Sum up

To "sum up" is to summarize

Today's story: Plane crash Mexico
Explore more: Lesson #76
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Sum up

To sum up is the phrasal verb of today’s program. To sum up means to summarize. The word sum, S-U-M, refers to the result of addition. So the sum of four and six is ten; the sum of ten and five is fifteen, and so on. But to sum up means to summarize, and you usually say “sum up” when you are describing something as briefly as possible. So you can imagine the range of emotions that people are feeling after going through that terrible plane crash, but the quote from passenger Ruby Rodriguez really sums it up: she’s sad people had to go through the traumatic experience, but she’s happy everyone is still alive. That sums it up; that eloquently describes what people are feeling in just a few words.

I’m reading a biography of Tiger Woods, the famous golfer, right now. If I had to sum up Tiger’s career, I would say he was driven to succeed at all costs. He did succeed, and it did come at a steep personal cost. I think that sums it up.

I saw a cute movie on Netflix called “Like Father.” I think it was actually produced by and for Netflix, so it wasn’t in the movie theaters, but it’s new on Netflix. I won’t give away any secrets, but I’ll sum it up this way: the protagonist had to learn to put down her phone and connect with the people who love her. That sums up that movie—but don’t worry, I just summed up the message; I didn’t give anything away about the plot.

If you had to sum up Uncle Jerry, the guy who stole all the McDonald’s game pieces, what would you say? Corrupt, in over his head? Unable to say no to temptation? Hypocritical, maybe since he enforced security on everyone else while he himself was breaking the rules? I think that pretty much sums him up.


That’s all for today’s episode. Remember there are plenty of ways to get in touch with the program. JR and I each check our email often. [email protected] and [email protected] are our e-mail addresses. Then there’s Facebook and Twitter, both under the user name PlainEnglishPod. And if you’re not on the email list, you can get on that by visiting PlainEnglish.com/mail. JR and I send out an email every Monday and Thursday and the message sums up the main story and even includes links to English articles that I use to prepare the show. PlainEnglish.com/mail to get on that list.

Thanks for being with us again today. We’ll be back on Thursday with episode number 77.

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Story: Plane crash Mexico