Ask Native Speakers Get Answers to Your Language Questions

If something "serves as [something]," it means that it's suitable for a particular use. It can also mean performing duties for an organisation or country. Ex: The table cloth serves as a protective surface from spilt drinks on the table. Ex: The sofa also serves as a bed when we have people over. => an additional use Ex: He served in the army for two years.

This is an example of wordplay. To "kill the lights" means to switch or turn the lights off, and the speaker has used it both literally and figuratively to state that Broadway will be closed for business until 2021. Ex: The show's about to start. Can you kill the lights? Ex: The theatre killed the lights in preparation for the movie.

Yes! You can say "something-filled film" to describe a genre of a film, such as "comedy-filled film." "Suspense-filled" and "comedy-filled" are compound adjectives used to describe something full of that type of content. You could also use it for movies, series, books, and podcasts! Ex: I enjoy a good drama-filled series. Ex: She likes watching action-filled movies. Ex: I'm reading a romance-filled book at the moment.

"Likely to ever be found" in this context means these gems seem to be the largest of its kind ever discovered; no other tanzanite that has been found was as large as these pieces. It's oddly worded in this sentence because it is usually phrased to mean something is hard or difficult to find. You also may know this, but the word "likely" means a high chance of something occurring.

"Moxie" is an informal expression meaning a person with a strong fighting spirit (someone who does not give up easily). The speaker uses this expression to say that she believes that not many people would like ("dig") her fighting spirit. Ex: She has moxie. Nothing stops her. Ex: I have moxie. Not everyone likes that.

A "sidecar" is "a small, one-wheeled vehicle attached to the side of a motorcycle to hold a passenger". So when he says "sidecar" he is metaphorically referring to "the person that someone is having an affair with".

"Can" as a verb is used to mean to "be able/permitted to" do something, or to make a request to someone. Ex: Can you open the jar for me? However, in this context, we can understand "can" to mean something similar to "may" or "might," to express the possibility of something. Thus, in this video, "can kind of seem counter-intuitive" means something similar to "may/might seem counter-intuitive." This expression has been used to state that the idea that productivity may be better when we concentrate on one thing at a time instead of multi-tasking may seem contrary to common-sense, but it is actually true. Ex: Mary can be a bit mean but she has a good heart. (Mary may be a bit mean but she has a good heart.) Ex: Vegetables can look unappetizing but they're quite delicious. (Vegetables might look unappetizing but they're quite delicious.)

Yes, "earth" should be capitalized in this sentence because it is a proper noun, since it refers to the planet Earth which we live on.

"Got off the phone (with someone)" refers to recently ending a phone call. "I called (someone)" is used to say that you called someone in the past, but when you called could be any time in the past, not necessarily recently like "got off the phone (with someone)" implies. Ex: I got off the phone with my friend a minute ago. ("Got off the phone" refers to the recent past) Ex: She called her mom last week. ("Called" refers to any time in the past)

No, it would sound unnatural to say "an arm reach is" instead of "an arm reach of" in this case. "Arm" in "arm reach" acts as an adjective to describe the action of reaching out one's arm. The preposition "of" sounds the most natural to use after "arm reach" because it gives a specific value after an action of 7 feet.