Risk it

To 'risk it' is to take a risk

Today's story: World Cup 2022
Explore more: Lesson #521
Keywords:

Be your best self in English

Move confidently through the English-speaking world

Listen

  • Learning speed
  • Full speed

Learn

TranscriptQuizYour turn
Simple TranscriptEspañol中文FrançaisPortuguês日本語ItalianoDeutschTürkçePolski

Risk it

Today’s expression is “risk it.” This simply means, “to take the risk,” or to do the risky thing. We often use “risk it” when the context is already known in the sentence. So for example, if you leave your house and look up at the sky and see it’s getting cloudy, you might want to bring an umbrella. There’s a chance it will rain, and if it rains, you’ll get wet. But you might decide to risk it. You might decide to take the risk and go out without your umbrella.

I recently moved to Mexico. I spent the first month in a temporary apartment, but I’ve just moved into my full-time apartment here. And I discovered that internet service providers here are just like they are back home: they give you a nice wide window for installation. So they said from 2:00 until 8:00 I have to be home for service. It’s about 3:00 now and I’m starving! Should I go out to get some lunch? Should I risk it? Should I take the risk of going out, and missing the installation crew?

I’m not going to risk it. This is too important! I have a little bit of food—I don’t think it adds up to “lunch” but I do have a little bit of food in my brand-new refrigerator. I’m not going to risk it. I’m not going to take the risk of going out for lunch and missing my internet installation. Some things are just too important, right?

If you are a same-sex couple, and if you are a football fan, and if you are traveling to the World Cup, then the government of Qatar has a message for you : Yes, ordinarily, you would be arrested and put in jail for things like holding hands, kissing, displaying a rainbow flag, or advocating for LGBT rights. But during the World Cup, you will not be arrested for such things. See how nice they are?

And right at the end of the lesson I said, I still wouldn’t risk it. Why wouldn’t I risk it? I’m not totally sure this message has gotten all the way down to every police officer in Qatar. I would not want to be in a Qatari jail for a public display of affection. I just would not risk it.

You can say, “Let’s not risk it” or “I don’t think we should risk it” if you want to convince someone not to take a risk. Imagine you’re going on an international flight, and you have a flight connection in your destination country. The airline suggests a connection of an hour. Should you risk it?

What are we risking here? Well, when you land, you might have to go through immigration. It’s not like a connecting flight inside your own country. And you might have to collect your bags and put them through security again. So the airline puts you on a flight with an hourlong connection. But should you risk it?

If you’re debating this with your friends or family, you might say, “Let’s not risk it.” That means, “Let’s not take this risk. Let’s book a flight with a longer connection.”

JR’s song of the week

Today’s song of the week is “Leather and Lace” by Stevie Nicks, with Don Henley. Stevie Nicks was the lead singer of the band Fleetwood Mac and Don Henley was the lead singer of the Eagles. Anyway, this song is about a couple that had different styles—one was like leather, the other like lace, two very different types of materials. And this was somewhat auto-biographical, since Stevie Nicks and Don Henley were a couple for a while.

See you next time!

A couple of you have asked—I don’t think I can do extra episodes about the World Cup this time. Four years ago, I added an extra episode in the middle of the week with the latest news from the tournament. But since then, each lesson set has gotten a lot more complicated and I have to prepare them too far in advance. Plus know nothing about soccer, so it’s not like they would be easy to write. But maybe in early January we can revisit the highlights of this year’s tournament.

Enjoy the games next week—we’ll be back on Monday with a new Plain English. See you then!

Use realistic expressions like a native speaker

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

We speak your language

Learn English words faster with instant, built-in translations of key words into your language

Starter feature

Test your knowledge

Take a 4-question quiz to make sure you understand today’s Expression

Plus+ feature

Write a sentence with this Expression

Get personal, human feedback on the examples that you write. Build the confidence to use this Expression in the real world

Story: World Cup 2022