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I was just having an email debate with some of my American friends.  To be honest, I don’t think there is a huge difference on this topic between the thinking of Canadians and Americans in general, but I personally certainly had a different opinion than many of my friends (although, I do understand their point of view)

Here’s what happened…..

There was a really important basketball game yesterday between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers.  After the game, the media always interviews the players on TV.  One of the players was upset and said some “bad words”.  He wasn’t saying them directly to anyone, but he was definitely swearing when he was upset.  The player apologized later for saying the bad words.  The word that really got him into trouble was the word “homo”, which is a very negative term to describe a gay man.

He doesn’t hate gay people, just the word came out when he was angry, and he did say sorry after.

Then…..

The NBA fined him $75 000 USD.  To be honest, $75 000 is nothing for him, because the guy makes 12 million dollars a year, but still, he did have to pay this money.

The question is, “Should the player still have to pay money for saying a bad word and then apologizing?”

I personally think “NO”.  Not if it only happens once or twice.  Sometimes people say things they don’t mean when they are angry.  Then they apologize.  I don’t see the big deal if it’s not happening all the time.

Some people think it’s really terrible, and this player should pay this money for saying these words.  They think it’s very bad if some kids are watching TV at that time.  To be honest, I think I understand that point of view, but I just don’t really think it’s SO TERRIBLE if a kid hears a bad word.  They will hear these words anyway in life, and as a parent, you can just say “Those are bad words so you shouldn’t say them”.

I think the world is getting too “politically correct”.  People are too worried about saying the right thing all the time.  I think this worry makes for boring and fake people on TV.  No one can give an opinion any more without worrying about the consequences.  People are so scared to say something “bad” on TV that they “play it safe” and don’t share their real personalities, opinions, jokes, etc.  It’s like we’re forcing famous people to be like perfect little fake robots.

I hate it!  I think it’s foolish and it’s not helping society.  But I do realize that it is not a fact, but rather my opinion on the situation.  I’d love to hear your opinions below.

And I also want to point out something new and exciting.  Within the past 5 minutes, Add and I just opened up our new private English learning community.  We really hope you take a look and see if it’s right for you.  As of right now, Add and I are the only members, BUT this will grow fast and we will stop accepting members at some point.  It’s not for everyone.  If you think you might be interested, now is the time to try it out.  Looking forward to seeing you in the kick ass private community

We’ll talk to you on there.  Lot’s of awesome stuff to come on there.  Join up and see what it’s all about if it sounds interesting to you.  (I’m only about 99.9% sure you’ll love it)

I’m always trying to think of the most useful stuff to teach you guys.  I do put the majority of it in the VIP section for obvious reasons, but I want to make sure I remember to teach at least some of this awesome stuff to everyone who uses this site.   “I don’t want to toot my own horn… I’m just saying ”

I was watching some Hollywood comedy movies last night, while pigging out on ice cream, and I was reminded of both these terms below.  I used them a lot when I was in high school, and my friends and I use them quite a bit now.  Native speakers will LOVE it when you use this stuff.

First one is:

Butt Ugly:  If someone is “Butt Ugly” it means they are super ugly.  They are the total opposite of someone who is hot.  It’s a very common but very mean thing to say.  It’s usually used between friends when they are talking about a person who isn’t in the room.  (It’s horrible if you say this directly to someone’s face).  And of course it’s not nice to talk about people’s appearance in a negative way, but let’s face it, it still happens all the time in real life.

So, “butt ugly” is super ugly.  You can say “Butt ugly” or just “butt”.  ”Butt” is even more slang and it’s hilarious.

Example 1:  ”I can’t believe he’s dating her.  She’s butt ugly”

Example 2:  ”Does anyone honestly think she’s hot?  I think she’s totally butt”

(Tell a native speaker you learned this phrase and they will laugh for sure)

Oh ya, I just remembered, it doesn’t always have to be about people either.  This phrase can be used to describe some things.  Someone could say something like, “I think the colors you use on your website look butt ugly”.  Or “Do you think anyone will buy from your site?  It looks butt”

The second one is:

“Drop Dead Gorgeous”

This is a set phrase that means “absolutely beautiful”.  It is used together and you can’t change the words.  You can’t say “dead gorgeous” for example.  You can’t even say “drop dead beautiful”.  Those things sound super weird.  It’s always, “Drop dead gorgeous”.  Remember that.

