Blow over

Blow over

“Blow over” is a phrasal verb we use when there’s some kind of conflict, controversy, argument, or tension. And we say something will blow over if we think it will end soon, if it will resolve itself, in a little bit of time.

Think about a storm, a heavy thunderstorm right over your house. Eventually it stops raining, right? How does that happen? Do you go outside and fight the storm? Is there anything you can do to make it stop? No. You just go inside and wait for it to end. The storm moves on and rains on someone else’s house.

The wind carries the storm clouds away. And in that case—in that literal case—we say a storm blows over. The wind carries the storm clouds away and the sun comes out again. The storm blows over. After a short time, the unpleasantness ends. It happens all by itself.

That’s what I want you to think about when we talk about “blow over” in the context of a controversy or argument. It just ends, all by itself, in a little bit of time.

Executives at AB InBev are hoping this happens to the controversy over Bud Light. Consumers of all stripes are mad at the brand over a sponsored video from a trans influencer. First, people who are uncomfortable with trans visibility and gender diversity were upset that their beer brand was featured on a trans influencer’s Instagram video. Then, the brand sort-of apologized. And now people who support trans rights feel abandoned. Now they’re mad at Bud Light, too. Everyone, it seems, has a reason to hate Bud Light.

This is still America’s number-one selling beer. Will the controversy blow over? That’s the question on everyone’s mind. Will this controversy just end? Will people get all upset about Bud Light today, but then forget about their anger tomorrow, or a few weeks from now? Will people move on to the next cultural outrage in a few weeks’ time? Will they go back to their old drinking habits? In other words, will this controversy blow over?

There’s certainly reason to think that it will blow over. It’s easy, in the age of social media, to get all worked up about a brand and what it may or may not have done. But people are creatures of habit. They don’t change their long-term behavior easily. These things tend to blow over; these controversies end after a few weeks or months and everyone forgets them.

Do you remember airport security dragged a passenger off a United Airlines plane? That was in 2017. This was a fail on so many levels. They let a passenger board the plane, but they needed his seat so that crew could get to a different airport. And the passenger was a doctor; he needed to see patients the next day and he refused to give up his seat when the airline asked him to get off the plane. Security intervened; his face hit an armrest. He appeared to be knocked unconscious. And then—this was the shocking part—they just dragged him unconscious down the aisle and off the plane.

This was bad. I mean, this was just really bad. They knocked a customer unconscious and then dragged him off a plane! And it was their own mistake the caused this situation; they let him on the plane when they couldn’t let him fly.

Well. Three days after the videos circulated online, a poll showed that 79 percent of prospective fliers said they would not choose United Airlines. Almost half said they would fly another airline, even if it meant paying more and spending more time in the air. There were Congressional hearings. There were lawsuits. Comedians made jokes about it on television.

You know what happened? It blew over. United Airlines is just fine. From what I can tell, they even gained market share since the incident. All right: it was bad. They suffered. The CEO took a different job. They paid a settlement. They apologized left and right. Their reputation took a hit. But the controversy blew over. It just ended. It was bad for a while, and then it ended.

A fight or argument between two people can blow over. Time cures all—well, maybe not all, but time cures a lot of things. If two family members are in a fight, you might just wait a few weeks to see if their argument blows over. It might just end with the passage of time.

Tensions is a funny word. It means, when two people, countries, or organizations have a strained relationship. It’s like, less than a fight, less than a controversy, just a little general discomfort. And you sometimes describe “tensions” between two countries.

There are “tensions” between the U.S. and Mexico over the border right now. The U.S. is concerned about the amount of fentanyl crossing the border; Mexico is concerned about the U.S. overstepping its authority in drug enforcement. So that leads to tensions; that leads to discomfort and annoyance on both sides. Will the tensions blow over? Possibly. It’s possible both sides will enjoy being upset with one another for a while, but they’ll find a way to work together in the future.

JR’s song of the week

Today’s song of the week is “Seasons” by Bebe Rexha, featuring Dolly Parton. This is a new song, but it has a folk-country vibe. Bebe Rexha said she grew up listening to Dolly Parton. And they collaborated on this song; they sing it together in duet form. The video is good too, black and white, and it cuts from Bebe Rexha to Dolly Parton and back again—it’s a good video and a good song.

Dolly Parton, by the way, is 77 years old. She looks and sounds good in the video, too. So check that out, “Seasons” by Bebe Rexha, featuring Dolly Parton.

See you next time!

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See you back here with a new lesson on Monday.