Super Bowl 46: New York Giants vs New England Patriots

Today, is “Super Sunday”?  What is “Super Sunday”?   I’ll get to Super Bowl XLVI in a minute.

Last year one of my on-line students asked me to explain the rules for American football, because she hopes to transfer to USC.  (And that university has an EXCELLENT football team, the USC Trojans.)

So I wrote series of posts explaining American football rules.  If you want to know about American culture, then a knowledge of our national sport is helpful.

If you really want to know about American football, then you need to know about the Super Bowl.  This is the championship game in the National Football League.   More »

"The devil's in the details" means that the smallest parts of a plan can be the hardest to resolve.

I recently received an e-mail from a Chinese friend who had the phrase “the devil’s in the details” as part of his e-mail signature.

What does “the devil’s in the details” mean?

“The devil’s in the details”means that the small or minute (pronounced \mī-ˈnüt\, not \ˈmi-nət\) details in some task or project can ruin a that task or project if they are ignored and not properly addressed at the very beginning.

It means that the most difficult part to resolve in a plan are the tiniest details.

Examples:   “When you bake a loaf of bread, the amount of yeast you add is important, and the temperature of the water cannot be too hot or too cold  or else  the dough will not rise properly.  Remember, the devil’s in the details.”

“I can draft a quick business plan for you, but it will look very simple.  To get a fuller picture will require some work because the devil’s in the details.”

Now that I’ve provided two examples using “the devil’s in the details” why don’t you try it?   I’ll be happy to review your work.  All you have to do is leave a sample of your work in the comment section.

How do you say “the devil’s in the details” in Chinese?

"Finders keepers, losers weepers" is a famous children's adage. What do you think this person should do with this money?

更多中文解释请点粗体字, 由 iciba.com 提供

Have you ever come across something of value that someone left behind by mistake or negligence? A justification used in the West to take such an item is “finders keepers”.

The entire adage, especially used by children is:  ”finders keepers, losers weepers”.   Often time, this proverb is shortened to “finders keepers”.

That is if you find something, you keep it.  If you lose it, you cry!  This would apply to items which are abandoned or presumably unowned. More »