Well, what a lovely day of football it was. I enjoyed the last game of the day, the most. Notice I didn't write "we" as I usually do. That would be because I was with an Italy fan who was quite disappointed with the final result. Not me. I thought that Paraguay showed beautifully today and the superpower that is Italy got a wake-up call today. It's probably my loyalty to Zidane talking but I enjoyed the surprise ending today.
Anytime anyone wants to send in suggestions to this blog (words they have heard and are not quite sure of the meanings or usage), you are most welcome. So, today's words are:
1) "He made a bit of a meal of it." - To "make a meal" of something means to give it more importance than it deserves. In this case, the announcer was describing how a player was complaining about an injury that, in reality, was very minor. We use this expression and similar ones all the time. You could tell your friend who just beat you at a card game "not to make a meal of their win". You essentially want them to stop celebrating so much. Another expression that is very similar but can be used in an opposite meaning is "making a mountain out of a molehill". You can use this expression when someone is exaggerating something negatively or positively (less common). For example: "It is only a broken cup. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill." or "It is a great idea for a new product. Can we make a mountain out of this molehill?"
2) "setting tongues wagging" - This means to start people talking about a subject. The players being discussed were wearing their hair differently than others. The suggestion was that many fans might talk about the players not just because of their football abilities but because of their fashion. You can use this phrase anytime someone does something to get extra attention. "Why are you making truck noises in the store?" "I'm trying to set tongues wagging."
3) "That was a snappy challenge." - "Snappy" here is used like "energetic". The announcer could also have said a "smart"or "crisp" challenge. We can use "smart" and "snappy" to suggest something that is attractive as well. "He sure is a snappy dresser." This means his clothing is stylish. You can substitute "smart" directly and say "He sure is a smart dresser.". However "snappy" cannot comfortably replace "smart" if "smart is being used to replace "intelligent".
4) They "shot themselves in the foot with that red card". - Hopefully, this is fairly self-evident. It means that the player got a red card by doing something obvious and not professional so it was entirely his fault and not possible to be denied. In this case, it was a very obvious hand ball. So the team's "wound" or "injury" by going down to ten men was entirely their responsibility for having a player do something so obvious and not by mistake. We do use this expression anytime someone does something damaging to their career like "She really shot herself in the foot when she started dating her boss's son. Now they have broken up and her boss is transferring her to the least desirable office." Although actually shooting oneself in the foot can be an accident, it is always the suggestion that it was completely preventable. Some soldiers were accused of shooting themselves in the foot on purpose so that they could be sent home from the war early. This accident was not a true accident.
We are really looking forward to the Portugal game with Ivory Coast. Go Portugal!
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