Sorry for the delay with this post. There was a death in my family.
The Reign of Spain
I told you they would win. I couldn't be more pleased and all my friends in Madrid are "over the moon". It wasn't the most exciting match but it certainly "picked up" after the introduction of Jesus Navas in the second half. It was like Spain got "a new lease on life" and they really "turned up the heat". Navas almost got a goal early on in his appearance on the pitch. The announcer made a fantastic comment that I have to share: "If Jesus Navas had scored, that would have made headlines of biblical proportions". I thought it was very funny.
Not that Netherlands played poorly. Not at all. They played well but with less energy than I had expected. Robben was definitely an exception. One great banner in the crowd read: "Who needs Batman when you have Robben?" They were also more physically aggressive than I anticipated. I've never seen so many players on one team get yellow cards. I think it 9 of the 11 on pitch were cautioned. It was a game "fraught" with tension and there was at least one bad call against the Netherlands. But overall I enjoyed it. I hope you did too. Now we wait for the Euro in Poland and Ukraine in 2012 and then on to Brazil in 2014.
1) reign, rain and rein - These are all pronounced exactly the same (homonyms or homophones). To "reign" is to "rule", like a king would reign over his subjects. To"rain" is the meteorological condition when water falls from the sky (not very technical but I think you understand). A "rein" is a leather strap that is used to control the direction of a horse. We use an expression "to rein in" something. It means to control something. Often we are referring to a person or their emotions. "He had to rein in his emotions when he met his mother's new boyfriend."
So the headline "The Reign of Spain" could be referring to the ruling of Spain over the world of football by their winning of the World Cup. There is also a commonly used tongue twister used for enunciation practice "The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain." Was the headline a play on words? Spain doesn't care.
2) to be "over the moon" - Not a very current expression but we all know what it means. It means to be extremely happy. This expression is a reference to a child's nursery rhyme that includes the line "the cow jumped over the moon". You can use this anytime someone is very happy about something. "She was over the moon when he asked her to marry him." In business you can say "I was over the moon when I got the promotion."
3) to "pick up" - This phrasal verb has a few meanings.
One is to physically take something up off the ground or up off any surface. "He picked the book up off the table."
Another definition has a sexual connotation. It is used when trying to describe one person trying to meet another person for a romantic encounter. "He picked her up at a bar last night." This usage can also be innocent depending on the context. "He picked her up from the mall." In this context, we mean that he went to the mall to give her a ride home in his car. This definition is the opposite of to "drop off". For example: "I dropped off my daughter at gymnastics an hour ago. I think it is time for me to go pick her up now."
But in the context of this football match, to "pick up" means to "enliven" or to "make more interesting". "The movie really picked up after the main character was shot." In business you could say, "The meeting picked up after Jerome brought in doughnuts and coffee."
4) to get "a new lease on life" - Someone gets a "new lease on life" when they start acting happier and full of more energy. It is as though they were near death and now they are appreciating life. This, of course, does actually happen to people who are given good news from doctors after they were expecting bad news. This expression is most commonly used figuratively. In business you could say, "Our new website has given our company a new lease on life." In this football match, the introduction of a new player was described as giving the spanish team a new lease on life.
5) fraught - Fraught has 2 definitions. An adjective that means "full of" something or it can mean "upset" or "worried". A common expression is to be "fraught with tension". Any stressful situation, like a meeting where your boss is supposed to tell you whether the company will be sold, can be considered a situation "fraught with tension". The other usage can be used to describe someone who is feeling stress. "She sounded fraught when I spoke to her last night. I hope her massage appointment will help." This second usage is not very common. I would sooner say that "she sounded stressed" or that "she sounds upset".
The next blogs will start with short stories and/or anecdotes that are not related to football. Although you have to expect that I will return to my favourite subject often. We will also soon be adding a podcast so you can hear pronunciations. If anyone has any suggestions for phrasal verbs or idioms they want explained, please email us. You can also go to our website and contact us through that: www.yourenglishconection.com
No comments:
Post a Comment