E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: That's all she wrote

That's all she wrote is an American idiomatic expression that dates back to the Dear John Letters of World War II (WWII). As the story goes, there was a sad serviceman said to have received a letter that only had two words: Dear John. This became a joke among the soldiers. Some would receive a full-page letter, or just a few lines, or in the case of the sad serviceman who received just a two-word letter.

The expression that's all she wrote came to mean something that has ended or finished or something that has ended and there is nothing more to say about it.

Examples:

"We were just two days from completing a 5-week project, when our supplier informed us that the additional materials we needed were no longer in stock. Our deadline was almost up and we had no more time to look for another supplier, so...that was all she wrote!"

"Our house burnt down last week. We immediately called the fire department, but they took too long to get there and that was all she wrote!"

"John Smith, our champion Formula 1 sensation is neck-to-neck with Ted Campbell...Oh, oh no! His tire blew up just 200 meters from the finish line! He's out and that's all she wrote! What a stroke of bad luck! Ted Campbell, the new champion, has won, folks!"

"Out of 100 candidates, my son got the job! That's all she wrote!"

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Congratulations! You're that much closer to speaking excellent American English!

E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Stopped up & backed up

Stopped up & backed up are phrasal verbs! Remember those things?! They have been put into our English vocabulary to confuse those of you whose English is not your mother tongue! 

  

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Stopped up and backed up are related to each other. Stopped up and backed up means something is unable to flow freely, generally inside a pipe. Or something is blocking the flow, so we say the pipe is stopped up! When this happens, it's not fun, because the next thing one has to do is unplug whatever is blocking the flow. 

Note: We can also say that the traffic is backed up, which often happens at rush hour, meaning that many cars are on the street or freeway, causing cars to move slowly or stop.

For example, a kitchen sink drain can get stopped up or backed up, meaning that whatever is down the drain is going to come up and into the sink. You would probably have to turn off the water faucet to keep the water in the sink from overflowing unto the floor! You can be certain that the water, when backed up in a drain will not be clean! So, keep your drains and toilets free (using a plunger) from stopping up or backing up!

Congratulations! You're that much closer to speaking excellent American English!