To Make Ends Meet

Meat sounds better than Meet

Some people thought when I taught this idiom to them that it was somehow related to a nice juicy steak. Well meat is spelt meat, not meet. 

Or some people thought to make ends meet meant to make enough to earn a piece of meat if that makes sense. Well with inflation the way it is today, this would be an accurate case. Making ends means the ability to just survive financially.

Where did I see this idiom lately? On a CNBC video about the costs of raising children. Well if you can't make ends meet, then you can't afford to raise children in general. You would have to rely on tax credits, food stamps and the three musketeers. Maybe those people complaining in the video should stay clear out of San Francisco, and run like a rabbit.

Here is the quote from the video:

In this country, we don't have comprehensive policies and so that means we are working with piecemeal programs to try to help people make ends meet.

You have to be making at least six figures to live here. 

In San Francisco, don't leave your bike alone, it will be stolen and you won't even know about it. A lot of people live in Recreational Vehicles, and they don't have bad salaries either. It's just too darn expensive. Why is day care the cost of Stanford tuition?

Also, look at the drugs, and homelessness that plagues that city, I'd be moving to Texas where all of the cowboys are. Or maybe to Alaska where I can find the gold rush, and bears too. It's just a joke of course.

So remember, the next time you have a hard time paying the bills, or you can't afford rent, just tell them I can't make ends meet, could you pay my bills for me?

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To Put Off Something

In Canada, it's normal to put off something for another day. We're just overworked people...

Sometimes we put off something because we're not ready to do something. Maybe it's because we procrastinate too much, or we're just too lazy. 

Putting something off in your life can make you forget about something very important, so it's best not to put off important events and problems you must solve now.

A good reason why people put off something is because they need to reschedule. Sometimes it's hard to manage your schedule, and if meetings are too close to one another, you might need to put a meeting off so it doesn't conflict with another.

In Canada, we don't have a billion holidays. We're very busy people. Well, we do have a fair share of holidays, but a lot of us even work those days. Even on Christmas, people still work, and the country just doesn't shut down. We also have boxing day which is the day after Christmas. Some of us even work that day too!

When you shut down your country due to a holiday, you loose money, and productivity. It's hard to get back into the game when the holiday weekend is over. 

I like the idea of having a vacation, but not at the same time as everyone else. Could you imagine everyone trying to get into Turkey or Egypt at the same time? It would be crazy... Actually, I can imagine it.

Don't put something off when it comes to your health. You could end up here.

Some people put things off like their health till it's too late. In some countries, people don't like to visit the Doctor. They wait till the last minute until something bad happens unfortunately. 

Things like cancer need to be dealt with swiftly in the early stages. If you wait too long, it could be too late. Cancer has many stages, and I am not a Dr.Nick from the Simpsons to explain it all to you. 

Others like to treat themselves thinking they too can be a Doctor. It's hard for the average Joe to get a hold of equipment like a MRI, and an Ultrasound. Maybe those who are lucky can borrow one from their friends.

I know when I visit the Doctor, I always bring a bottle of cognac and a bar of chocolate with me just in case. You never know what mood the doctor will be in and especially dark chocolate can change the mood.

I'll admit, I put things off too a lot. But I always have them in the back of my head.

If you don't want to put things off, then just do it. Like good old Nike says....

To be Congested

Sometimes Elephants would be a better alternative

Usually when someone says they're congested, they mean that their nose is plugged. This means they can't breathe. Okay, they can breathe or else they would die, they just have a hard time breathing through their nose. Sometimes it can be allergies in the summer, or a cold in the winter. Even dusty air can make you congested!

We can also use the word congested to describe traffic problems. When they're too many cars on the highway, and no-one can go anywhere, we usually say the road is congested. Bumper to Bumper traffic is par for the course!

Let's make a few sentences with different meanings.

Billy was always congested as a kid. He could hardly breathe when he was sick. His mother made him eat a whole garlic, but that still didn't help. After eating a whole jalapeno pepper, he felt much better and he was no longer congested.

Another example, but this time with traffic

The traffic was terrible. Cars were backed up for miles. Every day at the same time there is always the same congestion on the roads. Are accidents timed? Do they do road maintenance at the same hour to piss people off? How on earth will people make it to McDonalds for dinner.... It will be midnight by the time they get there. 

