Como falo em inglês: Vou enfiar a cara nos livros

By Ana | Podcast Inglês Online

Apr 30
Inglês Online hit the books

How’s it going? Hoje, no podcast, eu falo sobre duas expressões com a palavra HIT, e uma delas tem a ver com estudar muito!

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Transcrição

How’s it going? You’re listening to the new episode of the Inglês Online podcast. Thank you for telling everyone you know about this podcast and, enjoy!

So today I’m talking about these two terms, or idioms… both of them with the word hit. So hit can obviously mean to punch someone, as in, this person hit that person in the face. You can also use it to say “a motorcycle hit me when I was crossing the street”, and obviously every popular singer has a collection of greatest hits… OK, so we could have a whole series of episodes about hit – maybe we will!

But right now, though, let’s focus on our first idiom of today. It’s about studying hard. Here’s a great example I found on Twitter – it was posted by someone who works at the library in the University of Essex. Here you go: “Do you prefer to study for exams in the library? From today until the end of the exam period our Albert Sloman Library will be open 24/7, so you can hit the books when you want to.”

So I’m talking about the term hit the books… Of course! The tweet I just mentioned is very recent, so I’m thinking exam season is just around the corner – it’s probably started, actually – and students are expected to be hitting the books right about now. They’re expected to be studying hard; they’re expected to be sitting down somewhere… maybe at a desk in the library or in their room, with their books open, studying! And they’ll probably be saying stuff like “I better hit the books if I want to pass my exam on Tuesday” or “Let’s hit the books now and go to the beach later.”

Let’s move on to our second one of today. Check this one out: sack is slang for bed. If you’re always watching American TV, you may know that already. Sack is a slang word that means bed, b-e-d. Sack has other meanings, but we’ll focus on this one for now. So when people say they’re going to hit the sack… You guessed it, that means they’re going to bed, to sleep and get some rest.

So when would someone say that? Maybe “Hey, it’s been great talking to you and we have so much to catch up on. Let’s meet up soon… but I’ve got to get an early start tomorrow so I’m going to hit the sack.”

Another example: some people have told me they need to unwind before they hit the sack. They go for a walk outside, or they read a few chapters of a nice book, and only then they hit the sack. I have to say, I NEVER do that. I feel like I’m constantly doing stuff up to the minute when I hit the sack. What are you like? Do you enjoy relaxing, unwinding a little bit before you go to bed? What do you do? Or are you more like me, just taking care of stuff all the time?

And just a quick note – I’ve already mentioned that sack is a slang word but it bears repeating: “hit the sack” is a very informal term, so… don’t say it in a job interview, for example. If you’re with friends or colleagues, on the other hand, you’re in the clear.

I’m actually now curious about your habits: what time do you usually hit the sack? Do you have a night shift and have to hit the sack in the morning? What do you do to unwind before hitting the sack? Let me know! See you next time.

Key expressions

  • hit the books
  • hit the sack

Vocabulary

just around the corner = data ou evento que está se aproximando, que está logo ai

You guessed it = você adivinhou, você acertou

to catch up on = se atualizar, se inteirar das novidades

unwind = relaxar

it bears repeating = é bom repetir

you’re in the clear = ‘tá liberado’ para usar a expressão

night shift = turno da noite, período em que a pessoa trabalha a noite

Ana
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Camila 04/06/2018

hi, could i say “my birthday is just around the corner”?

    Ana 04/06/2018

    Yep

Gabriella 02/06/2018

Hi Ana, I usually do silly games on my mobile, like Solitaire to unwind before hitting the sack. For a while I played Candy Crush but that became a bad habit…. so I stopped playing that one all together.

    Ana 02/06/2018

    Playing solitaire before hitting the sack is not a bad idea…

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