Pore over
The English expression we have for you today is to “pore over.” To pore over something is to study it closely. And “pore” in this case is “p-o-r-e”, and we rarely use this word “pore” in any other way besides in this phrasal verb, pore over.
The authoritarian leader of North Korea, a nuclear power, disappeared for almost three weeks. The government later released photos and a video of him. The international media pored over the materials to try to discover any hidden clues about Kim’s health. The international media pored over the materials.
They studied them closely. How well was Kim walking? Was he walking faster or slower than usual? He was riding in a golf cart; the last time he visited this fertilizer plant, he did not use a golf cart. Once before when he was sick a golf cart was present. Then again, he does sometimes use a golf cart when he’s healthy. So was he using the golf cart more than normal?
Wait, what’s that on his arm? It looks like a small brown spot. There wasn’t a brown spot on his arm in his last public appearance. Is he breathing normally or more heavily than usual?
All the little details—the media examined it very closely and for a long time. They pored over the new photos and the new videos.
India is a cricket-mad country. They love the sport of cricket. And if you don’t catch it live, you can see the scorecard after the match is over. If you look closely, you can tell a lot about what happened in the game by looking at the scorecard. You can pore over the scorecard and try to imagine how the game was really played. In baseball, the scorecard is called the “box score,” and baseball fans used to do the same thing, in the days before the internet. The newspaper would have the box scores of all the previous day’s games—and fans would pore over the box scores to figure out who did well the previous day. I was one of those fans as a kid; now, I just get my updates on my phone.
When new coronavirus statistics are released, experts pore over the reports, looking for clues about whether the virus is slowing down or getting worse. Come election time, forecasters pore over the results of the polls in the days and weeks before an election, trying to guess who will win.
Last year, a researcher in England discovered a 17th-century copy of Shakespeare’s texts, with handwriting in the margins. The handwriting belonged to another famous writer of the time, John Milton. Here was an example of one legendary writer commenting on another’s works. The researchers pored over the writing in the margin, trying to figure out what the second-best writer of the 17th century thought about the first-best writer’s works. They studied the writing very carefully.
You might be able to do that—maybe not with an original Shakespeare manuscript. What might you pore over in your personal life? Maybe you have a recipe book that your mom or your grandmother used to use. Or in the attic, you might find letters your grandfather wrote to your grandmother before they were married. You might pore over them, looking for clues about how they lived.
Some people are into genealogy. That is the study of your ancestors—who were they, where did they live, when and where were they born, where did they move during their lives, what jobs did they have? Some people like to build elaborate family trees. They pore over public records, newspaper clippings, letters, anything that would give them a clue about their ancestors.
Quote of the week
Today’s quote of the week is from the former US President Calvin Coolidge. He’s one of my favorites in American history; his nickname was Silent Cal. The kind of person who could never win an election today. Here’s the quote: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.”
The quote goes on after that, but you get the point. Persistence is the willingness of a person to keep trying to get what you want. “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence,” says Calvin Coolidge.
See you next time!
That’s all for today. Coming up tomorrow, we’re going to talk about the complications of re-opening a large economy after COVID-19. Governments have to figure out, what comes first, when to re-open, how to make that decision. It’s not easy, and at least in the United States, we are doing it unevenly. That is Thursday’s topic.
In the meantime, remember, to get all the updates about the new Plain English web site, come visit us at PlainEnglish.com/new and I’ll give you the first glimpse at the super-secret design, colors, logos, et cetera. PlainEnglish.com/new.
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