So there you have it. The next time you hear the word congestion, you'll know you got it from me. I hope Elon Musk's Boring Company can clear up road congestion related problems in the future. Especially in cities like California. Maybe SpaceX will come to the rescue....

To Turn Your Back On Something

Canada's Finest Leader Who Put The Country In Debt Turns His Back To The Queen

The terms looking back or turn your back on something are all metaphors we use in English every day. To turn your back on something is to go against something to say the least. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just an opposite feeling.

You can turn your back to people to act like in a snobbish sort of a way. The queen likes to do this from time to time to people. But this is more of a direct comparison than something metaphoric.

Let's look at a quick example of how people in America were turning their back on cities.

In the 1950s, a booming economy helped a large segment of the population increase their prosperity, allowing many Americans to purchase a new home and car. Aided by a series of government initiatives, like the Veterans Administration Home Loan Program and the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, a significant slice of the country was turning their back on cities and heading to the suburbs.

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I have also heard phrases like "This person turned on me", which is someone who is going against you. When you meet two-face individuals, they will turn on you as fast as you can say good-bye. That's the kind of society we live in. My cat can turns on me from time to time. But it's a cat, so expect this type of behaviour.  I suppose other similar phrases like to stab someone in the back are also synonymous with what were talking about here but in a very bad vindictive way.

To Swap Out Something

Swap Thing Premieres Everywhere Near You

People sometimes mistake word the word Swap for Swamp as they look very similar at first glance. A swamp is a place you don't want to go swimming, unless you want to meet Swamp Thing up close and in person.

To swap out something is to replace something. It could be a part, like a hard drive, or some part for a car.

Usually I swap out hard drives if one is broken, or, I swapped out my my broken fan in my notebook cooler for a new one. When you get something fixed, the repair man can tell you he had to swap out a part because the old one was broken. Take for example, my 65'' inch rear projection television. The digital convergence module went on it and how to be replaced with a new one. We can say it had to be swapped out. The the guy told me not even Samsung can fix it. If you don't know what a digital convergence module does, it aligns 3 picture tubes digitally. Remember big those big rear projection TV's... They have 3 pictures tubes inside for Red, Green, and Blue.

A CNBC video about Caterpillar often stated as CAT talked about how its colour was swapped out for a new one back in the good old days. The color change was a mustard like color yellow. 

Let's look at the sentence from the video

The first variety of the signature yellow color was introduced in 1931 and called Highway Yellow. In the late 70s. It was swapped out for the caterpillar yellow that still coats the company's products.

You know, every-time I spell color like above, and not the British way of saying colour, a soviet teacher always says I'm wrong. In the soviet union there was no such thing as variance. Go figure.

We can change the sentence to It was changed to the color yellow. Swapped out is just a phrasal verb, nothing more and nothing less. People like to use phrasal verbs because they like to looks at themselves as a young sophisticated aristocrat. 

Please jump to the time 3:12.

To Flock Somewhere

 

Some people are sheep, and others can be a sheep the next day. Will say everyone can be a sheep at times. If someone does something, you'll want to copy that person as well. If they have an iPhone 20, you'll want that one. If they have a car, you'll want a car. If they want to get hit by a car, maybe you'll have second thoughts.

I bet when McDonalds will open up one day in North Korea, people will flock over there to taste a piece of unhealthy Americano food. Maybe their leader won't allow them to eat there daily, and restrictions will be put into place. In Canada, people are still flocking to the southern part of America even in the pandemic like geese do every year. Others flock to Amazon to find great deals while supporting the rich bald guy who pays zero in taxes.

Flocking has to be a group of people doing the same thing at the same time. Birds have a formation when they flock. When a new game consoles comes out, usually people line-up or flock over there and wait till the door opens.

Let's look at piece of text which talks about people flocking to this restaurant because of its menu.

Since its start, consumers have flocked to The Cheesecake Factory for its massive menu, featuring more than 200 items, including pizza, seafood, steaks, chicken, burgers, pastas, salads, omelettes and, of course, cheesecake

We can see that the word flocked is used as a past participle. This is because it's talking about - up till this point or traditionally called present perfect. I will say The Cheesecake Factory is an interesting restaurant that doesn't just serve cheesecake. It would be like The Oliver Garden just serving people olives. 

