Words and Their Stories: If a Student’s Grades Hit Bottom, It Is Time to Hit the Books

March 13th, 2010 at 07:17am Under Words and their stories

Expressions involving the word hit.

Now, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - a VOA Special English program about American expressions.  I’m Rich Kleinfeldt with some expressions containing the word hit.

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Hit is a small word but it has a lot of power.  Baseball players hit the ball.  Missiles hit an airplane.  A car hits a tree.

Hit also joins with other words to create many colorful expressions.  One is hit the road. It means to travel or to leave a place, as suggested in this song, “Hit the Road.”

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Another common expression is hit the spot.  At first it meant hitting a spot at the center of a target with an arrow.  Someone who did so was satisfied with his shooting.  Now, hitting the spot usually means that a food or drink is especially satisfying.

Many years ago, Pepsi Cola sold its drink with a song that began, “Pepsi Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces, that’s a lot…”

Another expression involving hit is hit bottom.  Something that has hit bottom can go no lower.  If the price of shares of a stock hits bottom that might be the time to buy it.  Its value can only go up.

A student who tells you his grades have hit bottom is saying he has not done well in school.

When a student’s grades hit bottom it is time to hit the books.  Hit the books is another way to saying it is time to study.  A student might have to tell her friends she can not go with them to the movies because she has to hit the books.

Not hitting the books could lead to an unpleasant situation for a student.  The father or mother may hit the ceiling when they see the low grades.  Someone who hits the ceiling, the top of the room, is violently angry.  A wife may hit the ceiling because her husband forgot their wedding anniversary.

To build something of wood, you usually need a hammer.  That is what you use to hit nails into the pieces of wood to hold them together.  When you hit the nail on the head, exactly on its top, it goes into the wood perfectly.  And when someone says your words or actions hit the nail on the head, he means what you said or did was exactly right.

If you are tired after hitting all those nails on the head, then it is time to hit the hay.  That expression comes from the days when people slept on beds filled with dried grass or hay. Some people slept on hay in barns where they kept their farm animals.

Hitting the hay simply means going to bed. That is a good idea. I think I will hit the hay now.

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This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Frank Beardsley. I’m Rich Kleinfeldt.

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Words and Their Stories: Money, Part 1

December 27th, 2009 at 03:56am Under Words and their stories

Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

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I think people everywhere dream about having lots of money. I know I do. I would give anything to make money hand over fist. I would like to earn large amounts of money. You could win a large amount of money in the United States through lotteries. People pay money for tickets with numbers. If your combination of numbers is chosen, you win a huge amount of money – often in the millions. Winning the lottery is a windfall.

A few years ago, my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead, my friend was always hard up for cash. He did not have much money. And the money he did earn was chicken feed – very little.

Sometimes Al even had to accept hand-outs, gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a deadbeat. He was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He simply pinched pennies. He was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact, he was often a cheapskate. He did not like to spend money. The worst times were when he was flat broke and had no money at all.

One day, Al scraped together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery. He hit the jackpot. He won a great deal of money.

Al was so excited. The first thing he did was buy a costly new car. He splurged on the one thingthat he normally would not buy. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burn. He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly.

When we got together for a meal at a restaurant, Al paid every time. He would always foot the bill, and pick up the tab. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollars. He was very happy.

But, Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He was back to being strapped for cash. He had spent his bottom dollar, his very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg. He had not saved any of the money.

I admit I do feel sorry for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king. Instead, he is back to living on a shoestring — a very low budget. Some might say he is penny wise and pound foolish. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.

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WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss. I’m Faith Lapidus.

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