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Point Lobos, a Northern California Nature and Photo Destination

Point Lobos is a small peninsula just south of Carmel and Monterey, California.

If you’re traveling in the San Francisco area and you like nature and photography, Point Lobos is a must-visit destination. Point Lobos State Natural Reserve offers the beauty of the Northern California coastline complete with seals, sea lions, otters, and even whales. It is also home to thousands of seabirds.

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An Historic Mispronunciation: A vs. An

“An historic moment,” proclaims the speaker, the an apparently lending weight to the event.

To which I have to reply: “Would you like an hot dog, or perhaps an hamburger?”

More and more we hear an used with historic and historical in American English, on TV and elsewhere, even where a hard H is clearly pronounced. At times it borders on the tongue twister.

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It’s October, Baseball Championship Season!
To celebrate the culmination of yet another great baseball season around the world, we are making English for Baseball free on Tuesday, 10/25/16. 

Combine your love for baseball with fast and easy English targets. Pick up English for Baseball, a fun learning tool that uses comics and historical photos to teach baseball vocabulary, idioms, slang, and even how not to pitch. See it on Amazon.com.

English Idioms from Baseball

From English for Baseball

Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox, 1919.



Idioms come from things we really care about, things like love, family, money, and certainly sports. For American idioms, baseball itself is a winning source of idioms. Check out these colorful and common idioms that come from baseball.

1. ballpark figure, n. phr., an estimate; a number that is not correct, but is acceptable. Also: ballpark estimate.
 
I can’t give you a price on the work yet, but I can give you a ballpark figure.

The mayor offered a ballpark estimate on how much a new airport would cost.


2. bat around, phrasal verb, to discuss, to debate. This baseball idiom goes back to the late 1800s. It uses the idea of batting balls around a field to mean “a back-and-forth discussion.”
 
The teachers batted around different plans for the school party.

Our company has been batting around ideas for new products.

3. bat a thousand, v. phr., to have a perfect record. If a baseball player is batting one thousand, he or she is hitting every pitch. This term is now used outside of baseball. Also: batting one thousand.

Joe is batting a thousand on homework; he’s gotten an A on every assignment.
Tom is batting one thousand on getting to work on time.
4. big league(s), n., (1) somewhere where it is hard to compete; (2) the most famous of its kind. This idiom comes from baseball’s major (big) leagues. Often used in the plural: big leagues.
Working for a big company is difficult; you’re in the big leagues now.
The actress knew she was finally in the big leagues when she won an Oscar award.

5. bush league, n., inferior; not pro­fessional. Bush here means “minor” (minor league). Also: Bush leaguer (n.), bush-league (adj.).

We looked bush league out on the baseball field today.
My boss made a bad decision; it was a bush-league decision.
6. Charley horse, n., a sudden pain in the leg, often from exercise or sports. This idiom was first used in baseball.

Kim got a Charley horse and had to rest.


If you have a Charley horse, you need to stretch your leg.

7. cover (one’s) bases, v. phr., to do everything possible to prepare. Also: cover all the bases. From baseball, where players cover (guard) bases. Similar: touch all bases.

Kim eats well and exercises. She wants to cover all the bases.
The mayor covered all her bases during the election.
8. down to (one’s) last out, adj. phr., to have only one chance left. This idiom comes from baseball. If a team has two outs, it is down to only one last out. The phrase is used widely outside of baseball.

You’ve already gotten a bad grade on most of your tests; you’re down to your last out in class.
Our company is almost out of money; we’re down to our last out.


9. drop the ball, v. phr., (1) to make a mistake; (2) to fail because you were not ready. This phrase comes from sports such as baseball, where a player drops a ball.
It is very important that you plan the birthday party well; don’t drop the ball.

Kyle asked Sharon to marry him. She really dropped the ball when she said no; he would have been a great husband.
10. early innings, n. phr., in the early stages. The phrase comes from the early part of a baseball game.

School started only two weeks ago. It’s still early innings, so don’t get too worried.

