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Hi Storyteller I've never made that mistake (as far as I know). Although English is not my native tongue, it has always been a part of our educational system from pre-school to college. I may have misspelled one or both of the terms unintentionally but I can never be confused when it comes to the meaning of both words.

I think "Tweep" means a "Twitter peep" or a person who is very active on Twitter. :grin: As for "hashtag" - It's already existing in our dictionary so a new meaning has to be added like what happened to "mouse" and "keyboard".

For me OMG is fine, I hear it very often (even from TV commercials) so I gotten use to it. But LOL? hello! why would you say it if you're already doing it. It's just silly. Note: I thought this topic is about URL/HTML/Hyperlinks/etc. :grin:

I think a sub-forum on Latin would be interesting. It's a dead language but still being used in prayers and legal/medical terms. I think it can be helpful too. :angel:

How do you correct someone's pronunciation politely? Well you did mentioned that he is your friend so maybe you can correct him privately. I agree with @Lasonax that some people hate to be corrected especially in public so talk to him in private and correct him. I think he will realize that you are only doing this to prevent him from future embarrassment for wrong pronunciation/grammar.

Okay, now it makes sense (pen as in a pig pen). Thanks Miya :grin: Anyway, I've found three of above proverbs - Chinese characters equivalent: 1. 书是随身携带的花园 ("A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.") 2. 善问者是五分钟的傻瓜，怕问者永远是个傻瓜 (“He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever.”) 3. 他的座右銘是孔子的名言 (“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”) However, I'm not very sure if they are the correct/exact translation for the proverbs. :shy: I'll try and look for the remaining ones some more.

Nice building guys. I'm from Manila and for me the most beautiful building here is the Basilica Minore de San Sebastian, better known here as the San Sebastian Church. I love castles and for me it looked like one. I also love the history of this church. The San Sebastian Church was completed in 1891. It is reputed that the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty (Gustave Eiffel) was involved with the design and construction of the church. It is the only steel church in all of Asia and now named as one of the World Heritage Sites.

Still don't get the relationship of a pen with sheeps? Or is this a different pen (not for writing)? Thanks, now that makes sense (I think...) :grin: But how about "Add legs to the snake after you have finished drawing it."? @Miya and @Linguaholic, sorry I don't have the Chinese character equivalent but I'll try to look for it.

Yeah that's really uncommon "up a gum tree" and funny too. :grin: I've got another one that I've recently picked up from a book, first time I've learn about this idiom >> heebie-jeebies. I have to look it up to know the meaning and it refers to a state of feeling anxious or nervous.

I would like to ask why is it that to some Chinese (I'm not sure if it's true with all) certain letters are pronounced differently? My husband is half-Chinese and he always pronounce the word magnet as maknet (changing the g to k). Also, he sometimes pronounce P as B. I did try asking him about it but he has no clue and jokes that maybe his tongue was built differently. But I believe there's a reason for this?

I always notice that every time a Japanese tries to speak in English, the L sound is converted into R. Is there a particular reason for this? I'm not sure if this is true with all Japanese but most seem to have trouble with the letter L.

Thank you for your idiom contributions, keep it coming. :grin: Here's some more: >> Have a roof over your head - To have a place to live in. >> Everything but the kitchen sink - When you take a lot of items when you leave, you take everything but the kitchen sink. >> Throw money down the drain - When you are wasting money, you are throwing money down the drain.

Gone for a burton, Pop your clogs and Tango Uniform - all new to me. All with very interesting back story too. Thanks for sharing. Here's a couple more death idioms: >> To die with one's boots on - To die while doing an activity. >> To meet one's maker - To die.

My first time to learn about "Fair dinkum" that's uncommonly cute for me. :love: Here's some more uncommon (at least for me) idioms I found on the internet. Ride coattails - you ride coattails when you use your connections with someone successful in order to become successful too. Ride roughshod over - when you behave in a harsh or thoughtless manner. Walk on eggshells - You walk on eggshells when you're careful not to hurt or offend someone.

