Heartland English School – Word of the Day

Theme: swimming idioms

Phrase: go under

Meaning: to fail financially, resulting in the closure of a business

Example: Thousands of restaurants went under during the pandemic.

Literal meaning example: Somebody throw Paul a life preserver; he’s going under!

Theme: swimming idioms

Phrase: tread water

Meaning: to be active but without making progress, possibly falling behind

Example: He’s been treading water ever since he got that promotion, and his co-workers have started to notice.

Literal meaning example: Even if you can’t swim, the ability to tread water will save you from drowning.

Theme: swimming idioms

Phrase: make a splash

Meaning: to attract a lot of attention in an exciting way

Example: The director’s new film made quite a splash at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Literal meaning example: Some people like to cannonball into a pool, making a splash that gets all their friends wet.

Theme: swimming idioms

Phrase: take the plunge

Meaning: to decide to do something, especially after thinking about it for a long time

Example: After dating for many years, they took the plunge and got married last month.

Literal meaning example: Many children are afraid to enter the water the first time they go swimming, but they love it immediately after taking the plunge.

Theme: swimming idioms

Phrase: test the waters

Meaning: to find out whether something is likely to be successful before you do or try it

Example: Political candidates like to test the waters before officially declaring a run for office.

Literal meaning example: A lot of people dip a toe in the pool to test the waters before going swimming.

Theme: Phrases with heat

Phrase: heat up

Meaning: to become (or make something) hotter, or more intense

Examples:

1. The weather is heating up this week, so let’s bring lots of water and try to find some shade.

2. After being somewhat unimpressive in the early rounds of the tournament, the team is now heating up and scoring plenty of goals.

Theme: Phrases with heat

Phrase: (in a) dead heat

Meaning: a situation where two competitors are exactly even and you cannot tell who is going to win

Examples:

1. A poll done last week shows the two mayoral candidates in a dead heat, with neither really pulling ahead.

2. The race is a dead heat, with both horses looking like strong finishers.

Theme: Phrases with heat

Phrase: in the heat of the moment

Meaning: in the middle of an intense or emotional situation, when one is overly excited or angry, and without stopping to think.

Examples:

1. Hey, I wanted to apologize. I said that stuff in the heat of the moment and I didn’t really mean it.

2. Sometimes at big parties, people do stupid things in the heat of the moment.

Theme: Phrases with heat

Phrase: take heat

Meaning: Receive (and endure) criticism or disapproval

Examples:

1. The company CEO will have to take the heat after making the decision to cut 200 jobs.

2. The new coach has taken a lot of heat over his decision not to play the star forward in the tournament.

Theme: Phrases with heat

Phrase: a heat wave

Meaning: a prolongued period of unusually hot weather

Examples:

1. Winnipeg is going through a heat wave right now. Make sure you drink lots of water!

2. Heat waves can sometimes be dangerous for many reasons. One of the reasons is the higher likelihood of wild fires.