Back up
Today’s expression is “back up.” We talked about “back up” in Lesson 319, but in a different context—so keep listening.
In this case, we were talking about the ships that were backed up at the northern and southern entrances of the Suez Canal . These ships were accumulating there, waiting, because of a delay in the canal. And that’s how we use “back up” in this sense: when something should be flowing, but it’s not flowing because of a disruption. As a result, something accumulates.
The most common way of using “back up” is to talk about traffic. Traffic is all backed up. What can cause traffic to back up? Well, an accident on the highway can do that. An accident on the side of a highway can cause traffic to go slowly. When traffic near the accident slows down, then cars all the way back slow down. And before you know it, traffic is backed up for miles. That means traffic is slowed down and accumulating for miles.
If you listen to the radio around morning or afternoon drive time, you’ll hear the traffic reporters telling you when and where the traffic is backed up. If you listen in Chicago, they might say traffic is backed up on Lakeshore Drive from North Avenue down to Oak Street curve. If you listen in New York, they might say traffic is backed up for a few miles heading into the Lincoln Tunnel. If you listen in LA, chances are, they’ll say traffic is backed up everywhere! When we say traffic is backed up, it means traffic is slowing down and cars are accumulating when you want them to be flowing.
Your drain can be backed up. That’s not a good thing. When I lived in New York, I took quick showers: never more than 15 minutes. It’s not because I was in a hurry, either. It’s because my shower drain was always backed up. When the water in the tub would accumulate up to about my ankles, that’s when I knew it was time to get out. I was renting, so all I could do was complain. But if a drain in your own house is backed up, you can hire a plumber to come fix it. Any drain in your house can be backed up. Your sink can be backed up, you toilet can be backed up. That’s no good.
So those are the two most common ways to use “back up” like this: traffic and plumbing. And the way you heard it today was like traffic, but on the high seas. The container ships were backed up at the entrances to the Suez Canal.
A couple other ways you can use it. A factory can get backed up. Why? For one thing, a machine might break. If you have a factory and one of the lines goes down, the process can get backed up. You might have raw materials coming in every day, but if one of your production lines goes down, that will all get backed up. The inputs will start accumulating because you can’t use them in production. A factory can get backed up if the workers go on strike, if there’s bad weather, or if there’s a shortage in just one of the necessary parts. All those are reasons a factory can get backed up—there’s an interruption in the flow.
I grew up with dogs: golden retrievers. I don’t have a dog now, but one thing I remember about having a dog is that these goldens would eat just about anything, sometimes including rocks. If a dog eats rocks, it can cause an interruption in the flow, if you know what I mean. The dog’s digestive system can get backed up.
Quote of the Week
Quote of the week time. I saw this one in a magazine article and I really liked it. I forget what the article was about, but the quote is from Mahatma Gandhi—always a good source of wise quotes. He said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.” Yes, indeed. You know, when you work together in a team, friendship, or relationship, they tell you that you have to embrace healthy conflict. That means, you need to learn how to have a conflict and manage your way through it, so your team, friendship, or relationship survives and is indeed stronger. So keep this in mind, “Peace”—I think he was talking about society, not interpersonal peace, but it applies either way—”Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it,” says Mahatma Gandhi.
See you next time!
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See you on Thursday!
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