Come to fruition
Today’s English expression is “come to fruition.” When an idea comes to fruition, it becomes real. Do you remember how you heard it in today’s lesson? Walt Disney opened Disneyland in California in 1955 . Right around the park, in Anaheim, California, a number of other businesses took advantage of Disney’s popularity. Other people were selling hotel rooms, restaurant meals, and other activities to the people who came to visit Walt Disney’s park. So when Disney wanted to build a new park on the east coast, they made sure to buy up all the land around the park, so they could be the ones to own the hotels, restaurants, and the rest of the visitor experience.
Unfortunately, Walt Disney died before his idea came to fruition. He died before his idea was fully implemented, before it was real. He died in 1966, when the plan was just starting. His brother took over management of the project. Disney World in Orlando finally came to fruition thirty years ago tomorrow.
I’m recording this at home, but I wrote this lesson on my balcony in Budapest. On the day I wrote this lesson, I visited the Hungarian Parliament building, a majestic neo-Gothic building on the banks of the Danube River. It is as beautiful inside as it is outside. The architect of the building Imre Steindl died just three weeks before the inauguration. I would say he got to see his project come to fruition—it was pretty much done when he died. But it’s such tragedy he didn’t get to see the inauguration.
Those of you in Spain can probably name a famous architect who never saw his idea come to fruition. Antony Gaudi died in 1926, well before he could see his idea for the Sagrada Familia come to fruition.
Sometimes it can be hard to picture a big project at the beginning, but it’s so satisfying when you see it come to fruition. That’s how I felt when we launched the new design of PlainEnglish.com. I’ve been working with my vendors on the new design for several months. When I started, I had a clear idea in my head of what I wanted. But an idea in your head is not the same as an idea that has been fully implemented. In mid-August, I finally got to see the new site come to fruition. I had seen drafts and mock-ups before, but they were just for demonstration purposes. The new site really came to fruition when I got to see the working versions a few weeks before the launch.
You can use this to describe personal plans. I had to delay this vacation to Budapest several times, but I was so relieved when it finally came to fruition. I almost didn’t allow myself to relax until I was on the plane: that’s how afraid I was that COVID would cut this trip short. But the trip did indeed come to fruition and it was amazing!
Your plans to become a doctor might come to fruition, so might your plans to renovate a kitchen, buy a new car, get a new job, learn to code, or any number of other personal goals.
JR’s song of the week
Today’s song of the week is “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. If you say you like someone “just the way you are,” it means you don’t expect or hope the other person to change. It means, you don’t have to change for me, you don’t have to pretend to be anyone else. “You’re amazing just the way you are” is the line from the song by Bruno Mars.
And thanks to JR for picking the song of the week as always.
See you next time!
And that’s all for this Plain English, lesson number 403 on Thursday, September 30, 2021. I know some of you are making plans—or trying to make plans—to visit Disney World during the fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Remember, they last eighteen months—that is a Disney-sized anniversary celebration! So feel free to share your Disney plans—or memories—in the Facebook group just for Plain English listeners. You can access that by visiting PlainEnglish.com/Facebook .
That’s all for today: Have a magical weekend!
Use realistic expressions like a native speaker
