ALL ABOUT A DEMOCRACY: (to) SPEAK OUT

People no longer stand on a soap box to make public their thoughts on any issue or person. The world has changed and there are lots of other ways of doing this now, not only with newspapers and radio and television, but with the world wide web. The idea of making ones thoughts public for any, or for all, to hear, is here to stay. Take a look at this one headline:

Why ex-FBI lawyer targeted by Trump is speaking out

This two-word verb is intransitive, as you see in the headline above.

The following sentence from that news story shows how to express a more complete treatment:

Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, whose anti-Trump text messages were released to Congress, became a target of President Trump's tweets. She spoke out to The Daily Beast about her decision to go public.

Also, unlike most of the other two-word verbs that we've been discussing, this one does not have a noun counterpart. It's used only as a verb.

Let's look at some other examples from the news that reflect issues of our times:

Most Americans say it’s OK for professional athletes to speak out publicly about politics

Of course the issue raised in the above article indicates that a person doesn't have to be vocally speaking in order to speak out, as the image below shows.

In reading the article, what are several recent events that sparked the public discussion about whether or not it's okay for professional athletes to speak out publicly about politics? You may have to follow the hyperlinks to be able to answer.  If you are familiar with any of those events, did you have an opinion about it at the time each occurred?

Were there times when you have spoken out publicly on an issue? Tell us what those were!


The last example we will provide may be familiar to some of you.

U of R Students Speak Out After Hong Kong, Taiwanese Flags Moved in Campus Hall

U of R Students Speak Out After Hong Kong, Taiwanese Flags Moved in Campus Hall

U of R Students Speak Out After Hong Kong, Taiwanese Flags Moved in Campus Hall

U of R Students Speak Out After Hong Kong, Taiwanese Flags Moved in Campus Hall

U of R Students Speak Out After Hong Kong, Taiwanese Flags Moved in Campus Hall

Betrayed by the Big Four: whistleblowers speak out

An FT investigation reveals a culture of fear at the world’s leading accounting firms

The news is full of incidences when people speak out about issues and events that affect them and others and overcome the fear that has previously caused them to be silent.

PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: (to) COVER UP

 

Historical Marker Installed Outside Deep Throat Garage

"I don't do cover-ups" 

... said Donald Trump.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said:

Pelosi says Trump engaged in (a) ‘cover-up’ to hide Ukraine call records

This noun, (a) cover-up, is getting plenty of action these days. 

Sometimes the two words are used as one:

The Trump administration’s desperate census coverup continues

This is also a transitive verb. 

Whistleblower says White House tried to cover up Trump's abuse of power

And if you're wondering whether this is a separable or not separable two-word verb, see the following: 

"President Donald Trump abused his official powers "to solicit interference" from Ukraine in the upcoming 2020 election, and the White House took steps to cover it up."

Can you think of any other well-known coverups in American history? Can you think of any other well-known coverups in the history of your native country, or the country of your ancestry?

VOCABULARY: (to) INHERIT

Now if we're going to talk about words in the news, here's a big one.

Example ONE:

"As you know, our administration inherited many problems across government and across the economy. To be honest, I inherited a mess. It's a mess. At home and abroad, a mess. Jobs are pouring out of the country; you see what's going on with all of the companies leaving our country, going to Mexico and other places, low pay, low wages, mass instability overseas, no matter where you look. The Middle East is a disaster. North Korea -- we'll take care of it folks. We're going to take care of it all. I just want to let you know, I inherited a mess."

Another iteration of his use of the same word was his Tweet, "No president ever worked harder than me (cleaning up the mess I inherited)!"


Who else is using this term, (to) inherit?

Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette could inherit part of his fortune

Now we're talking about inheriting $$$ money! 

Next we find words related to the concept of inheritance: Which of the following words is related to the concept of inheritance?

a) cat hair
b) her
c) heir 

The correct answer is the noun, (an) heir.

What word forms are related to this verb (to) inherit?  Circle the noun in the sentence below from the above article about Choupette:

A judge later reduced the pampered pooch’s inheritance to $2 million, according to the New York Times, ruling that the total sum exceeded what was necessary to care for the dog.

Are You BULLISH? Or BEARISH? Animals and English Words in the News

We know what the stock market is. But do you know where that term came from? Today we know "stock" as an investment in some specific product or corporation with the hopes that in the future the buyer or holder of that stock will reap profits from that investment.  But the word "stock" has origins that go way back.

Then there's livestock. Livestock are animals such as cattle, swine and sheep, that have been raised in an agricultural setting in order to produce meat, eggs, milk and so on. 

So are you up on your animals? Some politicians even use the names of animals to describe - to insult - other politicians. Today's economic and political vocabulary includes the names of many animals to describe the mood of the country and the economy, not to insult individuals.  Bulls and bears are frequently refereed to with expressions such as "bullish" and "bearish." 

Today's headline:

What Could Hold Back a Democratic Wave? Economy, Confidence, Independence

This article says, "With two weeks until the election, Republican leaders and President Trump are increasingly bullish about Republican voters and moderate independents rallying behind the party’s candidates rather than taking a chance on a Democratic challenger or a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

Now think of a bull. Does this adjective, bullish, mean highly optimistic or highly pessimistic?