Scientists are researching the problem, but their research is still in the early innings.



Learn more baseball Idioms with English for Baseball. This beautiful Kindle e-book teaches the English that learners need to talk about baseball or enjoy English broadcasts of games. If you love sports, learn English with a favorite world pastime.

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(C) 2016 by Targets in English. All rights reserved.


Targets Study Blog

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Hawaii Wins the 2016 Little League Intermediate World Series

Max Baer Park, Livermore, California.

The team representing Hawaii won the 2016 Little League Intermediate World Series in early August, beating South Korea 5-1.

The intermediate tournament was held for the fourth time in Livermore, California, bringing Little League World Series action to the West Coast.

Begun in 2013, the new league has become popular with the games shown on TV live nationwide, on ESPN2. This year it returned to Livermore for the fourth time.

Sports English

1. Little League, n. ~ the name of the world’s largest youth baseball league.

2. represent, v. ~ to be the team from a certain country or place in a sporting event. A team from the island of Maui represented Hawaii i n this year’s series.

3. beat, v. ~ to win. Kim always beats me when we play card.

4. action, n. ~ the activity of play of a game or sport. Next week New York plays Los Angeles, and you can watch all the action on this TV channel.

5. nationwide, adv. ~  across a whole nation, not just locally. The football game was broadcast nationwide. Also an adjective: nationwide TV.

(C) 2016 by Targets in English. All rights reserved.
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Fashion Designers Week

Donec vehicula erat ac semper feugiat. Nam ut justo et neque aliquet tempor at quis ex. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Sed id efficitur urna. Donec et nunc sapien. Suspendisse porta commodo ante, non vulputate libero commodo ut. Integer molestie massa sapien, vel pellentesque quam fringilla non. Mauris id tortor mauris. Donec lacinia, enim facilisis sollicitudin sodales, leo orci commodo mi, ac viverra massa urna a mi.

Suspendisse suscipit vel lectus vel egestas. Vestibulum mollis nisl non mi commodo, sit amet pretium risus commodo. Ut pharetra a urna at condimentum. Proin maximus, mauris quis varius tempor, tortor nisl ultrices purus, in molestie tellus quam non nibh. Proin porta venenatis pulvinar. Integer feugiat tempus nibh, vel tempor elit. Donec id sapien at risus imperdiet porta. Duis volutpat, odio vel aliquet tincidunt, turpis elit fringilla purus, vitae accumsan eros ex sed dui. Pellentesque sem purus, lacinia sed efficitur eget, egestas accumsan mauris. Quisque laoreet est ac nulla sollicitudin, quis sagittis ligula varius. Donec at eros blandit, consectetur elit a, condimentum tortor.

Lorem Ipsum Dolor

Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Curabitur vel leo eleifend, rhoncus magna eget, tempor sapien. Curabitur augue libero, rhoncus at dui a, venenatis bibendum libero. Integer nec urna sit amet purus porttitor ullamcorper eget nec lacus. Aenean consequat purus id felis semper, eu lobortis nibh condimentum. Nunc malesuada ipsum odio, nec aliquam dui tincidunt ac. Nullam euismod posuere ex, quis sodales mi viverra vitae. Proin quis dolor consequat, consequat ligula in, laoreet orci.

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Quisque laoreet sapien vel justo ornare efficitur. Nullam efficitur dui id augue interdum molestie. Vivamus eu purus vel est commodo varius. Vestibulum mattis nulla eu tortor eleifend fermentum. Aenean mattis metus in purus rhoncus lobortis. Aliquam lorem nisi, mattis eu pharetra non, gravida quis mauris. Nulla et velit gravida, auctor nisi at, gravida ante. Proin lobortis tincidunt ligula non sagittis. Proin dignissim quis arcu nec aliquam.

