Summer Fun with Family Expressions

Summer Fun with Family Expressions

And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning¹ English.

On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language. And we often explain where they come from and how to use them.

In the summer months, we often get together with our family members who live far away. If you listen in as people talk with and about their families, you might hear some interesting expressions.

Like many idioms, it is often difficult to understand these expressions simply by knowing the meaning of individual words and the grammar of the sentence in which they appear. This week we will explore a few of these expressions, so you will understand them better when you hear them.

While watching television with your family in a crowded room, you might hear, "Your father was not a glass blower."

Of course, it is impossible for a person to be made of glass. That expression really means² you are blocking the view of someone else, and they want you to move.

A similar expression is, "You make a better door than a window." It also means, "Please move out of the way."

When a child starts to act just like the parent, we say, "He's a chip off the old block." This suggests the image of an artist making a statue of someone from a block of stone. It can mean that the child is made of the same material as the parent. In a similar way, we may think that a child's action can show how they will act as an adult. To express this idea, we use the phrase³, "The child is father to the man."

Lighting⁴ a fire for a family barbecue is a job that can be easy, with the right tools. After she lit the barbecue grill⁵, I heard my sister say, "... and Bob's your uncle, there's the fire." This expression means something is easy. It describes how those in high positions may sometimes give jobs to family members, making their lives easier.

There are other expressions that have to do with money in the family. Someone who starts out life in a wealthy family was "born with a silver spoon in their mouth." And an adult may warn⁶ a child, "A fool and his money are soon parted." In other words, do not make a bad investment⁷ or spend money unwisely. And a child who is not given an inheritance is said to be "cut off without a penny⁸."

My younger brother liked to play with the boys on our street who always caused trouble. Mom told him to stay away from the troublemakers⁹ with this expression: "Birds of a feather flock¹⁰ together." She meant that, if he does not want people to think he is one of the troublemakers, he should not spend time with them.

That is good advice. The child who does not listen to mother's words is in danger of becoming the "black sheep of the family." That expression describes a family member whose behavior gives them a bad reputation¹¹.

Speaking of animals, our cat is going to have kittens soon. A friend who saw her said she was "in a family way." Soon, the cat will have her own family to care for.

Finally, when a group of people live or work closely¹² together, they might say, "We are like one big happy family – we argue all the time!" This expression could mean that the group is happy to be so close; or, if said with irony¹³, it means the group is not happy to work together.

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

view –n. the things that can be seen for a particular place

statue – n. a figure usually of a person or animal that is made from stone, metal, or wood

grill –n. a device¹⁴ used to cook over an open fire or hot coals

inheritance – n. money, property¹⁵, or the like that is received from someone when that person dies

reputation –n. the common opinion that people have about someone; the way people think about someone

irony – n. the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really think especially to be funny

1 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。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

4 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

5 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

6 warn   

vt.警告，注意，远离；vi.提醒

参考例句：

• I must warn you that my patience is almost at an end.我必须警告你我已经没有耐心了。
• If you warn me in advance,I will have your order ready for you.你若预先通知我，我就能给您准备好了。

7 investment   

n.投资，投资额；(时间、精力等的)投入

参考例句：

• It took two years before I recouped my investment.我用了两年时间才收回投资。
• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad.这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。

8 penny   

n.（英）便士，美分

参考例句：

• I will not lent you a penny.我一便士都不愿借给你。
• Sugar has risen a penny a pound.糖价每磅涨了1便士。

9 troublemakers   

n.惹是生非者，捣乱者( troublemaker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was employed to chuck out any troublemakers. 他受雇把捣乱者赶走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers. 她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 flock   

n.羊群，一群，大量；vi.群集，聚集，成群

参考例句：

• A flock of customers were waiting for the store to open.一群顾客在等候着商店开门。
• A few sheep have been lost from the flock.羊群里少了几只羊。

11 reputation   

n.名誉，声誉，声望，信誉

参考例句：

• We are very anxious to keep up the reputation of the firm.我们对于保持公司的名誉非常急切。
• He has not too good a reputation in the matter of honesty.就诚实而言，他的名声不太好。

12 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

13 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

14 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

15 property   

n.财产，所有物，所有权，性质，特性，（小）道具

参考例句：

• He has made over his property to a hospital.他已将财产转交给了一家医院。
• Oil has the property of floating on water.油有浮在水上的特性。