You can view the video below specifically at 03:54.

To Have a Backbone

When people think of a backbone there's a few things that can come to mind. In your body, some people refer to their backbone as their spine. In I.T, a backbone is some sort of server support or main link. More specifically, an ISP might have used an OC-12 fibre optic link as a backbone since it's very fast and reliable. Maybe, 20 years ago.

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The main definition of backbone is support. Main support that is as stated in the above example. Apple's iPhone is the main backbone of their company line of products as it brings the most revenue in. You see everyone with an iPhone. Even those poor souls who have no money.

To have courage, bravery is a backbone. In a post soviet family, Babushka is the main Backbone. When she says ne nado in Russian, there's no second guessing.

Microsoft's backbone is probably in their business services such as Azure. I doubt Microsoft makes money on Windows as they once did, or even their XBOX console.

Amazon's backbone is still online retail. Even though their business services such as S3 and EC2 do make a profit, there's more people buying things worldwide, than those enterprises paying for an on-demand service. 

Let's look at an example from CNBC where it talks about the Boeing 737 being a backbone for the company.

If you've ever flown on an airplane in your life chances are you've been on a  Boeing 737  the jets are the backbone of airline fleets around the world.

There's a lot of these planes around the world. I suppose because they're cheaper than the 747, and newer. And since there's a few crashes regarding the 737MAX, a lot of airlines don't know what to do with these planes. They will have to wait for an update.

The video link is below. Please skip to the 1:44 mark. If you're using a mobile phone, please use the web version or a computer. The mobile version of blogger is not very good.

To cook something from scratch

Babushka wouldn't dare make a cake like this. It would be criminal.

Scratch can have a few meanings. A cat can scratch you if bother him enough. A Scratch pad is not something your cat uses, but something you write something down with. What about to make something from scratch.

If you cook something from scratch, you make it from the beginning or the start. That means, if you're making borscht from a package, it's not from scratch. Only Babushka knows how to make everything from scratch. After all, the more love you put in your food, the more people will enjoy it. If only Babushka made sour cream from scratch, she'd be a tired lady at the end of the day.

The problem with the average American is that they don't know how to make anything from scratch these days. Chef Boyardee, Lipton Sidekicks, Hamburger Helper, are all foods that are already pre-made for you. All you need to do is put it in the microwave and zap the food for a few minutes. Maybe in the next 20 years they will have to take a lesson on how to use a microwave. Americans say to make something from scratch would be too hard and time consuming. What did Americans do 50 years ago? They cooked... until they degraded themselves.

Let's look at an example where a video from CNBC talks about making nuggets from scratch.

Whether you're nuggets came in a McDonald's box or from the freezer aisle, chicken nuggets have long been a staple for American families. But have you ever eaten one cooked from scratch, at home?

I suppose what they're saying is that Americans haven't really made anything from the start a long time ago. Who needs to know how to make a cake these days when you have Betty Crocker.

The video is posted below. The timestamp is at 00:05.

Build Up

A build up of dust. How rewarding.

They're two ways we can use the word build up. To build up something, or a build up of something.

Let's start with the first.

If we need to build up something, we need to make it grow or prosper. We need to build up our team, our product, or maybe build up our product from the ground up. Two phrasal verbs in one sentence.

Now the second way we can use it is a little bit more hard. A build up of something means something accumulated over time. A build up of mold, grease, dirt....

Think about it. If Babushka doesn't wash her stove every so often with Mr.Muscle and I don't mean Domestos, it will build up with grease and be harder to remove.

Let's look at an example from a video talking about Premium Fuel in cars.

On top of that, a group of automakers banded together and developed a top tier gasoline standard with extra detergents that remove more buildup than the lowest permissible standard.

In this example, they're not specific to what build up is. Buildup can be anything which accumulates over time. It is saying this extra detergent removes it. Detergent in my opinion has always been something like a soap. I will post below the exact time stamp of where this sentences is said.

Please go to the link below at timestamp 5:05. It's a little hard to understand, so if your English is weak, you might have a hard time to follow.

To dabble in something

Dabble is not a word you'll hear a lot in post soviet countries, however, in America and in Canada, we use this word quite a lot.

