SOUND SMARTER BY REMOVING THESE PHRASES FROM YOUR VOCABULARY
• ‘I literally’
• ‘I think’
• ‘Sorry, but…’
• ‘It’s not fair’
• ‘Like’, ‘umm’ or ‘you know’
• ‘Personally, I…’
• ‘So, basically’
• ‘I’m not gonna lie’
• ‘With all due respect’
• ‘In my opinion’
QUICK JOKE _ A store manager overheard a clerk saying to a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for some weeks now, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any again.” Alarmed by what was being said, the manager rushed over to the customer and said, “That isn’t true, ma’am. Of course we’ll have some soon. In fact, we placed an order for it yesterday.” When the customer left the manager pulled the clerk aside and growled, “Never, never, never, say we don’t have something. If we don’t have it, say we ordered it and it’s on its way. Now, what was it she asked about?” And the clerk said, “Muggings in the parking lot.”
WHAT THE ALMANACS SAY ABOUT WINTER _ The 2024-2025 winter weather forecasts from the Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmer’s Almanac offer differing predictions for the upcoming season. Farmers’ Almanac: The forecast predicts a “Wet Winter Whirlwind” with rapid-fire storms bringing both rain and snow, with minimal downtime between events. The coldest temperatures are expected from the Northern Plains to the Great Lakes region, with the coldest outbreak anticipated in late January into early February. The eastern third of the U.S. is expected to have above-average precipitation, while the Southwest and South Central States may experience average to below-average precipitation. The Pacific Northwest is also expected to have a wet winter. Old Farmer’s Almanac: This forecast suggests a winter wonderland with above-normal snowfall across most snow-prone areas, except the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures are expected to be normal to colder-than-normal in areas that typically receive snow, with milder temperatures in snowy New England and the Atlantic Corridor. Wetter-than-usual weather is anticipated in the southern Deep South, Texas, and California, with potentially drought-quenching rain.
