Keep your options open

To “keep your options open” means you have not yet made a final decision.

Today's story: Carnival canceled
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Keep your options open

Today’s expression is to keep your options open. When you keep your options open, you have not yet made a final decision. You have a choice to make and you have not yet declared your official, final choice. In this way, you still have options. You have not restricted your own choice.

Think back to how you heard it earlier. The samba schools—the samba organizations—usually compete in the Sambadrome in front of an official panel of parade judges. That event has been canceled—officially, postponed, but probably canceled. What might the samba schools do? They might decide not to perform at all. That’s certainly one option. They might decide to perform out on the street, if the city allows it—or even if the city does not officially allow it. They might go to a less populated area, perform there, and invite the media to film it. They might try to rent out a big location and invite spectators to watch in a socially-distanced fashion. These are all options—some are more likely than others, but they are all options. And the samba schools are not saying right now what they are going to do. They are keeping their options open: they are not committing themselves to choosing just one options now.

It’s October 2020; Carnival would be in February 2021. There are still three to four months before the traditional Carnival time. The samba schools don’t know what is going to happen between now and then, and they will probably get together to try to plan something. In the meantime, they don’t want to officially eliminate any of the options, so they are keeping their options open.

We talked about the difficulty that live music venues are having in these tough times. I read about the owner of a live music club that recently offered his building for sale. But that doesn’t mean he’s closing forever. He told a newspaper that he’s keeping his options open. Maybe he’ll sell the building, but he’s not 100 percent sure. Maybe he’ll sell the building, but look to rent it back from the new owner. That could buy him some time. Or maybe he’ll close and look for a cheaper place in a few years. Or, guess what, maybe he won’t sell the building at all. All he did was offer it for sale. He’s keeping his options open: he has several options and he’s not committing to one just yet.

I’ve been talking to some friends around Chicago and many people are starting to think about doing some kind of travel in the spring or summer next year. But they don’t know exactly what they’ll want to do. Will a beach vacation be okay? How about traveling to big cities? We don’t really know yet what things will be like. My friends are keeping their options open: they’re starting to look at destinations, but not making any solid plans. Airlines and hotels are helping consumers keep their options open. You can now book a flight and change it without a penalty. That lets you make a reservation, but also keep your options open at the same time.

The winter holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, are big travel days in America. But I suspect a lot of people are keeping their options open for holiday travel. They may stay home, have smaller gatherings, or carry on as usual. I think a lot of people are keeping their options open.

Sometimes when you say, “I’m keeping my options open,” you want to make someone else nervous. You don’t want to reveal what your options are. You might even want the other person, or the other side, to fear the worst. It’s a negotiating tactic.

In our update episode last week, we talked about the poisoning of the Russian activist Alexei Navalny. I mentioned that Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, was running out of patience with Russia’s geopolitical bad behavior. This poisoning, if in fact it is true, would violate an international treaty on chemical weapons. As of the time I’m recording this lesson, Germany has not decided what type of sanctions or punishment it might impose on Russia in retaliation. They have not even said what sanctions or punishment they are considering; they are saying that they are keeping their options open. By saying that they are keeping their options open, they are not revealing their options, but they are saying that they have not eliminated any options. They are keeping their options open.

Quote of the Week

Time for a quote of the week. I read a lot about Brazil’s Carnival and saw a lot of great quotes from samba performers and other people involved in Carnival, so I wanted to pick one of those. So here we go, “Carnival is a cleansing of the soul.” That quote is from Nicilda da Silva, 80 years old, the queen of last year’s Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. “Carnival is a cleansing of the soul.” Great quote.

See you next time!

And that brings us to the end of Plain English for another day. Hey, if you are in Brazil, make sure to log onto our Facebook group and tell us what you think about Carnival. I’m especially curious about what you think will happen in the streets. The official parade is canceled, but what’s going to happen? I’d love to know what you think should happen and what you think will happen, whether or not those two are the same thing. To join the Facebook group, just visit PlainEnglish.com/Facebook, answer a few questions, and you’re in. Easy as that. PlainEnglish.com/Facebook.

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Story: Carnival canceled