To dabble is to try something out. To play around with as they say. Programmers can dabble in many programming languages before they choose which one they really like. 

I myself have dabbled in different fields like Video Editing, Photo Editing, and screenplay writing. Each of those fields I think I could be very successful as I have accomplished something every time I tried something new.

Some people have dabbled in the stock market and lost a lot of money. Others have been very successful. To dabble is to take some risk. They're risk takers, and then they're those who are cautious about what they do. 

Let's look at the CNBC video where they talk about dabbling. This video is about Youtube owning the Video Streaming World. After all, most of it is free.

08:12

They were dabbling in content in that world of Netflix and Amazon and

They use dabbling in past using past continuous form. They don't dabble anymore with content that Netflix and Amazon are king in. Who could compete with those guys. Kolomoisky?

You'll find the video here, and please scroll down to the 8 minute mark.

Translating TV Shows and Movies

Amazon Prime Distribution Platform

Since Amazon Prime Video is one of the main movie and TV show online distribution platform, so is the need for putting subtitles and translations on them. I use to translate old Babushka Russian Soviet Movies about Police and War to English and that's very hard to do since we just don't talk like that in our own native language. I try in general to tell people around me, but people don't like to listen. They're more stubborn than a cat at times.

Every single distribution these days calls for subtitles. The problem with translating films in general is that it's written by someone. A screenplay is that very thing with lines of text of what actors should say and what's going on in the scene. That leads to interpretation. What I think and what you think can be totally different. It's important for two teams to co-operate during the translation process from start to finish when translating from one language to another.

Nothing beats the original

When Everybody Loves Raymond was adapted for the Russian audience, they had to change the whole script around. The creator Phil Rosenfield was there in Russia to supervise the whole process, but I doubt he understood what was really going on because he doesn't know Russian. That, and how the Russian production team treated him like he was a piece of garbage, and everyone should hail the Russian actors from the circus. The Russian  series was called Voroniny, and it follows two families who live in two separate apartments. The original series was based in a house where the parents lived across the road from each other. The father of Raymond in the Russian series worked in a factory and took a lot of things home with him. In post soviet countries, it was common to take things home from work. I don't even think they call it stealing. In America, this would be called theft, and you could be arrested for it if caught.

The Russian version is inferior to the original.

Anyways, the whole series seemed out of place just because of the difference between Russian and American culture. It's just something you can't translate or adapt to. The original Raymond was based on Italian Americans with specific roots. The Russian series had different actors but the the same script. I've watched both and I like the original because it's the original. There's no comparison. 

I got into translating tv series and movies by a call called Igor. He wanted me to translate a hotel series from Russian to English Subtitles. I would say it was interesting because I never did something like that before, but I knew other people who could help me out too. My job was to smooth it out and make it sound interesting for the American side. This means sometimes you need to add phrasal verbs or idioms in the mix to make it sound less robotic. Of course going back and forth there were some mistakes during different revisions, the main problem is that if you go back to it 6 months later, you'll want to make more changes so you need to know when to just let it go and press the save button, and hand it in. 

You can find Igor and his new website Altertranslate over here https://altertranslate.com/. If I needed a TV show translated, I definitely would check him out.

As for translating TV Series and Movies, it's a good job which goes unnoticed. It's best to work with the person who wrote the original screenplay so there are no mis-understandings. Of course this isn't the case as this kind of work is outsourced, and the chain of communications is somewhere lost.  You have to pick up a flashlight and read the script in the dark.

To be Pushed Back

Usually the phrase pushed back can be heard in different situations. I am talking about what I hear in Canada, and not other countries. 

For example, you can be pushed back a grade because you weren't the brightest kid on the block, or because you missed a lot of school in that year. The school can also hold you back. We can express this in a lot of ways.

People can generally push back especially when they boycott something, then usually they end up buying that very thing years later because they forgot all about it. That's if what they're buying is an actual product, and not something law or government related.

We can also use the term pushed back when talking about a delay. For example, a video game was pushed back to early next year, a movie, or even a project in I.T. 

Let's look at an example

Even where movie theaters opened back up there's not a huge line of movies to get excited about warner brothers wonder woman 1984 which was originally scheduled for  October was pushed back to Christmas.

As you can see, we're talking about movies being delayed because of COVID-19. A lot of films don't want their films released on online streaming platforms because it won't generate the same revenue which it would from selling movie tickets.

