Someone who has a chip on their shoulder is angry all the time. They feel that they have been wronged by the world, so they are always ready for a fight. They are easily offended because they feel that they have been treated unfairly by others, or perhaps they feel inferior. They expect trouble, so they are always ready for it.

It can also mean that the person has a grievance about something. Something bad has happened to them, and they might believe it was someone else’s fault. They are constantly so angry about it that it affects their behaviour. In the person’s mind, they’re showing how tough they are.

*Because this expression is used to describe someone and because it uses the verb ‘have,’ you can also use ‘have got’. You can also add adjectives to describe the size of the chip:

I can’t stand working with Bill; he’s got such a massive chip on his shoulder. He’s so unpleasant.

. . . Keira Knightley has admitted that forsaking university in favour of a film career has left her with a “chip on her shoulder” over her lack of education. . . . [She] now battles to prove to herself – and those around her – that she has brains.
– from The Telegrah (U.K.)

Success never made that chip on his shoulder go away. (about Roger Ailes, Fox News Chief )
– from The New York Times

James “Sawyer” Ford [a character on the TV show LOST] started as the classic rogue with a shady past who parades around with a constant chip on his shoulder.
– from IGN.com

Origin of the expression:
This expression originated in the U.S. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use was in 1830 in the Long Island Telegraph newspaper: When two churlish boys were determined to fight, a chip would be placed on the shoulder of one, and the other demanded to knock it off at his peril. In this case a chip is a small piece of wood. A young boy who was angry about something and determined to fight would place a small chip of wood on his shoulder and challenge another person to knock it off his shoulder. When the chip was knocked off, it meant the opponent was ready and the fight would begin. It was his way of showing everyone how tough he was. Later, in 1855, the actual expression ‘a chip on your shoulder’ appeared in print in the Weekly Oregonian newspaper: Leland, in his last issue, struts out with a chip on his shoulder, and dares Bush to knock it off. Nowadays, the chip is figurative – there’s no physical chip of wood on someone’s shoulder, he/she just acts like there is!

Do you know someone who has a chip on their shoulder?

This post uses fashion vocabulary in context to help you understand when and how to use all these different words related to fashion week and fashion shows!

Are you a fan of fashion? You might also enjoy “How to Talk about Fashion!“

February 11th-18th, 2010 is Fashion Week in New York City! For one week, hundreds of American fashion designers showcase their Fall 2010 ready-to-wear collections. It is a week packed full of fashion shows. This is a huge event in the fashion world because it is the first time fashion magazine editors, critics, buyers (the people who decide what to buy and sell in stores), and the public will get a chance to see the new clothing and the latest trends for fall.

A collection is all the new clothes the designer has made for that season. Each designer promotes his/her collection with a fashion show. During the fashion show, models walk down the runway wearing the new clothing (a runway is also known as a catwalk). Usually, a designer likes to have a supermodel walk the runway. A supermodel is someone like Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, or Heidi Klum – a very well-known and sought after model. Past supermodels include women like Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer.

Ready-to-wear clothing is clothing that you can walk into a store and buy right off the rack. You can wear it as soon as you buy it. This is different from haute couture clothing (a French expression meaning ‘high fashion’). Couture is expensive, custom-made, one-of-a-kind clothing. You can’t walk into a store and buy a couture dress. Paris, France is the centre of haute couture.

Fashion week is a semiannual event – it happens twice a year. In February, designers showcase their fall/winter collections; in September, they showcase their spring/summer collections (for the following year).

A fashion brand is something like H&M, Levi’s, Gap, Kookai, Zara, Polo (by Ralph Lauren), Chanel, DKNY, Burberry, or Lacoste. They design and make clothing to sell in their own stores or boutiques and department stores.

A fashion designer is someone who designs clothing, like Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Zac Posen, Stella McCartney, or Vera Wang. Their clothing is sometimes sold in their own stores, but usually their clothing is sold in boutiques and department stores.

A fashion house is a company like Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Burberry. They are fashion brands, but they usually specialize in expensive, luxury clothing and other products (like cosmetics, perfume, or shoes). They have been in business for decades – some for over 100 years – and they have usually employed several designers throughout their history. For example, Karl Lagerfeld is a well-known fashion designer who designed clothing for Chanel, a famous French fashion house.