"Balat-sibuyas" has been mentioned already. I also noticed that "makati ang kamay" is like a variant of "malikot ang kamay". Anyway, here's some more: :grin: Pusong bato - literally means a heart (puso) of stone (bato). use to describe a person with no feelings/emotions or those who don't know how to love. Agaw buhay - when a person is in the brink of death because of an accident or health issues. Tulak ng bibig, kabig ng dibdib - when we are saying something totally different to what we are really feeling. Sorry I don't know the literal translation of the phrase. :speechless:

"Bliss" is probably the most beautiful English word for me. :kiss: Other words that I like are mostly words that are pronounced differently from their actual spelling like: Rendezvous Depot, and Niche

Chinese proverbs (諺語, yànyŭ) are famous sayings taken from literature, history, and famous philosophers. I love quotations a lot, I have a collection that includes a lot of Chinese proverbs. For me Chinese sayings are very unique and I even find some of it funny and weird. But I think it's understandable since Chinese proverbs are originally written in the Chinese language. Maybe some of the English version were not translated well OR maybe you need to understand the culture first before you can get the meaning. :grin: Anyway, here are some of the Chinese proverbs that I find very interesting, some are funny, some will really make you think and some - I just don't get. Some of my favorites: "A book is like a garden carried in the pocket." “He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever.” “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” ~ Confucius “Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” ~ Lao Tzu "A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion." I find these funny but somehow true: "If a son is uneducated, his dad is to blame." "When you are poor, neighbors close by will not come; once you become rich, you'll be surprised by visits from (alleged) relatives afar." "Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook." and here, :confused: some that I don't get: "Add legs to the snake after you have finished drawing it." "Mend the pen only after the sheep are all gone." "Kill a chicken before a monkey." Feel free to add your favorite Chinese proverbs and maybe help me find the meaning of the last 3 above.

I believe the expression is more of a football jargon than an idiom (I maybe wrong though :grin:). Anyway, I've found this list of football jargons where a "HOWLER" is defined as >> A really bad piece of play, for example a FUMBLE by the GOALKEEPER or missing a SITTER. I also found the expression "Concede a goal" which means >> A goal being scored against your team (the opposite of score a goal). But I can't find the expression "Conceding a howler"? Though I've read about that same expression in a sports article and seems to be jiving with what you've mentioned.

Bumping up this topic with some more weather idioms. :grin: Take by storm - To make a vivid impression. Steal someone's thunder - To take credit or praise for something that you didn't do. Right as rain - When everything is going right in your life.

I think it's time for some more food idioms, specifically pie idioms as I haven't seen any on this topic: Slice of the pie - a share of something like money perhaps. :grin: Have one's finger in pie - to be involved in something. Pie in the sky - A plan or idea that is likely not going to happen. Eat humble pie - To admit that you have done something wrong and apologize for it. As easy as pie - A very easy task.

Actually the word "welcome" has many Filipino counterparts depending on usage. It can be any of the following: "Walang anuman" - is the phrase we use when we replied to someone who said thank you. "Mabuhay" - is the term we use when we greet a foreigner to let them know they are welcome in our country. and "Tuloy po kayo" - is the phrase we use when we are welcoming a visitor to our homes.

I've also seen this option on BPI automated teller machines. :grin: Personally I've got nothing against taglish as it's already a part of everyday conversations from where I'm from, though I sometimes get annoyed when I hear over the top taglish like "Make tusok-tusok the fishballs" - but I know that's intentional already in order to make fun of those who speak too much taglish.

I thought I can't contribute anything to this topic until I came across this idiom a while ago: Elvis has left the building - When the show has come to an end. This counts right?

I was looking for house or home-related idioms here at Linguaholic and found out there was none so might as well start a new topic about it. :grin: [list type=decimal] [*]Home away from home - A place where you are comfortable with just like your home. [*]Make yourself at home - A phrase we usually say to our house guest to make them feel comfortable. [*]On the house - When you offer something for free you say that it's on the house. [*]Window shopping - When you go to a mall to look for items without actually buying it. [*]Darken somebody's door - If you're an unwelcome visitor, you are darkening somebody's door. Feel free to reply with yours.

Here's some additional sports-related idioms I got from the internet (sadly I can't think of any :shy:) : Throw in the towel - To surrender or admit defeat. Win by a nose - To win in a very close fight or to win by a narrow margin. Keep one's eye on the ball - To remain focus or alert.