James Baquet

    Mark sees his classmate Ming carrying something behind his back in the common room of their dorm.

    Mark: Hey, Ming. What have you got there?

    Ming: Nothing.

    Mark: Ming, come on. Are those flowers?

    Ming: Uh, yeah. I decided to decorate my room.

    Mark: Don’t lie to me, Ming. I can read you like a book! You have a new girlfriend, don’t you?

    Ming: Sort of…

    Mark: What does that mean?

    Ming: It means I like her, but I’m not sure she likes me. I thought flowers might help.

    Mark: They might. But you know, Ming, flowers are the oldest trick in the book.

    Ming: What book? You said you would read me a book, too.

    Mark: Not exactly! I said “I can read you like a book.” That means everything you say, think, or do is easy for me to guess.

    Ming: Wow! Am I so easy to understand?

    Mark: Pretty much, yeah. Your life is an open book.

    Ming: There it is again!

    Mark: That one means “you have no secrets.”

    Ming: Okay. Now, you said flowers were “the oldest trick in the book.” Where can I find this book?

    Mark: There’s no real book, Ming! It’s just a saying!

    Ming: Darn! Too bad! I was hoping to get some pointers.

    Mark: No, you’ll have to figure this one out yourself.

    Ming: Oh, well. So, how about some more “book” idioms?

    Mark: Oh, that. Sure! If you find an expert on something, you can say he “wrote the book on” that subject.

    Ming: Like, “Casanova wrote the book on being a great lover.”

    Mark: But in that case, he really did write a book!

    Ming: Yeah, I should read that one.

    Mark: No, better not. He wasn’t especially nice to women.

    Ming: Alright. Another idiom?

    Mark: Would you consider a girl who’s not especially pretty?

    Ming: Sure! If her heart is good, and she’s smart, and kind to me.

    Mark: So you might agree with this saying: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

    Ming: I get it! The outside doesn’t always match the inside!

    Mark: Right! Now, if you meet a girl who’s good-hearted, smart, kind, beautiful, rich, AND she loves you, we would say she’s “one for the books.”

    Ming: Does that mean “she’s worth noting,” or something like that?

    Mark: Yes. Or sometimes, “one for the record books” — meaning she’s way beyond normal expectations.

    Ming: Great! Maybe I could tell my girl she’s “one for the books,” meaning “she’s special.”

    Mark: That might work. Well, listen, Ming, I have to go hit the books.

    Ming: You mean “study?”

    Mark: Right. And it wouldn’t hurt you to crack a book, either.

    Ming: “Study a little?”

    Mark: Very good!

    Ming: Well, wish me luck.

    Mark: You’ll do great. I’d make book on it!