Some movies like Borat and Scooby-Doo were released online, but these aren't Triple A block buster titles, and with the case of Borat, it's an Amazon Exclusive so it would released on their platform first.

I have posted the video about movie theatres surviving in the pandemic. Please jump to 6 minutes and 30 seconds.

A Drop In The Bucket

Sometimes a drop in a bucket can really mean a drop in the bucket. If something is a drop in the bucket, usually it means when a greater of amount of something that is needed, than what is given at the current moment. Think about it, a drop in the bucket is very little to fill the bucket. You need a lot of drops to fill the bucket in.

But why a drop, and why a bucket. That's a good question. Nobody knows. Why not, milk in the bucket, or Vodka in the bucket. Maybe Water is cheaper, not as cheap as Vodka of course, but you get the picture.

Donating 1 dollar to charity is a drop in the bucket. They need more than that. Remember, it's a business.

Let's look at an example I used from a CNBC video

For them it's almost a drop in the bucket because the loss in packages is not an insurable event for them.

This video was about thieves stealing packages from homes. Who is responsible when there is such an event... The home owner, the seller, the courier? I think for companies like Amazon, it's a drop in the bucket for them because they can afford to compensate for the replacement. If it becomes a big problem for Amazon, they will change their business practices of how they deliver goods directly to the home.

To be hooked on something

I am a hook, and I am hooked on fishing. Catch me some Fish that doesn't taste like soap.

Some people are hooked on video games like Fortnite, and others are hooked on Coca-Cola. In North America, parents usually get their kids hooked on Ritalin and Prozac to keep them more under-control than the best tamed french poodle around.

When you're thinking of the word hook, the average post-soviet person is thinking of a real hook. A hook maybe to fish with, a hook to climb a mountain. Or use a hook to rappel off of a roof like Sam Fisher in the video game Splinter Cell.

Other jokes back in the day we're about Hooked on Phonics.

Everyone back in the day use to be Hooked on Phonics. 

I'm hooked, aren't you....

The word hooked, not Captain Hook, and the word addicted are quite similar, but I think hooked is used as slang as it is used as a metaphor. 

If we said I am hooked on beer, that not be usual as people usually say I am addicted to beer. I have an addiction to beer. Alcoholic Anonymous deals with addictions. Maybe if I said if you're hooked on something, does not necessarily mean you're addicted to it.

I think it depends on interpretation, and not what a crazy ESL teacher thinks what it means. Remember, with those people, there is only one kind of answer, and it's usually pretty Soviet.

I'm hooked on catching Peter Pan

I think in Canada, a lot of people are hooked on opioids. They become a dependent drugs which they will kill, steal and do all kinds of thinks just to get their fix.

In fact, a few years ago, many people died from opioid overdoses.

The next time someone tells you that they're hooked on something, don't take it with a grain of salt. Instead send them to the cuckoo cuckoo house

Take Its Toll

 

A lot of things in your life can take a toll on you. It wears you out. It grows on you, it makes you tired, sleepy, heavy, and after, you'll feel like an old Babushka who worked her whole life in the soviet union.

If something is taking a toll on you, it means it's toooo much for you to handle.

Going on the Marshrutka everyday, people screaming "proydite pozhaluysta", seeing the same people at ATB Shop to buy the same traditional alcoholic beverage can grow on you when what you see starts to look like the Walking Dead.

For example, sitting at standard desks all day can take its toll on you. After awhile, you will strain your back and neck. During COVID-19, a lot of people had to stay at home and use their normal everyday tables. These are not the same ergonomic chairs and tables that you would find at work. That itself can take its toll on someone after awhile because they might to see a Chiropractor in the future. 

Here is a video about how working remotely from home can take a toll on the body. The man in the video now makes his own desks from old doors..

If you're using the mobile version, please click here https://youtu.be/_q0OwTeeB48

Come up or Step up to the plate

When we talk about a plate, we don't mean a dinner plate. A dinner plate would be full of fish, salmon, and catnip. That would be my cat's plate and not mine.

When I think about a plate in this context, I think of a baseball plate. You have to walk up to the plate to be in the safe zone. Coming up to the plate means to basically to put your money where your mouth is. If you can handle the challenge, then you can step up to the plate.  You can meet the satisfaction or demands of the other side.

