On the way

On the way

Today’s expression is “on the way.” It’s such a common phrase, but I realized that this is one of those phrases that’s essential in English, but is probably not translated directly into any other language. So, if you try to translate this directly from your language, you probably won’t get it right.

We’ll cover two ways to use “on the way.” The first is to say that something happens during your journey from one place to another. I usually read on the way to my office. That means I typically read during the journey from home to the office. Richard Branson had quite a day at the office, didn’t he? He went to space . And on the way to space, the plane traveled at three times the speed of sound. That was what was happening during his journey from Earth to space. They were also live-streaming the adventure on the way to space. You can watch the replay on YouTube.

You can talk about an event that happened during the journey. On the way to the restaurant, I realized I forgot my wallet, so I had to turn around and go back home. I’ve mentioned before that I drove a moving truck from New York to Chicago. The moving truck broke down on the way. The moving truck had mechanical problems on the way, during the journey.

A second way to use “on the way” is to tell others that you are currently going from one place to another. If you have dinner reservations for 8:00 pm and your friends are there, at the restaurant, wondering where you are, you can answer, “I’m on the way.” That means you’re currently traveling from home to the restaurant. Where are you? The best answer to that question is, “I’m on the way.” That means, I’m moving! I’ll be there soon.

There’s one more way to use “on the way,” and that is to describe something that’s permanently located on a route.

I used to live on the way from downtown Chicago to O’Hare, our biggest airport. I used to live on the way. People commonly travel from downtown to the airport. There’s a big highway—Interstate 90/94—that connects the two. And I lived right off the highway, right at the exit for Addison Street. My apartment was located between those two common destinations, so we say I lived on the way from downtown to the airport.

I drove to Yellowstone National Park last summer . That was my primary destination. But I also went to Mt. Rushmore, the mountain with the faces of American presidents carved into the side. It’s a popular tourist attraction and I’m glad I went. But let’s be honest. I only went because it was on the way to Yellowstone. It was on the way to Yellowstone: Meaning, I had a route from Chicago to Yellowstone. And Mt. Rushmore was on the way, it was along the same route. I could pull off easily and make that stop.

A few weeks ago, I went to Wisconsin for the day. I went for a long hike in the woods and then to a baseball game in Milwaukee. Wisconsin is famous for making cheese. On the way to Milwaukee, there’s a big store called “Mars Cheese Castle.” They sell cheese curds, which is like the cheese before it’s been processed. You have to eat it fresh, but it’s really good. If you ever go to Wisconsin on I-94, you can stop at Mars Cheese Castle. It’s on the way to Milwaukee, just between Chicago and Milwaukee.

Quote of the Week

And now it’s time for the quote of the week. This is purely for fun. It’s from Al Capone, a famous gangster. He said, “You’ll get more with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.”

Don’t read anything into this one! I just thought it was funny. There are so many quotes about how words are more powerful than violence. But Al Capone, one of America’s most famous gangsters, was at least honest when he said, “You’ll get more with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.” How philosophical.

See you next time!

Coming up on Thursday… he had a gun, but no kind words. I’m talking about Belgium’s Jürgen Conings. He was a highly trained sniper in the Belgian army. Then he stole a bunch of weapons and threatened to kill his country’s leading virologist. It led to a nationwide manhunt. If you live in the region, you probably know what happened next. Don’t spoil it for everyone else. The full story will be revealed on Thursday.

That’s all for today, though, Monday, August 2, 2021. Remember today’s lesson was number 386, which means you can find the full lesson resources online at PlainEnglish.com/386. See you Thursday.