The phrase “Light it up like Christmas.” means to make something very bright. It is used to exaggerate a statement usually said before this phrase. For example,

This place is going to shine. We are going to Light it up like Christmas.

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The word blitz is often heard during the Christmas holiday season. Non-native English speakers may find this hard to understand, so let me try and explain.

The origin comes from the German word blitzkrieg which means to fight quickly. We use the word blitz to explain an action that is quick and often big in either numbers or power.

For example,

America’s department stores are ringing in the official start of the holiday shopping season on Black Friday with midnight openings, a blitz of door busters and other come-ons.

means alot of low price specials or bargains to get you in the store to shop for other things.

The next shopping blitz takes on Black Friday.

means there will be a large number of sales.

In business, a sales person might say, “We are going to blitz them with advertising.” which means advertise alot.

Well, I think I have blitzed you with enough examples. Don’t forget, American football on Sunday and the famous blitz, which is used to sack the quarterback.

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Yesterday, I explained the term “Black Friday“, which marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. Along with this term is the phrase the phrase “Shop till you drop“, which is often used by department stores to describe a sale they are having. It simply means. “Keep shopping until you can’t shop any more.” In other words, you have shopped so much that in fact you have fell down and can not walk any more.

Until next time, “Study till you drop!”

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Black Friday was last Friday in the United States, so my students asked me to explain this phrase. Simply, it refers to the first shopping day of the Christmas season and since this is the busiest shopping period of the year, it is also the period where retailers make most of their profit for the year. In accounting terms, black refers to a profitable condition (red means you are losing money), so this particular Friday is called “Black Friday” referring to making money.

For a further explanation, just type in the key words “Black Friday” and origin to display a list of web pages that provide a full explanation of “Black Friday“.

Stay tuned tomorrow to learn the phrase “Shop till you drop!”

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Christmas is coming (less than 1 month away) and it includes some words that are difficult for non-native speakers. The pronunciation of the word wreath is one of those words. Adding the word Christmas before it can make it even more difficult to say.

To pronounce the word wreath , drop the “w”, say “reee” and finish off with the “th” sound.

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