E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: To make it or not.

To make it or not make it, is an American idiomatic expression used a lot and which has two different meanings. "To make it or not", does not necessarily have to do with cooking or creating, but everything to do with dying or reaching a goal. Ex: "I like cooking carrot cake, so I made it this afternoon for the kids." In this context, the expression is not used, because I actually made a cake. You can take the sentence literally. The expression, however, cannot be taken literally. Someone, an animal or a plant that doesn't make it means that they or it died.

You will hear the expression a lot in movies, TV Series, and even on the news. Let's deal with the first meaning: "die, dying or died". It can be used with all subjects: nouns, personal pronouns, or proper names, depending on who or what you are referring to.

Examples: 

"John was injured badly in the war. He underwent several surgeries, but after a few weeks, he didn't make it."

The roadside was full of bushes right up to the curb. We couldn't see the deer that jumped onto the highway in front of us. Despite our efforts to miss it, we hit its hind quarters. The forest ranger who came to help, told us that the deer was not going to make it. Its leg was broken, so he had to shoot it.

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Another use of this expression is when one does or does not reach his or her goal; when we plan something that does or does not happen the way we want it to.

Examples:

"We didn't have enough time to reach the city for the Spring Festival. It was already 30 minutes into the night and foggy, so we didn't make it in time to participate in the opening ceremony."

"Our 10-party expedition made it to the summit, conquering the highest mountain in the world at 8,848 meters! But unfortunately, four of us didn't, because our fingers got a case of frost bite at 7,500 meters, so we had to return to base camp for emergency medical treatment."

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So, this is how you can use the expression with the nouns, personal pronouns and proper names:

• My Mom didn't make it to the store, today. (didn't reach her destination or goal)
• She didn't make it through the surgery. (person died)
• The boy made it through the obstacle course in record time. (reached the goal)
• The car didn't make it passed the sharp curve and ran off the road. (didn't get passed the curve safely, which was the goal)
• Barbara made it to the bank just before it closed. (reached the goal)
• The mouse didn't make it after getting caught in the mousetrap. (it died)
• Robert didn't make it on the team. (didn't reach the goal) 

OR: Robert didn't make the team. Here, the expression is not used, in the context of "making a team", meaning not getting selected as a player on a team. The verb "make" is used by itself and is considered an expression used in the context of being selected or not for a team position. (This could be another post all by itself.).

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

E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Spot on!

SPOT ON! is an American idiomatic expression, used to comment or point out that someone is right about something they did or said; exact, absolutely correct.

Take a look at the conversations below:

Conversation 1

Mr. Wellington: Hey, Johnny! How's it going these days? A lot of work?

Johnny: Yes, sir! Mr. Wellington, we do have much to do yet, but we plan to divide up our time spent on each phase of the project. We don't want to spend our nights here in the office. Our families won't appreciate that. So, we came up with a great plan. We're sharing the workload by taking two 4-hour shifts on each phase per day. This way, between the four of us, we'll have the results in a week.

Mr. Wellington: Sounds like a plan! Johnny, you're spot on! Keep up the good work! I always knew you were a potential administrator and think outside the box. After the results of the project are evaluated, let's talk about your promotion.

Johnny: Wow, Mr. Wellington! I...uh, don't know what to say...thank you, sir!

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Conversation 2

Jenny: Good evening, ladies! How's everyone this afternoon? I just wanted to say, how impressed I was with the knitted sweaters you all made! Your ideas were spot on! You chose great colors, as well as interesting designs!

The ladies responded in agreement: Well, Jenny, we have a very good teacher with spot on ideas! 

Jenny: Oh,...thank you for saying so!  I try to pass on to all my students the skills my mother taught me. Knitting is a great hobby to have, especially during this quarantine. 

Conversation 3

Coach: Hey, guys! We have just 1 minute left in the game. We need a 3 pointer...I want you to pass the ball to Joe, once he gets in position, ok? Does everyone understand the play?

The Team answers: Yeah, Coach! We got this!

 - The team takes the ball. Joe gets into position just above the key. With only 3 seconds remaining, he shoots...the buzzer goes off...the ball swishes through the basket! It's a game!

- After celebrating their victory on the court, hugging each other, the family, the friends, the fans, and shaking hands with the defeated opponents, the team and coach go to the locker room.

Coach: Team, you were SPOT ON! Wow! It was close! They didn't know what hit them on that last play! They didn't expect Joe to shoot from so far out. Good game! And Joe! Keep practicing that shot! Now, we're on to the state finals!

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