Hoje eu falo sobre idioms super comuns do inglês com a palavra ball. Não perca!
Transcrição
Hi, all. You’re listening to the new episode of the Inglês Online podcast, and today we look into idioms with the word ball.
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So let’s get started today with an idiom that you will hear all the time. Seriously, I’m not even exaggerating. Both of our idioms today are actually quite common in the English language and if you’re in the habit of watching American or even British TV shows, you’ve probably heard them many times already.
Just this week I was watching an English reality show and heard our first idiom: the ball is in your court. That means, it’s up to you now. It’s your decision or it is up to you to take the next step. So let’s say I invite my friend Mary to go on a trip to Buenos Aires with me. I tell her that I can book the accommodation and prepare our itinerary. All she has to do is let me know whether she wants to come along!
So now the ball is in her court. It’s her decision, it’s up to her, and once she’s made up her mind she will let me know whether she’s coming or not. The ball is in her court. Here’s one more example: Robert and Dana were boyfriend and girlfriend. They had been in a relationship for two years. One day, they had a fight because… Robert did something that Dana didn’t like. As a result, they broke up.
However, Robert later apologised to Dana and explained why he did what he did. She understood, but still wasn’t sure if she wanted to get back together with him. Robert said “Well, you know how I feel. The ball is in your court now.” That means, it’s up to Dana. It’s her decision. The ball’s in her court.
Now on to our second expression of today… Imagine that you have a favourite band that you love. You’ve got all their albums, you’ve been to their concerts… You’re a huge fan. One day their new CD comes out and when you listen to their new songs you can’t help but feel hugely disappointed. You hardly know what to think! The songs are just… awful! Is this really the band you know and love? More like the band you thought you knew… So your brother wants to know if you like the new CD and you tell him the truth: your favourite band really dropped the ball this time.
They dropped the ball. They failed. They made a mistake – or a series of mistakes. They did not keep up the good work, that’s for sure. Maybe they’re suffering from depression. Maybe they’re having a bad year. Maybe they’re fighting amongst themselves and it’s affecting their creativity. You don’t know what the reason is… But you know this time they dropped the ball.
Imagine you’re working with a team at your company and you’re preparing a sales proposal for a big client. Gary is the salesperson who is going to meet with the client and present the proposal. On the day of the meeting… Gary sleeps through his alarm and misses the appointment. That’s right… When Gary finally gets out of bed, it’s too late. Gary screwed up. He completely dropped the ball on this one. Your company would have closed the deal if Gary had not dropped the ball on the day of the meeting.
Now, what is your example? What’s your story about someone dropping the ball? Was it you who dropped the ball? Let me know in the comments, and talk to you next time!
Ana criou um blog de dicas de inglês em 2006, e depois de muito pesquisar o que faz alguém ganhar fluência numa segunda língua, criou seu primeiro curso de inglês em 2009.
Hi, all. You’re listening to the new episode of the Inglês Online podcast, and today we look into idioms with the word ball.
