I’ve Been Sitting So Long I Can’t Stand It

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

1697

Abstract

tance, required much more effort and preparation than it does in 2021. Due to rough and unpaved roads, wagons often had to be fixed (repaired) or prepared before making the next trip.</p><h2 id="5ab7">Your neck of the woods</h2><p id="d20f">Your neck of the woods means your neighborhood, town, or area in which you live. This expression is commonly spoken every weekday by Al Roker, morning weatherman of NBC’s Today Show.</p><h2 id="3e3d">He’s a bad one, he is. He’ll come to a bitter end.</h2><p id="a98b">When I was young and seated near older relatives discussing the wild nature of one cousin or another, they might say cousin Someone would come to a bitter end. I could tell that my uncles or aunts were critical of cousin Someone, and that bitter wasn’t a good thing. I associated bitterness with the taste of baker’s chocolate, raw orange or lemon peel, and black coffee. So I knew that someone coming to a bitter end would have a distasteful future.</p><p id="5ba2">It wasn’t until I took up the sport of sailing that I learned the meaning of a bitter end. To come to a bitter end is more grizzly than I imagined. You see, the end of a rope is called a bitter end. So when someone comes to a bitter end, they’ve met the end of a rope, i.e., died of hanging.</p><h2 id="85fa">On the surface</h2><p id="d88c">Something referred to as “on the surface” implies a deeper meaning than the obvious statement. “Every great narrative is at least two narratives, if not more — the thing that is on the surface and then the things underneath which are invisible.” — <a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/surface-quotes">Ali Smith</a></p><p id="c1e7">Copywrite(c) Harold Zeitung 2021 all right

Options

s are reserved.</p><p id="b553">I appreciate the time you took to read this bit of amusement. Please consider following me so I can reach 100 followers.</p><p id="10c6">If you enjoy reading stories like this, why not become a Medium member for just $5 a month. Better yet,$ 50 for a full year. Your membership will give you unlimited access to all the stories on Medium. If you sign up using the link below, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Use this <a href="https://medium.com/@haroldzeitung/membership">link</a>.</p><p id="55c9">Click <a href="https://medium.com/subscribe/@haroldzeitung">here</a> to receive notifications by email whenever I publish.</p><p id="33db">If you like my writing, buy me a cup of coffee <a href="https://ko-fi.com/haroldzeitung10339">here</a>.</p><p id="4d04">Editors, please contact me if you feel my style of writing would be a good fit for your publication.</p><p id="4c70">If you would like to know how the cow ate the cabbage, read the story below.</p><div id="713e" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/in-no-uncertain-terms-my-dad-told-the-man-how-the-cow-ate-the-cabbage-bc8a6be78d9d"> <div> <div> <h2>In No Uncertain Terms, My Dad Told the Man How The Cow Ate The Cabbage</h2> <div><h3>Five more English idioms that make learning English difficult</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*kchNDUwAZM86QwRN)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Five English idioms that make learning English difficult

Some people say English is the most difficult second language to learn due to its wide variety of root languages such as Latin, Greek, and others. I certainly agree with that reason, but I also think it has a lot to do with multiple meanings of the same word, combinations of words, and evolution of word meanings. I want to present five examples.

“Can I borrow a black pen? I need to write just one letter.”

On the surface, this person appears to be asking to write a single character, perhaps to finish a word or correct a misspelling in a document. It could also mean the requestor needs to write a lengthy message to voice a complaint about the social inequities of the world to the United Nations. The message may be multiple pages long, but it is still one letter.

Fixing to go

I’ve heard this expression all my life. I live in Texas. I’m used to hearing and using phrases that seem to be owned by Texans. Most folks I’ve spoken to suggest the term originates in a much earlier era in which travel, even the shortest distance, required much more effort and preparation than it does in 2021. Due to rough and unpaved roads, wagons often had to be fixed (repaired) or prepared before making the next trip.

He’s a bad one, he is. He’ll come to a bitter end.

When I was young and seated near older relatives discussing the wild nature of one cousin or another, they might say cousin Someone would come to a bitter end. I could tell that my uncles or aunts were critical of cousin Someone, and that bitter wasn’t a good thing. I associated bitterness with the taste of baker’s chocolate, raw orange or lemon peel, and black coffee. So I knew that someone coming to a bitter end would have a distasteful future.

It wasn’t until I took up the sport of sailing that I learned the meaning of a bitter end. To come to a bitter end is more grizzly than I imagined. You see, the end of a rope is called a bitter end. So when someone comes to a bitter end, they’ve met the end of a rope, i.e., died of hanging.

On the surface

Something referred to as “on the surface” implies a deeper meaning than the obvious statement. “Every great narrative is at least two narratives, if not more — the thing that is on the surface and then the things underneath which are invisible.” — Ali Smith

Copywrite(c) Harold Zeitung 2021 all rights are reserved.

I appreciate the time you took to read this bit of amusement. Please consider following me so I can reach 100 followers.

If you enjoy reading stories like this, why not become a Medium member for just $5 a month. Better yet, $50 for a full year. Your membership will give you unlimited access to all the stories on Medium. If you sign up using the link below, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Use this link.

Click here to receive notifications by email whenever I publish.

If you like my writing, buy me a cup of coffee here.

Editors, please contact me if you feel my style of writing would be a good fit for your publication.

If you would like to know how the cow ate the cabbage, read the story below.