In Daily English 200 – Meeting a Deadline,  the phrasal verb “to push back” means to change a scheduled event to a later date. For example:

“Since Dave will be out of town on the 4th, we’ll need to push back the date of the party.”

There are a couple of other popular phrasal verbs with “push.”

“To push ahead”  means to continue even though the situation is difficult:

“We’re all tired but let’s push ahead and try to finish this letter before we quit work for the day.”

“A lot of people don’t want us to say anything negative about the new policy, but we have to push ahead if we want our opinions to be heard.”

“To push (someone) around” means to force someone to do something they don’t want to, by threatening them with harm:

“An older boy at school is trying to push my little brother around.”

“The new boss is trying to push everybody around by making decisions without asking anyone else.”

Finally, “to push off” means to leave.

The meaning of push off is probably related to the practice of people having to push (move by using your arms or legs) a boat out into the water from a dock (a place where you keep boats on a lake or in the ocean).

But be careful with this one! To push off can also mean to tell someone rudely (not nicely) to leave:

“Why don’t you stop looking at my girlfriend and push off, buddy?”

I’m not in a boat right now, or looking at your girlfriend, but I’ll push off for now!

~Jeff

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What Will I Learn in My Free Lesson?

Here is just a small part of what you’re going to learn in this free lesson:

• What “take a rain check” means and how to use it in a conversation . . .
• The difference between a “recluse” and a “busybody” . . .
• Why “to fend OFF” means something from “to fend FOR” . . .
• What it means to “take a rain check,” “keep to yourself,” and “to appoint (someone)” . . .
• What a social secretary is . . .
• The best way to use “to sort out” and “to turn down” . . .
• How to use phrasal verbs like “to settle in” and “to settle down” (they’re not the same!) . . .

We continue talking about expressions related to trip (see our first video here).

In this video, learn how to use:

• Guilt Trip
• Power Trip
• That’s a trip!

For even more meanings of “trip,” take a look at our Daily English 210 – A Family Road Trip, and Daily English 1294 – Chaperoning a Field Trip.

Get these two episodes, along with 1800+ additional lessons, as part of our Unlimited English Membership – learn more here.

~Jeff

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Just fill out the form below and we’ll send a FREE lesson to try!

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What Will I Learn in My Free Lesson?

Here is just a small part of what you’re going to learn in this free lesson:

• What “take a rain check” means and how to use it in a conversation . . .
• The difference between a “recluse” and a “busybody” . . .
• Why “to fend OFF” means something from “to fend FOR” . . .
• What it means to “take a rain check,” “keep to yourself,” and “to appoint (someone)” . . .
• What a social secretary is . . .
• The best way to use “to sort out” and “to turn down” . . .
• How to use phrasal verbs like “to settle in” and “to settle down” (they’re not the same!) . . .

Today I’m going to take you on a trip to help you understand all the different meanings of the word “trip” in English, including:

-to trip

-to trip up

-to trip someone up

-a trip

Check it out!

Want more than 1800+ English lessons? Try our Unlimited English Membership here: https://tv.eslpod.com

~Jeff

P.S. Like this English lesson? Get a FREE sample lesson (no money needed) – SIGN UP BELOW!

Just fill out the form below and we’ll send a FREE lesson to try!

We hate spam, too! We will never sell, rent, or give your information to anyone – ever!

What Will I Learn in My Free Lesson?

Here is just a small part of what you’re going to learn in this free lesson:

• What “take a rain check” means and how to use it in a conversation . . .
• The difference between a “recluse” and a “busybody” . . .
• Why “to fend OFF” means something from “to fend FOR” . . .
• What it means to “take a rain check,” “keep to yourself,” and “to appoint (someone)” . . .
• What a social secretary is . . .
• The best way to use “to sort out” and “to turn down” . . .
• How to use phrasal verbs like “to settle in” and “to settle down” (they’re not the same!) . . .

Learn about how to use the expression, “to cross the line,” and other idioms related to “line” in this short English lesson.

And get more than 1800+ English lessons with our Unlimited English Membership – learn more here: https://tv.eslpod.com

~Jeff

P.S. Like this short English lesson? Get a FREE sample lesson (no money needed) – SIGN UP BELOW!

Just fill out the form below and we’ll send a FREE lesson to try!

We hate spam, too! We will never sell, rent, or give your information to anyone – ever!

What Will I Learn in My Free Lesson?

Here is just a small part of what you’re going to learn in this free lesson:

• What “take a rain check” means and how to use it in a conversation . . .
• The difference between a “recluse” and a “busybody” . . .
• Why “to fend OFF” means something from “to fend FOR” . . .
• What it means to “take a rain check,” “keep to yourself,” and “to appoint (someone)” . . .
• What a social secretary is . . .
• The best way to use “to sort out” and “to turn down” . . .
• How to use phrasal verbs like “to settle in” and “to settle down” (they’re not the same!) . . .

On Tuesday, I explained how American football is played and talked about the useful football-related term “to huddle.”

Here are two more expressions related to football that we use in everyday English.

Take a Punt

In football, when your team is unlikely to move forward the required 10 yards (see my last post for an explanation) and you know you have to give the ball to the other team, you may choose to punt.

A punt is when you drop the ball from your hands and kick it before it reaches the ground.

A punt is a good idea in this situation because it moves the ball as far from your team’s goal as possible, making it harder for the other team to score.

However, in everyday use, “to take a punt” means to take a chance, to try something even if you may not succeed.

If you are a great chef (professionally-trained cook), you may decide to take a punt at opening your own restaurant.

Another common expression you’ll hear is “It’s worth a punt,” meaning is worth a try, it has a chance to be successful.

Hail Mary Pass

In religion, Catholics often say a prayer (a request for help or way to give thanks) to Mary, Jesus’s mother. This is called the “Hail Mary” prayer.

In football, when a team is not advancing the ball as they need to, it may choose to throw a “Hail Mary pass.”

A Hail Mary pass is when a player throws the ball a long distance and hopes (prays?) that another player on his own team will catch it.

Hail Mary passes are acts of desperation (done with little hope of success). They usually don’t work. A team throws a Hail Mary pass when it’s close to the end of the game and scoring could mean the difference between winning or losing.

In everyday English, we use this phrase when we have very few or no other options and are trying a “long shot,” an action that has only a small chance of being successful.

However, if it succeeds, the reward or result is great!

If you want to be a movie star, but have not been able to get any acting jobs, you might thrown a Hail Mary pass by contacting your very distant (not closely related by blood) relative Steven Spielberg to ask for a part (acting job) in his new movie.

Your chances are not good, but if you succeed, you may be the next Tom Hanks.

~Jeff

P.S. For more information expressions related to sports and football, see our Daily English 145 – The Big Game.

P.P.S. Like this short English lesson? Get a FREE sample lesson (no money needed) – SIGN UP BELOW!

Just fill out the form below and we’ll send a FREE lesson to try!

We hate spam, too! We will never sell, rent, or give your information to anyone – ever!

What Will I Learn in My Free Lesson?

Here is just a small part of what you’re going to learn in this free lesson:

• What “take a rain check” means and how to use it in a conversation . . .
• The difference between a “recluse” and a “busybody” . . .
• Why “to fend OFF” means something from “to fend FOR” . . .
• What it means to “take a rain check,” “keep to yourself,” and “to appoint (someone)” . . .
• What a social secretary is . . .
• The best way to use “to sort out” and “to turn down” . . .
• How to use phrasal verbs like “to settle in” and “to settle down” (they’re not the same!) . . .