Words March 2026 Week 4

The letter was signed “anonymous.” (Anonymously means the person doesn’t want to use their real name.)

Adlibbing is a good way to learn English. (Adlibbing is speaking without preparing what you want to talk about.)

His mother felt worse than he did for not being able to attend his graduation ceremony. (The boy had the flu and couldn’t attend the graduations ceremony. But luckily the class held a “goodbye party”, and they held a special ceremony for him.)

All’s well, that ends well. (This means if something has a good result the previous problems are not important.)

The plastic wrap is hard to remove. (This is especially true with fresh vegetables wrapped in plastic wrap.)

She is in her 50s. (She is between 50 and 59 years old.)

She got many new students by word of mouth. ("By word of mouth" means passing information, news, or recommendations from person to person through spoken, rather than written, communication.)

Latchkey kids are children who return to an empty home after school due to working parents. (“Latchkey” is an older term for the “front door key.”)

Radio dramas were most popular during the "Golden Age of Radio," roughly from the late 1920s through the early 1950s, peaking in the 1930s and 1940s. (Families would sit near the radio listening closely to the actors.)

Many sound effects were used to make the radio dramas exciting. (They would use different materials to make sounds of footsteps, wind, slamming doors, doorbells, etc.)

He listens to the radio while walking the dog. (Use “while” with verbs ending in “ing”, and “during” for a period of time e.g. “while shopping” or “during my summer vacation.”) (I.e. stands for “id est”, or “that is,” and means “in other words”—use it to clarify the statement before it. E.g. stands for “exempli gratia” and means “for example”—use it to introduce examples.)

What is the difference between “hear” and “listen”? (To “hear” means to notice sounds but to “listen” means to carefully hear what the sounds mean, e.g. I could hear many people talking but I wasn’t listening to them.)

We sorted things to keep and get rid of. (They separated the items.)

The city office Solid Refuse Management will schedule the pickup of bulk refuse. (The verb “refuse” [ri-FYOOZ] means to not accept something. The noun “refuse” [REF-yooss] means trash.)

“Wicked” is a prequel to the movie “The Wizard of Oz.” (The movie title “Wicked” refers to the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie “Wizard of Oz.”)

Upcycle means to reuse discarded objects or material to create a product of higher quality or value than the original. (“Upcycling” is similar to “repurposing.”)

I lost my earbud hearing aid. (Earbuds are also used for listening to music.)

I use a power tiller in my garden. (He will till the land before planting vegetables.)

I haven’t installed the doorbell camera. (Installing it is a little complicated.)

The most prominent replica of Mt. Fuji in Saitama is Arahata Fuji (荒幡富士) in Tokorozawa. (It is a 119-meter-high fujizuka built between 1884 and 1899.)

Another notable, historic example is the Kizoro Fuji in Kawaguchi, one of the oldest in Japan, built in 1800. (These were built for people who couldn’t travel to the actual Mt Fuji to pray.)

The Vernal (Spring) Equinox in Japan was on March 20, 2026, at 11:46 pm. (On the equinox the daylight and darkness are about equal.)

My grandson is a little rascal. (“Rascal” is rather a mild, old-fashioned term for a mischievous person or child. It is often used affectionately, such as "little rascal," to describe cheeky or playful behavior.)