Happy Easter!

Easter is the holiday where Christians celebrate Jesus' resurrection. Churches tend to be fuller than usual on Easter Sunday, and many people dress more formally. Little girls wear fancy little Easter dresses, and the boys wear pastel-colored little shirts and pants or shorts. After church, families tend to gather for brunch (a big meal after breakfast time and before lunch time), where they might eat egg casserole, bacon or ham, fruit, and some type of roll or bread.

For both Christians and non-Christians, it is also a day of Easter Egg hunts (dyed hardboiled eggs or plastic eggs filled with candy) where children go around their house or outside in their yard with their Easter baskets and collect the eggs that have been left for them by the Easter Bunny. Usually they get chocolate and jelly beans.

Examples:
-Alleluia, the Lord is risen!
-The Lord is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

-Happy Easter, sweetie! What did the Easter Bunny bring you?
-A chocolate Easter bunny and jelly beans!

Pistol

A 'pistol' is a type of handgun, but it can also be used, especially by grandparents, to describe a small child who is very cute or doing something sweet or ornery.

Example:
-C'mere, you little pistol! Nana loves you!
-Love you, Nana!

Knock it off!

'Knock it off' is an informal way someone tells you to stop doing something. The person who says it has more power than you do. It's often said by a parent, or in an informal context.

Example:
-Hey you guys, for the last time, knock it off!
-Sorry, Dad!

An accident waiting to happen.

'An accident waiting to happen' is how you describe a situation that is dangerous and could cause an accident. Everyone knows it's a dangerous situation, but usually no one does anything to fix it until an accident has already happened.

Example:
-They really need to get a lock on this pool gate. It's an accident waiting to happen!
-You're so right! I'll go tell the pool managers.

Step up to the plate

If you 'step up to the plate,' it means that you finally do something that needs doing, possibly something you've been avoiding, or you take responsibility for something you've done. It's a reference to baseball, where a player steps up to home plate to bat.

Example:
-I really need to tell my friend that I took her money.
-Time to step up to the plate!

See you later, alligator!

'See you later, alligator!' is something parents and grandparents say to little kids. The response from the child is, "After while, crocodile!"

Example:
-See you later, alligator!
-After while, crocodile!

Lost and Found

'Lost and Found' is a place where you can go to look for something you have lost, or to turn in something you have found. Usually restaurants, malls, hotels, parks, and the like, have a 'Lost and Found.' If you're looking for something, they'll often take your name and number so they can call you if it's found.

Example:
-Oh, no! I can't find my camera!
-Try Lost and Found. Maybe someone turned it in.

April Fool's Day

'April Fool's Day' always falls on April 1st and is a day of pranks and practical jokes. While it's mostly for kids, some adults also enjoy it.

Example:
-What's the best April Fool's joke you ever played?
-We got up really early and put salt in the sugar bowl. When our dad drank his coffee, he screamed and we laughed!