Pile on

Pile on

This is a really good expression—to pile on. This is a very visual one. So let’s start with the word “pile.”

A pile is like, objects that are placed on top of each other . When JR does laundry , he takes his clothes out of the dryer and dumps them on his bed . He has a pile of clothes on his bed. He then leaves them there until the last minute because he hates folding his clothes. I have a pile of books on my desk. I have a pile of dirty dishes in the sink . So think about a pile, like a lot of objects on top of one another.

In a literal sense , “pile on” means to add more to the pile. So picture JR throwing some more clean clothes from the dryer on top of the ones that are in a pile on his bed. He’s piling on. Imagine me adding my coffee cup to the top of the stack of dishes in my sink. Imagine me adding one more book to the pile on my desk. To pile on is to add to the pile.

However, it’s far more common to use “pile on” in a metaphorical sense . It means to join in something that is already happening . So imagine that others are doing something, and you join them. It’s like you jump on top of the pile of people who are already doing something. You become part of the group of people all doing the same thing.

In today’s story we talked about Luis Rubiales. He kissed a professional women’s soccer player on the lips during a ceremony after the women’s World Cup. A lot of players on the team didn’t like it. They signed a letter objecting to what happened; they refused to play again until there were major changes in the way soccer was organized and governed in Spain.

Then, a lot of soccer fans expressed their support for the players. And then, what happened? Only after the players and a lot of fans expressed their outrage—only then did government ministers and the international soccer community support Jenni Hermoso and only then did they call for Luis Rubiales to resign. So that’s why I said that government ministers and the international soccer community piled on.

They joined a movement that was already in progress . We had the players, we had the fans, all doing one thing. And then, the government ministers and the international soccer community piled on. They joined an activity that was already happening.

Picture them jumping onto the top of pile. They piled on because they joined a movement in progress . The important thing is, the criticism has started; there was already momentum ; and the people who piled on were joining something in progress.

Oftentimes , “pile on” is used when the group is critical of someone or something. Sam Bankman-Fried was a darling of the crypto world: everyone wanted to be his friend. Then, his company collapsed , he was arrested, and nobody wanted to be his friend. He was arrested and charged with wire fraud , money laundering , and other things; he is being sued by other government entities .

Journalists reported on his story, and many people criticized him. An independent manager was appointed to try to save what was left of his firm, FTX. So the criticism was alive and well. Sam Bankman-Fried was getting a lot of criticism. And for weeks, others piled on: former colleagues, former business partners, commentators, competitors in cryptocurrency , international regulators. They joined the movement that was already going on. They joined it in progress, so we say they piled on.

This isn’t about whether the criticism is right or wrong. “Pile on” just describes people joining the criticism.

TikTok is a great example. A lot of government agencies in the U.S. and abroad have banned TikTok from official government devices . And then the CEO of TikTok went before the U.S. Congress to defend his company and to try to assure the Congress that the Chinese government doesn’t have access to TikTok data. But the lawmakers in that hearing just piled on: they joined the existing criticism of TikTok.

See you next time!

And that’s all for Plain English today, Monday, October 9, 2023. This was lesson 614, so if you’re looking for the transcript, you can find it at PlainEnglish.com/614.

Coming up on Thursday: New laws aim to protect “kidfluencers.” That’s on Thursday. See you then.