Are you a fashionista? A fashionista is a slang word for people who love fashion. A fashionista can be a fashion designer, magazine editor, or simply someone who loves to wear the latest fashionable clothing!

After New York, there are Fashion Weeks in the three other world fashion capitals: London, Milan, and then Paris.

For more information:
http://www.mbfashionweek.com/newyork/
http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/
http://www.vogue.com/
http://www.style.com/

Canadian fashion magazines:
http://www.fashionmagazine.com/
http://www.ellecanada.com/
http://www.flare.com/

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day of the year! It’s a day when people – especially couples – celebrate love and romance. Like most holidays in North America, we celebrate by buying gifts and spending money on things like cards, flowers (usually red roses), dinner at a nice restaurant, or gifts like jewelry, chocolates and candies. I think it’s a lot of fun! February can be kind of boring, because it’s another cold month during our long winter, so this is a great way to break the monotony!

Even people who are not in a relationship still buy cards and candies for their friends and family. Everywhere you go right now, you see red and pink Valentine’s decorations like hearts and flowers and Cupids, while people wish one another “Happy Valentine’s Day!” It’s tradition for school children to exchange Valentine’s Day cards with each other. I remember when I was really young, maybe 5 or 6 years old, my entire class made and decorated colourful Valentine’s Day boxes, in which we could put our cards for each other!

It’s not an official holiday – nobody gets the day off of work! – nonetheless it is an important North American tradition. Where and how did this tradition begin?

When did Valentine’s Day start?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Valentine comes from the name of two early Italian saints. Actually there is more than one St. Valentine recognized by the Catholic Church, because different forms of the name Valentine were very common in the Roman Empire and early Middle Ages in Europe (Valentine comes from the Latin word for ‘valour’). Each saint had their own ‘feast day,’ a day when they were celebrated. Not much is known about the actual St. Valentine whose feast day was Feb 14th, and in 1969 he was even removed from the official list of Catholic feast days, so it is no longer a religious holiday.

Some people point to 14th century English writer Geoffrey Chaucer and his poem Parliament of Foules as the first mention of the St Valentine’s feast day associated with romantic love: (line 309) For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make/ For this was on Saint Valentine’s day, when every bird comes there to choose his mate. He did not specifically mention February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day, though. The idea of passing love notes (now known as ‘Valentine’s Day cards’) became popular in mid-18th century England. In 1797 there was even a book written – The Young Man’s Valentine Writer – to instruct young men on how to write love notes!

Another character who also appears around Valentine’s Day is Cupid! Cupid is the personification of love, desire, passion and all things romantic. In Roman mythology, he was the god love (the son of Mercury in Venus). In Greek mythology, his name was Eros, the son of Aphrodite. He is always shown as a small chubby boy with a bow and arrow. He aims and shoots his arrow at people and causes them to fall in love!

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day or a similar day in your country? What do you do on that day?

(In English x= a kiss, o = a hug, therefore xo = hugs and kisses)

Related Posts:
What is Christmas?
Trick or Treat – It’s Halloween?
Canadian Thanksgiving
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Good luck and happy studying!

This is the first video in my series of numbers videos:
Numbers I – How to Say Numbers 0-99
Numbers II – How to Say Numbers 100 – 1 trillion
Numbers III – Time, Sports Scores, Money, Years, Population

More Pronunciation videos:
The Alphabet
7 Commonly Mispronounced English Words
5 More Commonly Mispronounced Words
11 English Words with Silent Letters
Words That Look the Same but Are Pronounced Differently

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O Canada
Do All Canadians Speak English and French?
Things to Do in the Snow
Hockey in Canada

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911 and 9/11
Using the Verb ‘Explain’
How to Laugh in English

Grammar
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Using the Simple Present to Talk About Future Events
Have and Have Got (a redesign of a popular post)

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Learn a New Word Every Day (Internet resources to help you learn a word a day!)

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Pronunciation – Commonly Mispronounced Words

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