Today’s use of the “as + adjective + as” grammatical pattern is merely a colloquial way of expressing the term “although.” We often use this pattern to first acknowledge a condition, state or quality of a particular thing, place, person or situation, but then follow this acknowledgment with a negation of some sort.

For example, in today’s lesson Isaac said, “As cool or scary as having a wonder chip in your head may sound, current science can’t live up to the hype.” Here he could have also said, “although having a wonder chip in your head may sound cool or scary, current science can’t live up to the hype.“

Here is the pattern: As + adjective + as + something + is/may sound/seem, subject + verb.

Example: As wonderful as that is, I still can’t afford it.

In today‘s dialogue, we have “equipped with little more than a notebook” and “deemed a crusader.” “Equipped” and “deemed” are both past participles which modify “she” (Jane Goodall). And these two sentences are both participle clauses.

Participle clauses enable us to give information about the subject in a shorter way. For example, instead of saying, “He was angered by her comments, so he left the room,” one could say, “Angered by her comments, he left the room.” The participle clause “Angered by her comments” allows us to remove the conjunction. It also makes the sentence more dramatic.

We can use participle clauses when the participle and the verb in the main clause have the same subject. For example, Equipped with nothing, she went on the adventure. (Although she was equipped with nothing, she went on the adventure)

Participle clauses do not have a specific tense. The tense is indicated by the verb in the main clause.

Participle clauses are mainly used in written texts, particularly in a literary, academic or journalistic style.

The phrase “to earn a/its reputation” means to become well-known for something. For instance, in today‘s lesson dialogue, we learned that Jane Eyre quickly earned its reputation as a ‘naughty book’.

The phrase can be followed by: 1. as + a + noun; 2. for being + a + noun; 3. for being + the + superlative adjective + noun. For example, “The company earned a reputation for being the best publishing company in the area.”

The idiom “to walk the line between A and B” means to maintain a balance between two contrasting things, such as two opposing styles. For example, in today’s dialogue, the speaker said that Princess Diana had the “ability to walk the line between elegant and risqué,” meaning that she was able to balance the two styles. However, this idiom can be used to describe a number of things, including opposing choices, opinions, feelings, or genres.

“Literally” is a word that annoys a lot of people in English. Or rather, it’s not the word itself, but the usage that makes people angry.

The literal meaning of literally is just that, “in a literal manner” or “exactly.” However, often people use “literally” to emphasize something, as in “I haven’t seen you in a million years, literally!” Unless both of those people are millions of years old, it can’t be literally true. It can, however be figuratively true.

Sometimes, owing to the nature of language, we encounter situations where a figure of speech can also be literally true. I could “run into someone” if I accidentally came around a corner too fast and crashed into them.

Today, we were able to use the phrase “sticking together” in this way. LEGO has “stuck together” as a company for a long time. It also happens to be a company that makes plastic bricks that can stick together.

Although Latin is an ancient language, it is still used by people all around the world. The word “ergo” in today’s lesson is an example.

“Ergo” is basically another way to say “therefore,” so you can use them interchangeably.

Or, another great way to use “ergo” is when you are presenting an argument with several parts. This doesn’t have to be a complex argument: Just one where you want to make sure someone can follow your logical path. For example: A, therefore B. B, ergo C.

“To iron out the kinks” is an idiom that means to fix or solve the small problems or flaws. It’s frequently used

for technology, business or projects. Simply put, a “kink” is a small twist or bend in something that should be

straight, like a pipe. Thus, metaphorically, “kinks” refer to problems that are typically small and can be fixed or

“ironed out.“

There are several variations of this idiom:

•work out the kinks
•fix the kinks
•smooth out the kinks

In today’s lesson, we see the phrase “I would argue” used to answer a question about why Michelin stars are still so coveted.

Why would someone use “I would argue” instead of just “I argue” or “I think”?

For one, although you will read “I argue” in a lot of formal writing, English speakers generally don’t use it in daily speech.

“I would argue” on the other hand, is used all the time. Generally speaking, when we use this phrase we’re not really making an argument. Instead what we are doing is softening our speech.

Some may take this speech-softening principle further and use phrases like “some would argue.” It allows speakers to give opinions while avoiding mentioning the source or specific conditions of the argument.

The phrase “more often than not” is a more formal way to say express “most of the time.” The idea is that a particular action or situation happens more often than it doesn’t happen. For example, “More often than not, I forget my phone at home.“

Likewise, in today’s dialogue, the speaker said, “More often than not posts are so polarized and dramatic that they exacerbate the anxiety.” Here she is simply remarking on how news postings often create more anxiety.

“A stroke of genius” is an idiom that means a brilliant idea or decision. For instance, in today’s lesson, the speaker says, “The invention was lauded as a stroke of genius that shortened WWII by two years.” As you can see, this phrase is frequently used in reference to sudden mental insights that solve problems.

To help you remember the phrase, think of a brilliant idea that suddenly strikes (or hits) a person much like a stroke of lightning.

However, the phrase “stroke of + noun” is not limited to genius. We can also say, “a stroke of fortune/luck” or “a stroke of madness.”