Gather steam

Gather steam

Today’s expression is to gather steam. It’s an idiom meaning that something gains momentum , or increases its speed or progress. Earlier I said that the hashtag #DeleteFacebook is gathering steam. That means it’s getting more and more popular; it’s progressing at an increasing speed . At first, I think it started as a little bit of a joke , but then celebrities started pledging to #DeleteFacebook. Then newspaper articles came out talking about how people were trying to delete Facebook. And then more articles talking about how hard it is to delete Facebook. As more and more people are talking about deleting Facebook, the movement is gathering steam. It’s getting more popular.

Technology these days makes it easy for movements and topics to gather steam. Do you remember the #MeToo movement? This was an initiative on social media where women—and men, but mostly women—would post personal stories highlighting the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace. The movement gathered steam, especially as sexual harassment scandals started spreading through Hollywood and business.

What else has gathered steam lately? Podcasting actually is gathering steam; it’s becoming more and more popular in the US and around the world. In fact, including podcasts on Spotify has helped the podcasting community gather steam in countries other than the United States. eSports—our topic from a few weeks ago—are gathering steam in the US, after having been popular in Asia for years.

Remember, gather steam means to gain momentum, to become more and more popular over time .

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening to Plain English. If you like the program, then remember to click “follow” on Spotify or “subscribe” on Apple Podcasts or your podcast app. That way, you’ll get the program automatically every Monday and Thursday. Next time on Plain English, we’ll talk about the political drama in Peru. Don’t miss it.