Make a Splash!

Make a Splash¹!

Now, the VOA Learning² English program Words and Their Stories.

This is the show that explains the origin and usage³ of common American English expressions.

Today, we are going to make a splash!

Yes, you make a splash when you jump into water. But to make a splash also means to attract a lot of attention, in a good way.

For example you could say, “She made in splash in Washington, D.C. as a political consultant⁴.” Or “If he moves to Hollywood he will make a huge splash in the film industry.”

But let’s get back to actually splashing⁵ in water. When it’s hot, people often go to the beach or swimming pools to cool off in the water. The water is also a great place to learn American expressions.

Deep water can be scary if you do not know how to swim. Some people learn fast by jumping in. To sink or swim means the moment you test your ability, often before much practice. If you swim, you succeed. If you sink, you fail.

If you sink and no one rescues you, you will probably be dead in the water. When something is dead in the water, it has stopped making progress. It has failed and has no hope for the future. A business, an idea, even a marriage or friendship can be dead in the water.

For example, imagine you are involved in a business deal but your only financial supporter withdraws⁶. Most likely, the deal is dead in the water.

Let’s hear these expressions used in a short dialogue:

"Don’t you think we should help Mary? Her deadline is tomorrow and she is far from finished with the project."

"Look, she’s been with the company for years. Anyway, I helped her on the last project. It is sink or swim for her this time.”

"Well, if she isn’t ready for the presentation tomorrow morning her project will be dead in the water."

Swimming in the ocean can be a lot of fun. Surfers love to ride the waves. But did you know, you can ride a wave without even getting wet?

In English, to ride a wave means that you are helped by being connected to something well liked. For example, you could say, “The president is riding the wave of recent economic growth.”

When you are surfing, catching⁷ a wave means to ride your surfboard across the wave in the ocean. But to catch a wave can also mean to connect with and profit from something popular.

For example, “The media company plans to catch the wave of new YouTube stars.”

The word surf itself is used in other situations besides in the ocean. If you are surfing the Web, you are moving from webpage to webpage without much thought. Channel surfing is the same except with television channels.

So surfers love catching big waves. When the ocean is calm, I’m sure they wish they could make waves. However, you do not always have to be in the water to make waves.

This expression means to surprise, shock or trouble people or situations. It can be both good and bad. And you can add modifiers to the word “wave.” For example, “When the new boss started, she didn’t make to make too many waves. She’s changing things slowly.”

But we all know what really makes the waves in the ocean – the tide. The tide is the rising and falling of the sea. In spoken English, the tide can also turn. When the tides turn, events have changed direction, or reversed⁸. We also say to turn the tide.

Ocean tides are strong. Swimming against the tide is not advisable⁹. It can make you tired and you could drown. As an expression, it means to go against popular thought or opinion. Great leaders and scientists often swim against the tide.

To be in over your head and to be out of your depth are both water expressions. And they both mean to be in a situation that is too difficult for you to deal with. For example, “At the meeting, Rachel had no idea what they were talking about. She was way out of her depth.”

And finally, to blow something out of the water means to destroy something completely.

To show how versatile¹⁰ these ocean expressions really are, let’s use them in a very dry environment – a courtroom.

"The court will be break for 20 minutes."

"Wow, the defense¹¹ attorney¹² really made waves today in the courtroom when she presented that new evidence."

"Yeah, I did not see that coming. I think the tide is really turning in favor of the defendant¹³."

"Well, the new evidence helps. But what really blew the case out of the water is the defense’s new witness."

"You know, I feel bad for the prosecutor¹⁴. He is new and just out of his depth."

"He is. He’s lost his last nine cases! If he loses this one, he will lose his job. It’s either sink or swim."

"If he gets fired, his career could be dead in the water."

And that brings us to the end of this collection of expressions from the sea. If you use a couple in your next English conversation, you are sure to make a splash!

Join us again next week for another Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

beach – n. an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake

tide – n. the regular upward¹⁵ and downward movement of the level of the ocean that is caused by the pull of the Sun and the Moon on the Earth

prosecutor – n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty

versatile – adj. having many different uses

dry – adj. not interesting, exciting, or emotional

1 splash   

v.溅，泼；n.溅泼声，溅出的水等，斑点

参考例句：

• I fell into the water with a splash.我跌入水中，激起水花四溅。
• There's a splash of paint on the white wall.白墙上溅上了一片油漆。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

4 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

5 splashing   

v.使（液体）溅起( splash的现在分词 )；（指液体）溅落；击水声

参考例句：

• Water was splashing down from a large hole in the roof. 雨水从房顶上的一个大洞里倾泻下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The children love splashing water over each other. 儿童喜欢互相泼水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 withdraws   

v.取[收]回( withdraw的第三人称单数 )；（使）撤退[出]；提；收回

参考例句：

• She never withdraws the savings to buy unwanted things. 她从不支出积蓄去买多余之物。 来自辞典例句
• The government withdraws worn out money from use. 政府收回旧币使之不再流通。 来自辞典例句

7 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

8 reversed   

v.（使）反转( reverse的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）颠倒；（使）翻转；推翻adj.颠倒的

参考例句：

• The new president reversed many of the policies of his predecessor. 新任总统彻底改变了其前任的许多政策。
• The appeal court reversed the original verdict and set the prisoner free. 上诉法庭撤销了原判，把那个犯人释放了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 advisable   

adj.可取的，适当的，明智的

参考例句：

• It was advisable for you not to mention that.你不提及那件事是明智的。
• I do not think it advisable to park our car here.我认为将我们的小汽车停放在此处是不妥当的。

10 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 attorney   

n.（业务或法律事务上的）代理人，辩护律师

参考例句：

• He acted as attorney for me.他充当我的律师。
• The attorney for the union accused the Mayor of playing politics.工会的律师谴责市长在这次罢工中耍阴谋。

13 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

14 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

15 upward   

adj.向上的，上升的；adv.向上，上升

参考例句：

• The birds flew upward.鸟儿向上飞去。
• Prices have an upward tendency.价格有上升的趋势。