|
English word |
English Definition |
English Example sentence |
| 1 |
a custom |
an activity that is part of the way the people in one specific
country act |
Removing your shoes before entering a house is a custom in
Japan. |
| 2 |
a tradition |
an activity that is part of the way the people in a family or
large group act |
Eating lamb with mint jam is a tradition in my family. |
| 3 |
to ring in the new year |
to celebrate the beginning of the new year at midnight |
I stayed up late to ring in the new year. |
| 4 |
over the holidays |
a phrase used to describe one's whole holiday vacation |
Over the holidays, I flew back to LA. |
| 5 |
to be lucky |
to experience good fortune |
I hope this year will be lucky; maybe I can win the
lottery. |
| 6 |
to reflect upon ~ |
to think deeply about something |
I reflected upon the previous year. |
| 7 |
to camp out |
to go camping and sleep outside |
My family used to camp out every summer by a river. |
| 8 |
to celebrate ~ |
to remember a special occasion by having a party or a special
event |
I celebrate my birthday every year by going out to dinner. |
| 9 |
at the stroke of midnight |
a time expression that means "exactly midnight" |
At the stroke of midnight, everybody shouted "Happy New
Year!" |
| 10 |
to kick off |
to begin an event or celebration |
We kicked off the party by opening a bottle of champagne. |
| 11 |
to pray for ~ |
to ask God for something |
I prayed for good health. |
| 12 |
in the new year |
the one-year span of time that is coming next |
In the new year, I want to lose weight and start
exercising. |
| 13 |
a fireworks display |
a show featuring fireworks shot into the sky |
There is usually a fireworks display on July 4th in
America. |
| 14 |
to set off fireworks |
to light fireworks and cause them to shoot into the
air/explode |
I loved setting off fireworks when I was a child. |
| 15 |
to welcome in the new year |
to have a celebration to start the new year |
We welcomed in the new year among family and friends. |
| 16 |
to go overboard |
to over-do something, to do something too excessively or too
much |
I bought five bottles of champagne for my small new year's
party; I really went overboard. |
| 17 |
to wake up with a nasty hangover |
to awake in the morning and feel sick because you drank alcohol
the night before |
I woke up with a nasty hangover on January 1st. |
| 18 |
one’s relatives |
the general word for all the people related to a person |
My relatives came to town for Christmas; aunts, uncles,
cousins, a bunch of people. |
| 19 |
to make a resolution |
to decide to change one's life for the better |
This year, I made a resolution to start going to the gym. |
| 20 |
to stick to one’s resolutions |
to follow the decision you made to change your life or
habits |
Many people make resolutions for the new year, but very few
people stick to the resolutions long-term. |
| 21 |
to break one’s resolution |
to return to your former, unhealthy lifestyle after choosing to
change to a healthy lifestyle |
I made a resolution to stop smoking, but then I broke the
resolution a few months later. |