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English Vocabulary 📖
Hara-kiri (noun)
Literal: Ritual su***de by disembowelment, traditionally practiced by Japanese samurai.
Figurative: An action that is deliberately self-destructive or disastrous.

Examples:
(Literal)
The defeated samurai committed hara-kiri rather than face capture.

(Figurative)
Raising taxes just before the election would be political hara-kiri.
Ignoring its loyal customers would be commercial hara-kiri.
Quitting his only source of income without a plan was financial hara-kiri.

Synonyms:
(Literal): seppuku (the more formal Japanese term)

Try using the word in your own sentence!

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🍔 FOOD IDIOMS YOU SHOULD KNOW

+ Their Origins

Many English idioms come from food, cooking, farming, and everyday life. Here are the meanings, examples, and fascinating origins behind these popular expressions.

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🍰 Piece of Cake
Meaning: Very easy.

Examples:
• The test was a piece of cake.
• Fixing the computer was a piece of cake.
• The interview was a piece of cake.

Origin:
This expression became popular in the United States during the 1930s. Winning a cake as a prize in competitions made "piece of cake" a symbol of something easy to achieve.

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🥜 Spill the Beans
Meaning: Reveal a secret.

Examples:
• Don't spill the beans.
• She accidentally spilled the beans.
• Who spilled the beans?

Origin:
Many believe it comes from Ancient Greece, where beans were used for voting. If someone spilled the beans, the secret results were revealed before the official announcement.

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🧊 Break the Ice
Meaning: Start a conversation.

Examples:
• He told a joke to break the ice.
• Let's play a game to break the ice.
• She smiled to break the ice.

Origin:
Ships used to break ice to create a path for others. Later, the phrase came to mean removing social awkwardness and helping people connect.

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🧈 Butter Someone Up
Meaning: Be extra nice to get something.

Examples:
• He's buttering up his boss.
• Don't butter me up.
• She buttered up her teacher.

Origin:
Thousands of years ago in India, people offered butter to statues of gods to gain favor. Over time, the phrase came to mean flattering someone to get what you want.

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🥒 In a Pickle
Meaning: In a difficult situation.

Examples:
• I'm in a pickle.
• We got into a pickle at work.
• He's in a pickle because he lost his wallet.

Origin:
The phrase was popularized by English writer William Shakespeare. A pickle is a mixture of ingredients, so being "in a pickle" meant being in a complicated situation.

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🥒 Cool as a Cucumber
Meaning: Very calm and relaxed.

Examples:
• She stayed cool as a cucumber.
• He was cool as a cucumber.
• Try to stay cool as a cucumber.

Origin:
The inside of a cucumber stays cooler than the surrounding air. This made it a symbol of staying calm under pressure.

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🍌 Go Bananas
Meaning: Become very excited or crazy.

Examples:
• The crowd went bananas.
• Kids go bananas for chocolate.
• Everyone went bananas at the concert.

Origin:
The phrase became popular in America during the 1960s. It may have been inspired by monkeys' excitement around bananas and the word "bananas" meaning crazy.

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🥚 Walk on Eggshells
Meaning: Be very careful not to upset someone.

Examples:
• I have to walk on eggshells around him.
• They were walking on eggshells all day.
• Stop making me walk on eggshells.

Origin:
Eggshells break very easily. Walking on them would require extreme care, making the expression a perfect metaphor for delicate situations.

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🥜 Go Nuts
Meaning: Become very excited or lose control.

Examples:
• The fans went nuts.
• My friends went nuts when they heard the news.
• Don't go nuts over it.

Origin:
The phrase appeared in American English during the early 1900s. "Nuts" became slang for crazy, leading to expressions like "go nuts."

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The more things change, the more they remain the same! 🙆

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