₦airaland Forum

Nonexisting1:
Jf they are tired of teaching, they should look for jobs in local government secretariats. I hate those entitled professors who don't do nothing but expect everything. I remember one of my lecturers who used Google to teach us and he would just be reading straight from his phone, no editing nothing. It's only in Nigeria that people won't work but will be comparing themselves with people in other countries who actually work. 500k is okay for them, if they don't want it, they should resign and travel to UK where they will work in bread factories. Mtchew

that Google thing you said is shameful. That's not scholarship na

Everything's wrong with Ajaokuta.

One, It was never finished.

Two, corruption. Back then, contracts we awarded to technically-deficient companies at enormous and outrageous cost.

Falling oil prices didn't help matters in the 1980's, as it meant we couldn't finish it.

On the technical side, the plant uses the blast-furnace technology, which means it would require coke, but Enugu coal can't be used to produce coke. Even the railway infrastructure to transport coal to Ajaokuta for power generation and heating purposes was never completed. So we were always going to import coking coal for the furnace, which would have added to the steel cost. National pride didn't make us look at the project critically before plunging deep.

Sadly, English mastery has declined sharply in recent years. It is little wonder that we see mass failures in WAEC and other national exams.

Again, anyone who regularly goes through written or spoken materials knows how quickly they can become boring and repetitive, with materials seeming like much of a muchness. But why does this happen? Because everyone’s using the same expressions!

Your speeches and writings do not need to rely on recycled and hackneyed expressions when there is a treasure trove of fresher, less common expressions that can breathe new life into your work.

Here’s a refreshing collection of uncommon but essential English expressions to enrich your communication:

1. ace in the hole AmE
something kept hidden or in reserve that can provide an advantage when revealed or needed
She always has an ace in the hole when negotiating contracts.

2. be the bee’s knees old-fashioned
to be excellent or of very high quality
That new car is the bee’s knees.

3. gone for a Burton old-fashioned, BrE
broken, missing, or ruined
That old laptop has gone for a Burton after the power surge.

4. case the joint
to secretly examine a place where you plan to commit a crime in order to become familiar with the environment
The burglars had clearly cased the joint before breaking in.

5. the cat’s whiskers BrE; be the cat's meow/pyjamas AmE; old-fashioned
someone or something considered the best or most excellent
Back in the day, that car was considered the cat’s whiskers.

6. first dibs on AmE
the right to choose or claim something before others
I’ve got first dibs on the front seat!

7. discretion is the better part of valour proverb
used to say that it is wiser to be cautious than to take unnecessary risks
He wanted to confront them but thought discretion was the better part of valour.

8. be in the doghouse
to be in trouble or out of favour with someone because of something you have done
He’s in the doghouse with his wife for forgetting their anniversary.

9. do (all) the donkey work BrE
to do the hard or boring part of a task
I did all the donkey work while he took the credit.

10. somebody’s ears are flapping
used when someone is trying to overhear a private conversation they are not part of
Lower your voice, her ears are flapping over there.

11. be living on easy street AmE
to live a rich and carefree life without having to worry about money
After hitting the jackpot, they’ve been living on easy street.

12. lay an egg
fail badly or embarrassingly
Her joke completely laid an egg during the speech.

13. after a fashion
in a way that is not very good or not quite right
He can play the guitar after a fashion, but don’t expect much.

14. feet of clay
a hidden weakness in someone admired or respected
He seemed perfect, but his feet of clay were soon revealed.

15. fly a kite
to test the popularity or acceptance of something (e.g., an idea or plan) before taking serious action
They’re flying a kite with that new tax proposal to see how people react.

16. a flying visit
a very short visit
She made a flying visit to her parents before heading back to work.

17. go down like a lead balloon; go over like a lead balloon
(used humorously) to be received very badly; to fail to impress
His joke about the boss went down like a lead balloon.

18. bowl somebody a googly BrE
to surprise someone with something unexpected and tricky, such as a question
The interviewer bowled me a googly with that last question.

19. (all) grist to the mill BrE; (all) grist for the mill AmE
something that can be useful or helpful, especially in achieving something
Every bit of feedback is grist to the mill for improving the project.

20. a hard taskmaster
a person who makes others work very hard and expects a lot from them.
The coach is a hard taskmaster but gets results.

21. [/b]something is like herding cats
used to describe trying to manage or organize people or things that are hard to control; a situation that is difficult and unpredictable
Getting my kids ready for school is like herding cats.

22. [b]a hill of beans AmE
(often used in the negative) a small or insignificant amount; not important
This argument doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.

23. horse sense
common sense; practical knowledge or judgment
He may not be book-smart, but he’s got horse sense.

24. kick something into touch BrE
to cancel or give up on a plan or idea; to abandon it
After facing many problems, they kicked the whole project into touch.