Let's look at an example from the TV reality series Pawn Stars.

Will see if these guys are willing to come to the plate and play ball.

 Now this sentence is a little worded differently, but it means the same thing except they didn't use a phrasal verb.

The heavy-set man with the purple shirt just wants to know if these guys whom he wants to sell his junk to are serious and will pay the price for what he wants it for.

Here is the video below. Remember, they're many ways to say this sentence. I have given you the way I would say it.

Put all your eggs in one basket

A basket Babushka would like

Some people like to invest their money... and some put ALL of their money in one investment hedge fund. When the fund goes down, so do their investment. That's putting all your eggs in one basket.

Americano and Canadiano people like to invest their money time to time because, well, they're rich people....

They just have been taught at an early age to invest their money so that near their golden years, everything they own can be easily gold plated.

However, like a squirrel, it puts its nuts everywhere. That's why it can never find them. Maybe that's a good thing. What if some other squirrel found where all of the nuts were. It be a fuller squirrel after it was done eating. We would see the squirrel running funny to say the least. 

Let's look at some examples of putting your eggs in one basket.

• Your Job
• Your investments
• On one girlfriend

I have seen some people go head over heals over one girl that they were sure that she is the one. They buy her rings, clothing, everything, you name it. They finally get married soon enough to find out that this person wasn't really for them. If the person dated multiple girls, and had that James Bond persona, they would have had better luck in the end run. Of course I am just joking, but it is an example to say the least.

The moral of the story is, don't put all your eggs in one basket, they might break. 

To Be Burned

Tasty Pizza, must be Domino's.

Sometimes when you're not careful, you'll be burned in life if you don't analyze the situation before making a decision.

I've been burned many times, and no, I don't mean on a stove or by using the kettle.

Here are a few ways you can be burned.

• Your friends can burn you
• Buying things online, you can be burned
• Your own family members can burn you.. Not Babushka.

If you still don't know what it means to be burned, let's give you a few clues.

If someone has deceived you in a bad way, or they're out to get you, they will try to burn you. Burning people is to get what one wants to get out of someone, or usually it's the result of.

Imagine on classified websites like OLX. They sell you an Iphone which they say everything works, and you found out that the touchscreen isn't responding. The seller probably knew of this and that's why they want to sell it leaving you dry. In this case you've been burned.

Le'ts look at a quick sentence

I've been burned so many times trying to buy something on Craigslist, that I don't trust what anyone says to me anymore. It's usually all a lie.

Remember, the next time someone tries to burn you, use your head, and think before you engage with certain people. It will save you trouble in the long-run.

 

Rack Up

Bills can really rack up if you're not careful with your spending....

Time to rack up on those credit cards

We use the phrasal verb rack up when we're accumulating up in something. It can be usually refereed to as a debt in some cases. 

• We can rack up on our phone bills
• We can rack up on our credit card bills

We can rack up just about on anything that can accumulate over time.

Usually we don't do this on purpose, but by accident. Maybe it's something we just didn't notice on time. Maybe we were fooled our misguided.

Those cell phone bills in Canada can really climb on you sometimes. They know how to get you, and can easily rack up over time.

Often when it comes to credit cards, people rack up one credit card after another because credit in Canada is easy to get. In post soviet countries, access to money is becoming more easier, but people just don't understand the repercussions when you don't know your limits.

I think the main problems in so-called first world countries like Canada, is that we have too many options when it comes to getting a credit card in the first place. From bank credit cards, to store credit cards, the excuse is that I'll always pay it back later.....

Snooping Around

When we say the phrase snooping around, usually this means someone or something is up to no good.

There's an old saying, if you look for trouble, you'll find trouble. That's why my cat is always getting his nose where it doesn't belong.

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Let's look at an example where we can use Snooping around.

My neighbor always liked to snoop around when we weren't at home. Every time we came home, we always found him in our backyard looking around. I have no idea why he was snooping around for, but something tells me he was looking to steal...

We can replace snooping around with looking around without a problem. It's just snooping around sounds more descriptive.
The best example I can give is the picture below. Cats are very curious creatures. They always have to get into everything. Usually they take their time too.

I'm not snooping around, I am just doing my routine inspection