Here's another example for you sports fans - or football fans:

Why Bruce Arians is so bullish on the Jets’ future

Does Bruce expect the Jets to have a winning season or a losing one?

"THE LAST STRAW": AN EXPRESSION THAT'S IN THE NEWS

Do you have a Facebook account? Do you use Facebook? Did you ever use the "Download Your Information" function?

Several scandals have occurred recently over Facebook: but more recently the very serious The Cambridge Analytica misuse of user information had global repercussions.

Many of the over 6 million worldwide Facebook users consider this Cambridge Analytica data breach to be "the last straw."  The expression is as widespread as it is old.

For Many Facebook Users, a ‘Last Straw’ That Led Them to Quit

 In this article, Dan Clark, a retired Navy veteran from Maine, is quoted as saying, “But you have to stand for something, so I just put my foot down and said enough is enough.”

What did Ben Greenzweig, from Westchester, New York, decided to do?

"The final straw" is another version of this expression.

Roy Moore is the last straw, you can now call me a Democrat

USA Today piece is an OPINION piece, but it expresses the writer's own "last straw." What happened, how did he feel about it, and what did he do about that?

This expression comes from a larger expression, "the straw that broke the camel's back." 

But enough for politics. The expression can be used in ones personal life too.

19 Divorced People Answer 'What Was the Final Straw?'

Some of these "final straw" or "last straw" moments are pretty shocking.

The earliest known expression dates from 1677. And it uses feathers, which appear to be light and weightless: "It is the last feather that breaks the horse's back" is from Archbishop Bramhall, Works 4:59. 

Why are feathers, and straw, and appropriate expression for this sentiment?

Have you ever had a personal "last straw" moment, a moment that makes the situation impossible to tolerate and go along with any longer? A moment that calls for change?

Meanwhile, go easy on your horses and camels! 


1 as quoted in George Latimer Apperson, English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases: A Historical Dictionary (1929), reissued as The Wordsworth Dictionary of Proverbs

Photo of camel By Bart de Goeij (IMG_1725) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

TWO-WORD VERBS FROM THE NEWS: (to) COME UP

Did the Subject Come up, or Didn't It?

That's what everybody wants to know.

This two-word , (to) come up, is very hot right now in presidential politics. It's in conversation and in the written news.

Former Trump adviser on discussing sanctions with the Russians: 'I can't definitively say' it never came up

We can visit this same topic viewing the following video:

"Good Morning, America" with George Stephanopolouss

After listening to the video of the interview, do you believe the topic of sanctions ever came up? Take our poll. 

Did the topic of sanctions against Russia COME UP in the meeting with Carter Page?

Let's look at another example from the news. Here is a sentence from a New York Times news article:

"The White House says this account is not correct. And Mr. Trump, in an interview on Thursday with NBC, described a far different dinner conversation with Mr. Comey in which the director asked to have the meeting and the question of loyalty never came up."

Reading that article, do you believe the topic of loyalty came up to Mr. Trump during that dinner?

Finally, let's visit this same word but in a different article.

"Previously, Flynn had flat out denied that the topic of sanctions came up during the phone call — answering “no” twice when directly asked about the matter — but presented with Thursday’s Post report, a spokesperson changed his tune. “While he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up,” the spokesperson said, which is odd, considering we’re talking about a conversation that happened a month and a half ago."

Keep your eyes peeled on the news.  We're likely to hear and see this two-word verb used again and again!

***

WORLD NEWS: (to) TAKE OFF

This idiom can be used in many contexts.

First, let's show it in its most common context, dealing with air flight, in an article which might interest many of you.

China’s home-grown C919 passenger jet takes off on maiden flight

Here, this intransitive verb is used with reference to air flight.

What does this event mean to the people of China? What does this mean to the rest of the world?

You also don't have to be an airplane and leave the ground in order to take off!

Runners take off in first-ever space station 5K race

Can you express that sentence in simple past tense?   

This flexible transitive verb can also be used in other contexts, often financial:

US: Existing-home sales took off in March to their highest pace in over 10 years

 In the above article, which verb can be used in place of "took off"?

Finally, Chrysler Pacifica Sales Took Off In September 2016

The people at Chrysler Pacifica are bound to be happy about that news.

Remember - this is a two-word verb and this verb is intransitive. It does NOT take an object. See the headline below:

3 Energy Stocks We Missed That Took Off

This is NOT to be confused with the verb (to) take and the preposition "off" as in "he took off his wrist watch" or "She took off her ring."


And for our final news headline: Here's the best use of this verb:

Romance took off after flight of fancy

Helping seriously-ill children take the trip of a lifetime with the Dreamflight charity became a life- changing experience for Simon and Suzanne when they met and fell in love, reveals Catherine Welford.

And I think that's a pretty good note on which to end this blog post! 

Photo, Permission Granted by U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jonathan Chandler [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo, AHAVA  by Robert Indiana, American, born 1928 עברית: רוברט אידניאנה, נולד ב-1928 (Talmoryair) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons