Words October 2026 Week 4

Most street in the US are grid style. (This style is when the streets go north and south and east and west to make squares, like on a map.)

The eggs and breadcrumbs in meatloaf hold the ingredients together. (I brushed the cookie crumbs from my shirt after eating a cookie.)

I made an appointment for a colonoscopy. (You make “reservations” for places and “appointments” with people.)

I had to take a laxative on the night before. (This cleans out your colon.)

Ground beef is made with a machine and minced beef by a machine or by hand. (The British call ground meat minced meat since they are very similar.)

Finely chopped beef is small, uniform size cuts of beef by hand. (This might be used to make beef tartar.)

She was grumpy. (Her young child was tired of waiting in line to get some food.)

Vintage cars were manufactured between 1919 and 1930.

Antique cars were manufactured in 1975 or earlier (>45 years old). (“≥45” means “more than 45.”)

Classic cars were manufactured in 2000 or earlier (>20 years old).

Lunch is an everyday, casual midday meal eaten between breakfast and dinner.

A luncheon is a formal, planned gathering centered around a midday meal. (Luncheons are held for special occasions, charity fundraisers, awards ceremonies, etc.)

RAAF Base Point Cook is the oldest military aviation base and the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in Australia. (They have a big air show every three years.)

One of my bad habits is procrastination. (I’ll do it tomorrow.)

Our dog chews on our ballpoint pens. (Any suggestion on how to stop a dog from doing this?)

You can’t teach old dogs new tricks. (“You can't teach an old dog new tricks" means that it is very difficult to get people to change habits, routines, or ways of thinking once they get older and set in their ways.)

My spine is curved to the right. (Spine and backbone have the same meaning.)

I’m right-handed. (Ambidextrous means having the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well.)

A picture is worth a thousand words. (It takes many words to describe a picture.)

She fainted. (Don’t say “she fell”. When she fainted, she did fall, but many people fall without fainting.)

I’ll take the red eye to San Fran. (A “red eye flight” is when you catch a plane very early in the morning for a short flight and have no time to sleep.)

I finely chopped the onions. (I chopped the onion into very small pieces for my tuna salad.)

Some people say that Kentucky Andy Beshear is the next Bill Clinton. (He will probably run for president.)

A pattern-made suit is a semi-custom suit where the tailor starts with a standard, pre-existing master paper or digital pattern rather than drafting one from scratch. (This was a little confusing, but I understand now.)

He received a promotion at work. (He was promoted.)

Sushi Ginzo is a popular sushi chain in Japan known for serving freshly prepared Edomae-style sushi, sashimi, and tempura at reasonable prices. (Edomae sushi is a traditional style of hand-pressed sushi that originated in the 1820s in Edo as a fast food for working-class citizens.)

Most commercial raw fish, especially for sushi and sashimi, is flash-frozen to sub-zero temperatures (such as -20°C / -4°F for 7 days) to kill roundworms like anisakis. 

UV light can detect this parasite. (Another name for Ultraviolet light is blacklight.)

I took a leisurely stroll around the park. (It was a slow relaxing walk.)

I wrote a letter of condolence.

Please accept my condolences. (Condolence is the formal word said when someone passes away and means “sympathy.”)

Breadcrumbs are tiny pieces of bread. (What are cookie crumbs?)

Chronic hives are itchy, raised welts on the skin that persist for more than six weeks and recur frequently. (There are many different treatments for this problem.)

Sunlight helps your body produce serotonin, which is often called the "happiness hormone" or "feel-good" chemical that regulates mood. (This is why many people feel depressed in the winter.)

Shinjuku Station uses famous hand-crafted duct-tape signage created by a security guard named Shuetsu Sato. (His distinctive, blocky typography became known as Shuetsu-tai (Shuetsu font) and earned a cult following, design awards, including honors from the Japan Sign Design Association, and outside commercial work like designing logos for Nike.)

I used a mess kit to cook the rice when my rice cooker broke. (A mess kit is a compact, portable collection of cookware, dishes, and utensils designed for preparing and eating meals outdoors. The term originated in the military, where a "mess" refers to a shared dining area or group meal setting.)

I visited the Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park (Tokorozawa Kōkū Kinen-kōen) in Saitama Pref. (It is a 50-hectare public park built on the historic site of Japan’s very first airfield, which opened in 1911.)