Example 1:  ”She looked drop dead gorgeous in her wedding dress”

Example 2:  ”That sunset is drop dead gorgeous”

I hope you liked these ones!  Pay attention to native speakers and I’m sure you’ll start hearing these phrases often!

**For the fastest results EVER, Add and I highly recommend you get a VIP Membership

As many of you guys already know, Add and I are in Thailand.  We’re getting ready to go to the beach after this email!  Not bad!

Anyway, we are staying in the island of Koh Phang an.  A lot of the tourists here are from non native speaking countries.  There are a ton of Europeans and a ton of Russians.  It’s a great place for me to think up new lessons, because I can hear the real mistakes people all over the world are making.

The first term that is a good one is this:

“Can you watch my stuff?”

or “Do you mind watching my stuff for a minute?”

This idea of “watching my stuff” is how native speakers ask someone else to make sure that their things are safe and no one steals them.

Imagine I’m sitting on a big towel on the beach.  I’ve got my cell phone, my wallet, and a few other things I really don’t want anyone to steal.  Now imagine I want to go swimming.  I can’t take this stuff in the water so I need someone to look after it and make sure no one steals it.  If I see someone near me, I can say, “Do you mind watching my stuff for a few minutes while I go swimming?  Thanks”  That is a polite and normal way of saying, “I’ll be back soon.  Please just make sure no one steals this”.  Another way of saying this is “Can you keep an eye on my stuff for a few minutes?”  These are great phrases.

Ok, now for the second phrase:

Imagine I am standing in line waiting for a fresh fruit salad.  (These are awesome here!)

I can either eat the fruit salad at the tables here, or I can carry it back to my hotel and eat it there.  People often make the mistake of saying “Can I get this take away” if they want to take it home.  ”Take away” or “Take out” is used on a restaurant sign to tell customers that this is an option.  You don’t say “take away” or “take out” when you are ordering take out.

You should say “To go”

So the way to order a fruit salad, or anything, is this:

“Can I get one fruit salad to go please?”

or if you are ordering something else, you could say, “Can I get this to go please?”

So when you are ordering take out, just say “I’d like to get this to go“.  It’s how real native speakers speak.  I hope this helps!  Love to read your comments below!

We’re making an accent training course to teach you guys how to speak English with the most standard American Accent.  We truly believe this is possible to achieve with the proper method.

Add and I made our first short video with some tips about how to say certain words.  We’d love for you to watch the video below and make comments on it.  We’re going to be making many videos and lessons to teach American standard pronunciation.  It would be great to get as many honest comments as possible from you guys.

I hope you like this one.

American Accent Training Series

Please comment below and subscribe to the Youtube Channel for all future videos on this topic.

We can’t wait to read your comments.

This is a great phrase in spoken English.  There are these types of people in every culture around the world.

First of all, a “cannon” is almost like a kind of huge gun that was used in old wars.  They shoot huge and strong bullets that can kill several people on a ship.  These were used a lot in wars at sea.

A “loose cannon” would be a cannon that fires very easily.

In modern spoken English, however, a “loose cannon” has a very different meaning.  Imagine someone who has very little self control.  This kind of person may say crazy things without thinking of the consequences.  They don’t think before they speak.  Sometimes they are funny, but often their big mouth gets them into trouble.

A “loose cannon” is a person who is a bit wild and untamed.  You really don’t know what to expect from them.

They could get angry really quickly over a very small thing and say something that they will later regret.  I’m sure we all know “loose cannons” in our own lives.   This term is usually not meant to describe a good quality.

This is a fantastic phrase to know for a non native speaker.   Native speakers use it all the time in modern English when speaking with friends.

Here is an example sentence:  ”My boss is a loose cannon after he gets drunk.  Nothing he says would surprise me.”

I’d love to read your comments below.  Please let me know if there are some other example phrases you’d like to know the clear meaning of.  I’ll do my best to explain them for you.