sidney

Well, at least LOL which means "laugh out loud" is still technically a modern word, and only the abbreviation LOL is the one that's old. But the list came as a surprise to me. I never knew that some words are ancient already.

Dark horse - a candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds.

My favorite idiom is "talk is cheap". It means that it is easier to say that you will do something than to actually do it. (Saying this in response to someone who promises you something implies that you do not believe that person will keep the promise.)

I also have my own version of it and I insert that idiom when I argue with someone whom I know is lying to me.

above par - more than average, above normal, more than the face value of a bond or stock or currency

Example: The currency was selling above par at the small exchange shop.

almighty dollar - money when it is viewed as more important than anything else

Example: The man spent most of his life chasing the almighty dollar.

ante up - to pay money, to produce a necessary amount of money

Example: I had to ante up a lot of money to get my car fixed.

as phony as a 3-dollar bill - phony, not genuine

Example: The man who was asking for donations for the charity was as phony as a three-dollar bill.

be under the gun - to feel anxious because you have to do something by a particular time or in a particular way.

jump the gun - you start prematurely before the proper time is right.

I always use "birds of the same feather flock together" during casual conversations. It means that people with similar personalities tend to stick together.

"Bitten by the bug" means if you develop a sudden interest or enthusiasm for something, then you are bitten by the bug.

I think it's perfectly normal to speak in your 2nd language more than your native language, especially if you have not spoken your native language for quite some time, or if you use it quite often at work. It's like you just use it naturally, That happens to me too at times. You get so used to speaking it through constant repetition.

I think the British accent would be the best accent among all the other accents that I have heard. It sounds so nice and even sexy. And I think that having an accent should not be the measure of whether a person is a fluent speaker or not, because accents are acquired due to speaking your native language, so you can't easily erase it.

I was already in my 20's when my interest to study in another language was piqued when I heard a couple of Rammstein's songs being played on local radio. But when it comes to studying English, then I must a say, I was exposed to it as early as pre-school.

There is a Filipino translator here. I hope it is of use to you. http://tagalogphrases.com

I tested a few words, and it seems to do a satisfactory job in the sense that it can translate the very basic thing that you want to say. Like when I typed "Ano pangalan mo?" It  said, "What name". But when I typed "Anong pangalan mo?" It said, "Any name". It should be "What is your name" for both sentences. Oh well, what can you expect from online translators, right?

I think it's not really mandatory to learn a new language completely when you get to travel abroad, but you must learn the basic words that can help you get by in the country like "how much", "where is the bus stop", etc. I have friends who were sent abroad by their companies on a business trip to Japan and Hongkong, but they never bothered to learn those countries' native language, maybe because English is spoken there. If the country doesn't speak English at all, then that is a big problem if you visit there.

This link lists some words that are weirdly spelled: http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/13076/11-weirdly-spelled-words%E2%80%94and-how-they-got-way

And in my opinion, I think "knead" and "island" and the weirdest ones, since "hors d'oeuvres" is a French word, so it doesn't really count for me.

¨Passed¨ in this context means ¨bowel movement.¨ So the cannibal was pooping in this context. Aside from context, there's no way to know if passed means ¨moved by¨ or ¨pooped.¨ But since the joke is about a cannibal and a man, I think it would mean ¨pooped.¨

I spent minutes trying to get that joke, and I swear I really didn't get it, but now I do, thanks to your explanation. Well I wonder how that poop turned out, after all, it was human flesh. 

I have watched The Talented Mr. Ripley and I loved it. I also recommend the movie Sin City, it was based from a comic book, although I think with the release of Sin City 2, the movie is now widely known to be taken from a comic book now. Come to think about it, I ought to download those 2 films so that I can watch it again.

I would also like to add the idiom "slave driver", which means "a person that makes others work very hard".

I think it's ok for the sub-forum to be called  as "Study Tagalog" because it is a standardized form of Tagalog anyway, according to Google:

"Fil·i·pi·no

ˌfiləˈpēnō/

noun

1.

a native or national of the Philippines, or a person of Filipino descent.

2.

the national language of the Philippines, a standardized form of Tagalog.

adjective

1.

relating to the Philippines, the Filipinos, or their language."

I think Tagalog is our national language, and the rest like Bisaya, Kapampangan, etc. are the dialects.

I guess maybe because English is widely spoken in their country? Because over here in my country, the Philippines, English is widely used over here, so most people really know how to speak English. I guess the same goes for Japan.

Thank you for sharing this, I am on a pc right now so I couldn't try the apps yet, but right now I'm also interested in studying some Japanese words because I have started watching some of their old tv series, and I like some of the songs that I hear, so these apps would probably be helpful to me.

Great tips for beginners whoa re still getting the hang off this language. I prefer to use "May I...............? It's simple and doesn't sound fancy.

For me it's the opposite, I think "May I" sounds too formal. I would prefer "Can I" over "May I".

Overall, this is a great guide for beginners. Thank you for sharing this.

Thanks for sharing. When I want to know the meaning of a certain word, I just google it then I either click on the links they show or just read what Google's main result is on the very 1st search result with bold letters. It is a good site though.

I think such phrases exaggerating things just proves the point that you are very, very, bored. I think it may have gotten some inspiration with the phrase "stoned to death" during the ancient times, so modern times incorporated it in their language.

Thank you for sharing this list! Although in my case, I would be more inclined to use "superior" over "superb", so you can also add that as an antonym for inferior.

No I also don't carry a dictionary anymore, in fact, outside of school, I never did. If I'm outside and I need to find the meaning of a certain word, I just use my phone to look for the answers, since I'm subscribed to a mobile browsing plan anyway.

They should widen their language choices, because they don't have Tagalog, so I can't test it's accuracy. At least Google Translate is more comprehensive in their language selection.

That's an interesting article. Maybe the info gets processed into our dreams? Who knows, right? But I think they are capitalizing on the aspect of learning through constant subliminal repetition. I remember that the song that was playing in the background at home while I was sleeping got included in my dreams, like it was playing as a background sound. So I think that's how it will work if you are trying to learn a new language while playing audio tapes in your sleep.