Rocky start

If a process starts with some problems, it's off to a "rocky start"

Today's story: Koreas discuss Olympics
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Rocky

Today’s word is rocky. There’s a literal definition of this word and a symbolic definition. Literally, rocky just means something that has a lot of rocks. So a rocky road is a road with many stones and rocks in the middle; it would be uncomfortable driving on a rocky road, right?

But that’s not exactly the way I used the word rocky before. I used it to say that relations between North Korea and many other countries have been rocky. To understand this symbolic way of using rocky, picture that rocky road again. When you’re driving, you want a nice smooth road; you don’t want a lot of rocks in the middle slowing you down and presenting danger. So when you describe something as rocky, you mean there are problems or obstacles. North Korea’s relations with many countries have been rocky; there have been a lot of obstacles and problems. Maybe you have a rocky relationship with a family member or a co-worker. It usually means your relationship with this person is difficult.

One common way to use rocky is to describe something that didn’t begin well. It’s very, very common to say something got off to a rocky start. A sports team, for example. You might say your team got off to a rocky start if they lost their first games of the year. Or if you start a new project at work or at home and it doesn’t go well at first, you could say it got off to a rocky start. However, if everything goes well at the beginning of a project, you could say you’re off to a smooth start. Smooth, in this case, is the opposite of rocky. I got off to a rocky start when I first started recording episodes of Plain English, but I think things are going more smoothly now.

So just to sum up, North Korea’s relations with many countries have been rocky, but we hope the Olympics go smoothly.


That brings us to the end of today’s program. If you’re in South Korea, let me know what you think about the Olympics—what’s the mood over there? I know some people get excited for a big showcase event like the Olympics, but others don’t want to fight the crowds and the traffic. You can get in touch with me on Twitter or Facebook at PlainEnglishPod or by email. My address is [email protected] . Remember, a new show will be out on Monday, when we’ll talk about Oprah and the speculation that she might run for president. See you then

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Story: Koreas discuss Olympics