25. kick your heels BrE
to wait around doing nothing because you have no choice, often feeling bored or anxious
I had to kick my heels in the waiting room for over an hour.

26. ready/fit for the knacker’s yard BrE
(sometimes used humorously) completely worn out, failed, or no longer useful
After ten hours of meetings, I felt ready for the knacker’s yard.

27. knee-high to a grasshopper
(used humorously) very small or young
I’ve known her since she was knee-high to a grasshopper.

28. money for old rope BrE
easy money; money earned with little effort
Selling handmade bracelets at the fair turned out to be money for old rope; he made a profit without much effort.

29. be a mug’s game BrE
an activity that is foolish, pointless, or unlikely to succeed
Gambling is a mug’s game if you ask me.

30. new broom
a new person in an organization and who intends to make many changes
The new manager is a new broom, cleaning up old processes and introducing fresh ideas.

31. to a nicety
exactly or precisely, with errors
He arranged everything to a nicety.

32. go down/drop/fall like ninepins
to collapse or fail quickly and in large numbers
When the virus hit, people were dropping like ninepins.

33. nineteen to the dozen BrE
to speak very quickly and without stopping
She was talking nineteen to the dozen as usual.

34. by a nose
to win something, such as a race or competition, by a very small margin; a narrow victory
The horse won the race by a nose.

35. be no oil painting BrE
(used humorously) used to say that someone is not attractive
He’s kind, but he’s no oil painting.

36. there is no percentage in doing something
used to say that there is no benefit or advantage in doing something
There’s no percentage in arguing with him—he never listens.

37. play the field
to date or have sexual relationships with many people without committing to one
He’s not looking for a serious relationship right now; he prefers to play the field.


With the right expressions,

i. You can refresh and elevate your speeches, essays, tweets, and other writings into something more effective, lively, striking, and engaging.

ii. It may even surprise you to learn that using uncommon expressions can be an effective sales and marketing strategy. Doing so boosts confidence, lends authority to your tone, and makes you sound knowledgeable.

iii. It can help you achieve goals ranging from acing an exam to winning a contract, boosting sales, or simply making an impression in social settings.

But it’s never too late to act! You can start where you are right now 👇🏽

Here's one academic and publishing tool you have been waiting for.

Just with the click of a button or through a keyboard shortcut, the smart tool will automatically convert your letters into either superscripts or subscripts, leaving your numbers and symbols untouched.

Common use case
You have tables with letters representing mean separation and you want to convert only the letters into superscripts, as is the convention in the academic world

Doing this manually for one table won't be much hassle, but imagine you have many tables that you are preparing for your thesis, manuscripts, books etc, then this becomes a nightmare.

This is a useful tool for researchers, students, and publishers.

Let me know what you think below 👇. Cheers 🥂

Hope this shows on our tables

AgeMAC will take your birthday and supply you with the following info:

1) The day of the week for your birthday
2) The nth day of the year for your birthday
3) The nth week of the year for your birthday

4) The number of Months, Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds that you have spent on planet Earth

5) It will also tell you your age in Years, Months, and Days

*** When you input a wrong date as your birthday, AgeMAC will visually alert you.

Click the link below to download the file:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8f539qc00rkje7ez97m5u/AgeMAC.xlsx?dl=0&rlkey=gmku46v6i2spfrlbne91u0qzb

Let's know what you think about the app.

Thanks. Enjoy!

Hello, Hello,

Check out this Revenue Dashboard for States in 2020 to know how much your state got last year. It offers a lot:

1)You can check your state's revenue profile
2) Top/bottom 5 earners
3) Revenue by geopolitical zone
4) Lagos vs each geopolitical zone
5) Total Revenue for all states combined
6) …And many, many more

Share! Share! Share!

Click the link below to download the file:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yag5t84yvxj3ihht0vku4/State-Revenue-Dashboard.xlsx?dl=0&rlkey=ynic3ppn4ddaa42nbn3jkw4q6

Let's know what you think about the file itself and the data presented

Thanks. Enjoy!

Hello, Hello,

Check out this Revenue Dashboard for States in 2020 to know how much your state got last year. It offers a lot:

1)You can check a state's revenue profile
2) Top/bottom 5 earners
3) Revenue by zone
4) Lagos vs other zones
5) Total Revenue for all states combined
6) …And more

Share! Share! Share!

Click the link below to download the file:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yag5t84yvxj3ihht0vku4/State-Revenue-Dashboard.xlsx?dl=0&rlkey=ynic3ppn4ddaa42nbn3jkw4q6

Let's know what you think about the file itself and the data presented

Thanks. Enjoy!

Please the Naira equivalent of one dollar is what for this grant? CBN official rate?

The headshot is from head to waist?

Thanks in advance.