Hold out hope
Today’s expression is to “hold out hope.” We use this expression when you think something probably won’t happen, but you hope it does anyway. When the thing you want is unlikely, but you still allow yourself to hope for it: That’s when we use “hold out hope.”
Memorial Day in the United States is a holiday weekend at the end of May. It’s considered the traditional start to summertime. We Chicagoans, however, don’t always get a “summer” weekend at the end of May. It’s often kind of chilly still—not summertime weather for going to the lake or grilling outside.
This lesson comes out on June 10, but I’m recording it in late May. As of now, I’m holding out hope that we’ll have summer weather on Memorial Day—May 31 this year. I’m holding out hope because I really want there to be summer weather; however, I know from 14 years of living in Chicago that it usually doesn’t feel like summer that early. But I’m holding out hope: it is possible.
In Chile, the president, his right-wing political allies, and the business establishment knew that public opinion was against them last fall. The rules of the constitutional assembly would allow a third of the representatives to block any proposal. So although Chile’s right-wing knew they were not going to win a majority on the constitutional assembly , they held out hope that they could at least reach a third—and so be able to block the more radical left-wing proposals.
They held out hope: they thought it was possible, even if it wasn’t guaranteed. After the vote, though, they were disappointed: they earned less than a quarter. Now they are holding out hope that they can form alliances in the assembly to reach that one-third threshold.
You can make this term negative, too. “I’m not holding out much hope,” is a common way to use this expression. Many suburban towns in the US and Canada are in a housing boom: More and more people want to live in detached homes; that drives the prices up. It can get very competitive. Many people offer to buy homes above the asking price, only to find themselves outbid by someone else who offered more. A lot of people are discouraged. They submit an offer on a house, but they don’t hold out much hope that their offer will be accepted. They don’t hold out much hope: They think there is a very small chance their offer will be accepted, but they don’t rule it out entirely.
JR’s song of the week
Today’s song of the week is “Dissolve,” the acoustic version, by Absofacto. It’s kind of an indie song, contemplative, the kind of song, one journalist said, that is perfect for a summer night drive with the windows down. It became a hit on TikTok; even Jonathan Visger (i.e. Absofacto) didn’t know it was popular there.
But the song was also associated with certain videos that triggered uncomfortable memories in survivors of sexual abuse—they then started complaining and associated “Dissolve” with that discomfort. Visger took personal control of the situation; he convinced a lot of video creators to remove their upsetting videos and he created videos of his own that used the song in a more constructive way.
So thanks to JR for that song of the week: “Dissolve” by Absofacto, and JR wants me to emphasize, it is the acoustic version he has selected.
See you next time!
And that’s all today. You’ve reached the end of another great Plain English lesson. Remember the full and complete lesson, including a full transcript, can be found at PlainEnglish.com/371. And we will be right back here on Monday with another lesson. See you then!
Use realistic expressions like a native speaker
