Heart of Gold

Heart of Gold

Hearts are very popular for idioms.  There’s “heart to heart,” “wearing your heart on your sleeve,” “broken heart,” “bleeding heart,” and this week’s winner, “heart of gold.”   To have a heart of...
Piece of Cake

Piece of Cake

And the award for best idiom in a motion picture goes to……PIECE OF CAKE. Here in Los Angeles, traffic alerts are already being issued and roads are starting to close in preparation for Sunday’s Academy Awards show. It started me thinking that there should be an award...
IDIOM OF THE WEEK

IDIOM OF THE WEEK

Welcome to the Idiom of the Week. Every week, I’m going to explain an idiom and include a writing prompt. An idiom is an expression whose meaning is different than the actual meaning of the words. Idioms are what bring language to life, so without further adieu,...
SCRABBLE ANYONE?

SCRABBLE ANYONE?

When we think about writing, we think about sitting at a desk with pencil and paper or typing on a computer keyboard.  When we think about summer, we think about anything but sitting at a desk.  So is “summer writing” an oxymoron? Hardly.  Summer is the time to get...
GO BIG AND USE HYPERBOLE

GO BIG AND USE HYPERBOLE

    Here’s a little figurative language motivation to get everybody through the weekend. I have a huge soft spot for motivational sayings and posters, so I thought it would be fun to combine that with figurative language. Have a good weekend and keep...
The Best Advice Ever

The Best Advice Ever

Whether children are in a school that ability groups or not, they are sure to compare themselves to their peers.  Unfortunately, so are their parents.  Given that our human nature is naturally competitive, I thought this would be a good time of year to share a piece...