Loom over

If something “looms over” a person or thing, there is a possibility that something bad will happen.

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Loom over

Today’s expression is all about doubt—or, more accurately, the possibility that something bad will happen. And when something bad might happen, you feel uncomfortable, nervous, anxious. The expression we’ll use to describe this situation is “loom over.” There are certain things that can “loom over” a person or a thing. Questions, doubts, possibilities, and allegations can all loom over a person or a thing.

When a question looms over a person, for example, the question makes the person uncomfortable because it represents the possibility of something bad happening in the future.

Just a few minutes ago, you heard that there’s a question looming over the South Korean band BTS . That question is this: How will the band members do their mandatory military service? All South Korean men—even if they play in a boy band—have to serve for two years in the army. They have to enter when they’re 30 years old or younger. The oldest band member is 30 years old this year.

The question is looming over the band. Remember that we use “loom over” when there’s a possibility of something bad happening in the future. The question of military service is looming over the band. There’s a real possibility that the most popular band in the world can’t stay together in the long run if they all have to take two years out to serve in the military.

How will they do it? Will they get an exemption from the government? Will they take it all together? Will they stagger their service? How will this work? Will they replace band members serving in the military? These are the questions looming over the band. These questions represent the possibility that something bad will happen.

Allegations can loom over a person, maybe someone running for political office or trying for a prominent position in business. Here in Illinois, we have something called “red light cameras.” The cameras take a picture of you if you drive through a red light. You get a ticket in the mail with photographic evidence that you broke the law.

The problem is that private companies administer the cameras and the private companies get a percentage of every fine. And some of these companies did some illegal things to get their contracts. They bribed the decision makers in small towns around the region. So allegations of bribery loomed over these red light camera contracts for a long time.

The companies had a bad reputation, so the contracts they had in place were always at risk of being canceled or changed. Allegations of bribery loomed over these companies and their contracts for a long time. The allegations meant that there was always the possibility of something bad happening to the contract or to the company, so we say the allegations loomed over the red-light camera companies and their contracts.

Here’s a headline: Wildfire threats loom over the birthplace of the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb was first developed in a place called Los Alamos National Laboratory, in the southwestern state of New Mexico. But the area is increasingly threatened by fires. And a recent report suggested that the laboratory might not survive if the fires got too close. So the threat of a wildfire in the area looms over the laboratory. It’s not for sure that something bad will happen; hopefully the laboratory will remain intact. But there is a real possibility of something bad happening. So we say that the threat of wildfires looms over the laboratory.

There are a lot of questions looming over the transition to renewable energy. The technology exists to produce energy from the sun, from wind, and from water. But the technology does not yet exist to store that energy so that it can be used around the clock, whenever it’s needed. The world wants to move toward cleaner energy, but there are real questions looming over the transition. The biggest question looming over the transition to clean energy is how to provide energy when it’s needed, rather than just when it can be captured from a shining sun.

Quote of the Week

Here’s a good quote for this week: “What’s the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it.” An obstacle is like something that’s in your way, something stopping you from getting what you want. So the quote says that an obstacle can be an opportunity, if you have the right attitude. Here’s the quote again: “What’s the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it.” The person behind that quote is an Australian pastor, J. Sidlow Baxter.

See you next time!

And that brings us to the end of Plain English for today, Monday, July 11, 2022. Remember that today’s lesson was number 484, and you can find the full lesson at PlainEnglish.com/484.

The full lesson includes lots of great resources to help you build your confidence and upgrade your English. If you’ve got some extra time this summer, or even some travel planned, you might want to work on your listening, expand your vocabulary, and learn to express more complex ideas. If that sounds like you, check out Plain English Plus+ by visiting PlainEnglish.com/Plus.

That’s all for now. Check back on Thursday for the next lesson. See you then.

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Story: BTS takes a break