Words and expressions you might not know

• castaway - a person stuck on a small island, usually after a ship sinks. “To cast away” something is to throw it away.

• pick-up - I’ll have another pick-up for you on Thursday. In the Fed Ex or delivery business, this is a noun that refers to the act of picking up a package.

• took the liberty -  I took the liberty of sending this to myself.  To "take the liberty” of doing something is a fancy way of saying to do it, even if others may not approve and without asking permission

• eternitiy - 87 hours is an eternity!  A great word which means forever, or perhaps until the end of time.

• cosmos - The cosmos were created in less time. A scientific word that refers to the entire universe.

• broke down - When his truck broke down, he stole a boy’s bicycle to do his delivery.  If any kind of machine “breaks down,” it stops working.

• certified - Jack keeps getting certified to fly? To "certify” a person to do something, such as fly a plane, is to officially state that they are qualified to do it, often by giving them a license or certificate to do it.

• metastasized - She went to the doctor. It wasn’t metastasized. A medical word that refers to cancer that has spread to different parts of the body.

• beside the point - That’s beside the point. If something you say is “beside the point,” it is not relevant to the main part of the conversation.

• hub - The new hub in Anchorage. A “hub” is an airport that an airline uses as a center of its operations, from which it flies to lots of other cities (Anchorage is the biggest city in the state of Alaska).

• curb - He tripped on a curb holding the door open for me.  A “curb” is the edge of a sidewalk, where it meets the street.

• wrapping - I love the wrapping.  “Wrapping” is the paper that covers a box.

• deviating - Tell them we’re deviating South for weather.  To "deviate” from a planned route is to move in another direction.

• life vest - Chuck, life vest!   A “life vest” is a type of padded shirt that people wear in order to be able to float in the water after a ship sinks or plane crashes.

• SOS - Over here! SOS, please!  The letters “SOS,” when written out, are the international way of asking for help (It is an abreviation for “save our souls”).

• killing me - This tooth is just killing me.  If something is “killing you,” it is hurting you very much.

• miscellaneous - We need 425 feet of good rope plus another 50 feet for miscellaneous. A key word that means various or diverse things.

• bringing that up - Do you have to keep bringing that up? Can’t we just forget it? To "bring up” something in a conversation is to start to talk about it.

• option - It was the only option I had at the time.  A good word for a choice or possibility.

• make it - We might just make it! Did that thought ever cross your brain?  In this case, to "make it” means to survive or succeed.

• paddling - I’ll do all the paddling! You just hang on!  To "paddle” a boat is to move it forward while using oars (lengths of flat, thin wood) to push it through the water.

• in the world - What in the world am I going to say to her?  An expression added to WH questions like what, who, where, why, when and even how to show emotion such as excitement, surprise or fear.

• tragic - That was a terrible and tragic day.  A powerful adjective that refers to something horrible that causes great pain or suffering.

• a handful - She’s a beautiful little girl. :: She’s a handful. If a child is “a handful,” it’s a lot of work to take care of.

• put on hold - When your plane went down, everything just sort of got put on hold.  To "put a plan on hold” is to delay doing it until the situation becomes clearer or easier to deal with.

• take up - I think about taking it up again. To "take up” a plan is to begin to do it.

• figured out - They said they never figured out what caused the crash. To "figure out” a mystery or question is to solve or understand it.

• drifted - You drifted about 500 miles; This is where your island was, about 600 miles South of the Cook Islands.   To "drift” on the water is to slowly float away, but in no particular direction.

• headed - You look lost…where are you headed?   If a person is “headed,” somewhere, that is where they plan to go.

• figure that out - I was just about to figure that out.  To "figure out” a question is to find the answer or solution to it.

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Watching movies is a fun way to learn English!