Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Henmi]

Hello.

These are from English program on TV, showing the lesson for non-native speaker of English in NewYork.

"rocket science" "calculus"

The teacher introduced these as contrasts with " a peace of cake".
So I can guess the meaning easily. But I can't find these in my dictionary.
Are these common phrases anywhere? If not, where are these used?

Thank you.

[LucentShade]

Henmi--do you need any more help with the exact meanings of "rocket science" and "calculus"? They are both used as metaphors to mean something diffiuclt or hard to understand. Other phrases used this way are "nuclear physics" and "neurosurgery" (brain surgery). At times, these are used in the negative sense: "Those problems aren't rocket science, even a child could do them."

Also, a spelling issue I noticed:
"peace" means calmness, tranquility, or the opposite of war. ("After fighting, the nations signed a peace treaty.")
"piece" (pronounced the same way) means a part or fragment of something, like a piece of paper or a piece of cake.

[Henmi]

Thank you for introducing another interesting phrases.
I know and I could guess all of these mean "difficult",
but what I want to know is.........

1 Are these common from old?
If they are, why don't the dictionaries mention it?
2 Or are these used temporarily?
I mean as fashionable words fading away before long.

"a piece of cake" Oh, I've made a mistake.

[bud]

Hi Henmi,

These expressions have been around for quite a long time - certainly longer than a passing fancy. I don't know what the criteria is for making it into a dictionary, though. Probably a dictionary would not be able to list all slang words and idioms for reasons of space.

I wouldn't be surprised if they could be found in a dictionary of idioms.

Hope that helps.

[Henmi]

Thanks. bud.

I got everything and could learned another expression.
" a passing fancy"

I heard anywhere that "mac job"is going on the dictionary.
It may mean a job, an easy job anyone can do according to the manual.
This sounds a passing fancy for me. Or Macdonald shares a big part in
your life and will be something like legend as a success story?
Of course I know it has been prospering. I rarely go to Macdonald.

Good bye

[bud]

Hi Henmi,

Passing fancy - My choice of expression was not the best as this expression is usually used for a person or a group, not an entire population. But it is a fad for one person (or a group). Ex: It was Dan's passing fancy to listen to Beethoven last month, but now he is back to Six Inch Nails.

McJob - (I'm not sure how it is spelled. Pronounced "mick-JOB.") It is not a passing fancy. It is partly what you wrote first - an easy job anyone can do. It is even more negative than that, though. It describes a dead-end job (a job with few prospects for advancement) with low pay and few or no benefits. The word is often used in political and economic debates about employment to talk about jobs that are not adequate for people rasing families.

I don't blame you for rarely going to McDonald's!