HairStyle Ideas for Brides

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Suspendisse suscipit vel lectus vel egestas. Vestibulum mollis nisl non mi commodo, sit amet pretium risus commodo. Ut pharetra a urna at condimentum. Proin maximus, mauris quis varius tempor, tortor nisl ultrices purus, in molestie tellus quam non nibh. Proin porta venenatis pulvinar. Integer feugiat tempus nibh, vel tempor elit. Donec id sapien at risus imperdiet porta. Duis volutpat, odio vel aliquet tincidunt, turpis elit fringilla purus, vitae accumsan eros ex sed dui. Pellentesque sem purus, lacinia sed efficitur eget, egestas accumsan mauris. Quisque laoreet est ac nulla sollicitudin, quis sagittis ligula varius. Donec at eros blandit, consectetur elit a, condimentum tortor.

Lorem Ipsum Dolor

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The Perfect Coachella Style

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Suspendisse suscipit vel lectus vel egestas. Vestibulum mollis nisl non mi commodo, sit amet pretium risus commodo. Ut pharetra a urna at condimentum. Proin maximus, mauris quis varius tempor, tortor nisl ultrices purus, in molestie tellus quam non nibh. Proin porta venenatis pulvinar. Integer feugiat tempus nibh, vel tempor elit. Donec id sapien at risus imperdiet porta. Duis volutpat, odio vel aliquet tincidunt, turpis elit fringilla purus, vitae accumsan eros ex sed dui. Pellentesque sem purus, lacinia sed efficitur eget, egestas accumsan mauris. Quisque laoreet est ac nulla sollicitudin, quis sagittis ligula varius. Donec at eros blandit, consectetur elit a, condimentum tortor.

girl-pony-tail

Coachella Fashion Style

Lorem Ipsum Dolor

Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Curabitur vel leo eleifend, rhoncus magna eget, tempor sapien. Curabitur augue libero, rhoncus at dui a, venenatis bibendum libero. Integer nec urna sit amet purus porttitor ullamcorper eget nec lacus. Aenean consequat purus id felis semper, eu lobortis nibh condimentum. Nunc malesuada ipsum odio, nec aliquam dui tincidunt ac. Nullam euismod posuere ex, quis sodales mi viverra vitae. Proin quis dolor consequat, consequat ligula in, laoreet orci.

Nulla consectetur ornare dui eu laoreet. Donec euismod ligula vitae nibh sagittis convallis. Donec quis pellentesque urna. Mauris ut maximus mi, eget consequat purus.

Quisque laoreet sapien vel justo ornare efficitur. Nullam efficitur dui id augue interdum molestie. Vivamus eu purus vel est commodo varius. Vestibulum mattis nulla eu tortor eleifend fermentum. Aenean mattis metus in purus rhoncus lobortis. Aliquam lorem nisi, mattis eu pharetra non, gravida quis mauris. Nulla et velit gravida, auctor nisi at, gravida ante. Proin lobortis tincidunt ligula non sagittis. Proin dignissim quis arcu nec aliquam.

5 Best Tips for a Safari Adventure

Donec vehicula erat ac semper feugiat. Nam ut justo et neque aliquet tempor at quis ex. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Sed id efficitur urna. Donec et nunc sapien. Suspendisse porta commodo ante, non vulputate libero commodo ut. Integer molestie massa sapien, vel pellentesque quam fringilla non. Mauris id tortor mauris. Donec lacinia, enim facilisis sollicitudin sodales, leo orci commodo mi, ac viverra massa urna a mi.

Suspendisse suscipit vel lectus vel egestas. Vestibulum mollis nisl non mi commodo, sit amet pretium risus commodo. Ut pharetra a urna at condimentum. Proin maximus, mauris quis varius tempor, tortor nisl ultrices purus, in molestie tellus quam non nibh. Proin porta venenatis pulvinar. Integer feugiat tempus nibh, vel tempor elit. Donec id sapien at risus imperdiet porta. Duis volutpat, odio vel aliquet tincidunt, turpis elit fringilla purus, vitae accumsan eros ex sed dui. Pellentesque sem purus, lacinia sed efficitur eget, egestas accumsan mauris. Quisque laoreet est ac nulla sollicitudin, quis sagittis ligula varius. Donec at eros blandit, consectetur elit a, condimentum tortor.

