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Now, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES |
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- a VOA Special English program |
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about American expressions. |
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I'm Rich Kleinfeldt |
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with some expressions containing the word hit. |
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Hit is a small word but it has a lot of power. |
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Baseball players hit the ball. |
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Missiles hit an airplane. |
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A car hits a tree. |
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Hit also joins with other words |
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to create many colorful expressions. |
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One is hit the road. |
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It means to travel or to leave a place, |
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as suggested in this song, "Hit the Road." |
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(MUSIC) |
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Another common expression is hit the spot. |
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At first it meant hitting a spot |
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at the center of a target with an arrow. |
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Someone who did so was satisfied with his shooting. |
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Now, hitting the spot usually means |
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that a food or drink is especially satisfying. |
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Many years ago, Pepsi Cola sold its drink |
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with a song that began, "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, |
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twelve full ounces, that's a lot..." |
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Another expression involving hit is hit bottom. |
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Something that has hit bottom can go no lower. |
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If the price of shares of a stock hits bottom |
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that might be the time to buy it. |
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Its value can only go up. |
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A student who tells you his grades have hit bottom |
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is saying he has not done well in school. |
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When a student's grades hit bottom |
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it is time to hit the books. |
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Hit the books is another way to saying it is time to study. |
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A student might have to tell her friends |
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she can not go with them to the movies |
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because she has to hit the books. |
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Not hitting the books could lead |
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to an unpleasant situation for a student. |
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The father or mother may hit the ceiling |
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when they see the low grades. |
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Someone who hits the ceiling, the top of the room, |
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is violently angry. |
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A wife may hit the ceiling because her husband |
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forgot their wedding anniversary. |
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To build something of wood, you usually need a hammer. |
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That is what you use to hit nails |
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into the pieces of wood to hold them together. |
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When you hit the nail on the head, exactly on its top, |
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it goes into the wood perfectly. |
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And when someone says your words or actions |
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hit the nail on the head, |
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he means what you said or did was exactly right. |
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If you are tired after hitting all those nails on the head, |
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then it is time to hit the hay. |
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That expression comes from the days |
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when people slept on beds filled with dried grass or hay. |
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Some people slept on hay in barns |
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where they kept their farm animals. |
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Hitting the hay simply means going to bed. |
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That is a good idea. I think I will hit the hay now. |
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(MUSIC) |
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This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, |
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was written by Frank Beardsley. |
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I'm Rich Kleinfeldt. |
