Back up
Today’s expression is to back something up—and we’re talking about a claim. If you back up a claim, you support that claim with facts and evidence. Earlier, I told you that I have always suspected that Cyber Monday was a bit of a public-relations invention. According to a retail trade organization, people would find online deals on Black Friday but they wouldn’t buy them until the next Monday when they got back to the office with their stable internet connections.
That trade organization has some data to back up that claim. They have some data to support the idea that people shopped on Monday. They can prove that what they’re saying is true with some data. What data backs up their claim? Online sales were strong on the Monday after Black Friday. Many of the online sales came from work computers. That data backs up the claim that people waited until Monday. I don’t dispute that: I accept the fact that the data backs up their claim.
However, retailers kept insisting that “Cyber Monday” was a thing, long after people had stable internet connections at home. The first few years, okay. After a while, the legend of Cyber Monday was stretching the truth. And recently, it’s just become an invented way to extend the extravaganza of promotions around American Thanksgiving. It is now completely divorced from the original logic of the term, but people insist on using it.
That was a long example of “back up.” I’m reading a mystery novel right now: someone was murdered. In the book, two detectives believed a woman was carrying on an illicit affair with the dead man. They have some evidence to back up their theory: her fingerprints were on coffee cups left in the sink. That evidence supports their theory.
This is a good example because if data, information, or evidence backs up a claim or a theory, it doesn’t mean that the theory is fully proven. There might be another explanation; data might even back up a competing theory. But if you have some evidence, data, or information that supports a claim or a theory, you can use “back up.”
Here’s a great example, and it might be the topic of a future lesson. Have you ever heard that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol is good for your health? There is some data to back that up. Studies show that people who drink no more than one or two drinks a day are healthier overall than people who abstain completely. Studies back up that assertion.
Others say “no way.” Alcohol has no health benefits whatsoever. Do they have any evidence to back that up? In fact, they also have data to back up their claims. How can both be true? It’s a question of correlation and causation. I won’t get into it here. But the sickest people in the world don’t drink at all. That skews the numbers.
So you see: you can have data that back up contradictory claims. If data or evidence back up a claim or a theory, it’s just supportive. It’s not conclusive. It doesn’t mean the case is closed.
If you drive along America’s highways for long enough, you’ll probably see a sign over a restaurant that says, “Best ribs in state!” That’s a restaurant saying—saying—they have the best barbeque ribs in the whole state. That’s a bold claim; we have big states here in the United States, and lots of places serve barbeque ribs. If one place has the best ribs in the whole state, well, they must be good.
But here is the question: Do they have anything to back up that statement? How can we really know they have the best ribs in the state? Some will have a yellowed newspaper clipping from a restaurant review long ago. Others might have a printout of a blog supporting their claim. But if you ever ask a restaurant if they can back up that claim, they might just tell you to order the ribs and see for yourself. The best way to back up a claim is to deliver, right?
Here are a few more quick examples. Donald Trump said the American election was fraudulent, but he doesn’t have any evidence to back up that assertion. If you want to lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit: you need to burn more calories than you take in. Hundreds of studies back that up.
During the pandemic, there were lots of news stories about people fleeing the cities and moving to small towns. There was some data to back that up at the beginning, but the trend has slowed now. People who proclaimed that big cities were dead don’t have a lot of hard data to back up their claims.
JR’s song of the week
Today’s song of the week is “Time of the Season” by The Zombies. This is a classic song in English and the lyrics go nice and slow. It’s a good example of “call-and-response” lyrics. This is a type of lyric where there are usually two voices—one goes first, and the other seems to respond. They don’t have to be two voices, but they often are. Listen and you’ll hear it. “Time of the Season” by The Zombies.
See you next time!
By the way, the book I’m reading—the one I mentioned earlier—is “The Salvation of a Saint” by Keigo Higashino, a Japanese writer. If you like mystery novels and want to read one in English, I think this would be a great one and I bet you’d be able to follow it.
Ah! I just made a claim: I bet you’d be able to follow it. Do I have any evidence to back up that claim? In fact, I do. The reason I think you’d like this one in English is because I’m reading it in Spanish—and if I can read it in Spanish, then you can read it in English. I get the Kindle version, so I can use the built-in dictionary for words I don’t know.
“The Salvation of a Saint” by Keigo Higashino.
And that’s all for today. If you enjoyed today’s lesson, and if you’re ready to take your English to the next level in 2021, then I would encourage you to join us at Plain English Plus+. Members get access to video lessons, translations, flash cards, and practice exercises. It’s a great way to continue the learning after you’ve listened to the lesson in full. So check that out at PlainEnglish.com/Plus.
Use realistic expressions like a native speaker
