"To make a splash" is to attract a lot of attention for something good. When you "take refuge," you seek protection.
Transcript
Make a splash
Let’s start with make a splash. I said that the Las Vegas Golden Knights made a splash in their first game, winning two goals to one. This means they attracted a lot of attention for something good. When you’re doing something important that you want other people to notice, you want to make a splash. The team made a splash by winning its first game, but the NHL made a splash by choosing Las Vegas for its newest team. The league attracted attention by being the first major sports league to go to Las Vegas; it was an important decision, and it really made a splash. The star player, James Neal, made a splash in the first game because he scored both of the team’s goals. The general managers of sports teams might make a splash by making a big trade—for example, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a splash this offseason by acquiring Dwayne Wade and reuniting him with LeBron James.
All the contestants on American Idol and other singing and performance shows want to make a splash in their first performances: they want to impress the judges and stand out from the other contestants. I would say make a splash is most-often used in sports and entertainment—in the entertainment industry, after all, the whole point is to attract attention. But it can also be used in business or even in your personal life. If you listened last time, you heard about the new iPhone X; you could say Apple made a splash with its facial recognition software. That’s a good example because so much about the iPhone X was known ahead of time, but the facial recognition was the big surprise of the day; that’s the part about the new iPhone announcement that really made a splash, not the other features that we all knew were coming.
Take refuge
Let’s talk about one more phrase you heard earlier: Take refuge. Here’s the original context: As a kid, Tom Petty took refuge in his music. This is a really good expression to know, but it’s a little complicated. Imagine you’re in a bad situation and you’re looking for safety or comfort. Tom Petty often said he had a difficult childhood, but he turned to music for comfort and a way to escape his difficult life at home and in school. He took refuge in his music—by becoming a musician, he was able to escape the other more difficult parts of his life. Modern life can be complicated, difficult and painful, so many people say they take refuge in their religion; others take refuge in meditation or yoga. In this way, take refuge is an emotional thing. But it can also be taken literally. If you’re outside walking around in very hot weather, you might want to take refuge from the heat by going into an air-conditioned shop or restaurant. If it’s raining hard, you might take refuge from the storm by stopping under a bridge. Here’s one last tip on take refuge. You take refuge in something good, but from something bad. You take refuge in music, in religion, in meditation; but you take refuge from the heat, or from the storm.
That’ll do it for this week’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it. Don’t forget to search for some Tom Petty songs on Spotify or YouTube this week. And if you’d like to connect with the show, connect with us on Twitter or Facebook; the show’s name on both is PlainEnglishPod. If you haven’t yet been on the web site, you can check out the interactive transcripts with translations of key phrases into Spanish. The web site is PlainEnglish.com. We’ll be back in two weeks with another episode of Plain English; thanks for listening.
¿Hablas español?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into Spanish. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .
How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
你说中国话？
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Parlez-vous français?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Você fala português?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
日本語は話せますか？
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Parli italiano?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Sen Türkçe konuşmayı biliyor musun?
The transcripts of Plain English lessons are available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation. Turkish translations are available starting at Lesson 278.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Mówisz po polsku?
The transcript of Plain English lessons are available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation. Polish translations are available starting at Lesson 278.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Audio
The fast version of this expression is available for subscribers of Plain English Plus+.