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MIND YOUR LANGUAGE 👨🏫 📚
The last episode : The Examination
I noted two interesting expressions.
English idiom: "To cut and run." means to make a quick or sudden escape from a difficult, dangerous, or losing situation. It usually implies leaving something behind to save yourself from further trouble.
The Origin
The phrase comes from 18th-century sailing. If a ship was in a great hurry to leave—perhaps because of an enemy attack or a sudden, dangerous storm—the crew wouldn't take the time to pull up the heavy anchor. Instead, they would cut the anchor rope and let the ship run with the wind.
My own adventure :
Around 40 years ago a big storm came in the middle of the night while we were in our tent. We had to "cut and run" to the 2CV car to stay dry.
Expression . To Scrape Through =
"just barely made it."
To "scrape through" means to succeed at something by the narrowest possible margin. You didn't win easily or do a perfect job; you barely finished or passed. If you were any slower or made one more mistake, you would have failed.
The Origin
The expression comes from the physical act of passing through a space that is almost too small.
- The Imagery: Imagine a large car driving through a very narrow stone gate. If the car passes but the sides "scrape" against the walls, the car scraped through. It made it to the other side, but it was a very close call!
- In History: In the 1800s, students at universities used this to describe passing an exam with the lowest possible grade. They didn't "sail through" (pass easily); they "scraped through."
My own adventure :
When I took my driving license, I remember I arrived late and forgot my identity card. But in the end, I "scraped through". I didn't believe it was possible!
AND JUST FOR FUN
I picked up a funny definition by Jamila Ranjha.
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MIND YOUR LANGUAGE 👨🏫 📚
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