the product.
It might sound corny, but I get more satisfaction out of giving than receiving.


MOVIES

This movie is so corny and cheesy it made me want to gag.
This movie is so corny but he looks so gorgeous that I can't help but watch it 50 more times.
The Holiday” is corny done right. 




CORNY PICK-UP LINES

If you were a new hamburger at McDonald's, you would be McGorgeous.
Are you a parking ticket? 'cause you got fine-fine-fine written all over ya.
Baby, you must be a broom, cause you just swept me off my feet.
Girl, you must be tired 'cause you've been running through my mind all day!
Do you have a map? I just keep on getting lost in your eyes.
If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put U and I together.
Do you come here often?





CORNY JOKES (these need to be read out loud)

Q. What did one toilet say to the other toilet?
A. You look flushed. flushed – red in the face

Q. When is a door, a jar? a jar – a small glass container
A. When it’s open.
ajar – describes a door that is slightly open

Q. What did the lawyer name his daughter?
A. Sue.…
to sue – to take legal action against a person or organization,

Q. What did the pony say when it had a sore throat?
A. I apologize, I am a little horse!
hoarse (sounds like 'horse') – having a rough voice

Q. What did the football coach say to the broken vending machine?
A. “Give me my quarter back!”

quarterback – (in American football) the player who receives the ball at the start of every play and tries to move it along the field

Q. What do you call a shoe made from a banana?
A. A Slipper. a slipper – a type of shoe you usually wear around your house


OTHER


These kids are planking. That's so corny.
Keeping the stickers on your hat is corny!
Does my shirt look corny to you? Ladies?


Planking


A corny hat


 I'm just going to leave you with this quote from The Holiday:

I like corny. I’m looking for corny in my life.

GLOSSARY:
briefly (discuss) – pokrótce (for a short time)
to apply to – mieć zastosowanie (to have a connection or be important)
mere mortals – zwykli śmiertelnicy
I might have studied English – Co prawda studiowałam filologię angielską.
every now and again – od czasu do czasu (sometimes but not often)
to bother doing something – zawracać sobie głowę czymś (to make the effort to do something )
heartfelt – płynący z głębi serca, szczery (strongly felt and sincere )
given – dany (particular)
roughly – około, mniej więcej
to be about to – zamierzać właśnie coś zrobić (to be going to do something very soon)
to mildly offend – nieco obrazić
a taste – gust
just as – równie
versatile – mający wiele znaczeń, nadający się do użycia w różnych kontekstach (or able to be used for many different purposes)
uninspired – przeciętny
formulaic – utarty, schematyczny
lame – słaby
cliché – oklepany
excessively – zbytnio
cheesy – tandetny
sickly sweet – ckliwy, przesłodzony, sickly – mdlący (causing a slight feeling of wanting to vomit)
soppy – ckliwy, sentymentalny
a vocation – powołanie
to gag – zbierać się na wymioty
gorgeous – śliczny, cudny
a fine – grzywna, mandat
a broom – miotła
to sweep – zamiatać
to sweep somebody off their feet – powalić kogoś na kolana
a vending machine  – automat do sprzedaży napojów, słodyczy itp.