Lorem Ipsum Dolor

Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Curabitur vel leo eleifend, rhoncus magna eget, tempor sapien. Curabitur augue libero, rhoncus at dui a, venenatis bibendum libero. Integer nec urna sit amet purus porttitor ullamcorper eget nec lacus. Aenean consequat purus id felis semper, eu lobortis nibh condimentum. Nunc malesuada ipsum odio, nec aliquam dui tincidunt ac. Nullam euismod posuere ex, quis sodales mi viverra vitae. Proin quis dolor consequat, consequat ligula in, laoreet orci.

Nulla consectetur ornare dui eu laoreet. Donec euismod ligula vitae nibh sagittis convallis. Donec quis pellentesque urna. Mauris ut maximus mi, eget consequat purus.

Quisque laoreet sapien vel justo ornare efficitur. Nullam efficitur dui id augue interdum molestie. Vivamus eu purus vel est commodo varius. Vestibulum mattis nulla eu tortor eleifend fermentum. Aenean mattis metus in purus rhoncus lobortis. Aliquam lorem nisi, mattis eu pharetra non, gravida quis mauris. Nulla et velit gravida, auctor nisi at, gravida ante. Proin lobortis tincidunt ligula non sagittis. Proin dignissim quis arcu nec aliquam.

Make Your Eyes Look Younger

Donec vehicula erat ac semper feugiat. Nam ut justo et neque aliquet tempor at quis ex. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Sed id efficitur urna. Donec et nunc sapien. Suspendisse porta commodo ante, non vulputate libero commodo ut. Integer molestie massa sapien, vel pellentesque quam fringilla non. Mauris id tortor mauris. Donec lacinia, enim facilisis sollicitudin sodales, leo orci commodo mi, ac viverra massa urna a mi.

Suspendisse suscipit vel lectus vel egestas. Vestibulum mollis nisl non mi commodo, sit amet pretium risus commodo. Ut pharetra a urna at condimentum. Proin maximus, mauris quis varius tempor, tortor nisl ultrices purus, in molestie tellus quam non nibh. Proin porta venenatis pulvinar. Integer feugiat tempus nibh, vel tempor elit. Donec id sapien at risus imperdiet porta. Duis volutpat, odio vel aliquet tincidunt, turpis elit fringilla purus, vitae accumsan eros ex sed dui. Pellentesque sem purus, lacinia sed efficitur eget, egestas accumsan mauris. Quisque laoreet est ac nulla sollicitudin, quis sagittis ligula varius. Donec at eros blandit, consectetur elit a, condimentum tortor.

Lorem Ipsum Dolor

Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Curabitur vel leo eleifend, rhoncus magna eget, tempor sapien. Curabitur augue libero, rhoncus at dui a, venenatis bibendum libero. Integer nec urna sit amet purus porttitor ullamcorper eget nec lacus. Aenean consequat purus id felis semper, eu lobortis nibh condimentum. Nunc malesuada ipsum odio, nec aliquam dui tincidunt ac. Nullam euismod posuere ex, quis sodales mi viverra vitae. Proin quis dolor consequat, consequat ligula in, laoreet orci.

Nulla consectetur ornare dui eu laoreet. Donec euismod ligula vitae nibh sagittis convallis. Donec quis pellentesque urna. Mauris ut maximus mi, eget consequat purus.

Quisque laoreet sapien vel justo ornare efficitur. Nullam efficitur dui id augue interdum molestie. Vivamus eu purus vel est commodo varius. Vestibulum mattis nulla eu tortor eleifend fermentum. Aenean mattis metus in purus rhoncus lobortis. Aliquam lorem nisi, mattis eu pharetra non, gravida quis mauris. Nulla et velit gravida, auctor nisi at, gravida ante. Proin lobortis tincidunt ligula non sagittis. Proin dignissim quis arcu nec aliquam.