Zero in on

When you zero in on something, you focus all your attention on it.

Today's story: Picasso stolen paintings
Explore more: Lesson #214
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Zero in on

Today’s expression is a quirky one. It’s not one you absolutely must know, like last time, but it’s a good one to know, especially in the business world. To zero in on something. That means to take aim or focus your attention on one thing. I would say you usually use this when you’re trying to solve a complex problem or investigate something, you zero in on, you focus your attention on, one small part of the complex problem.

Earlier, you heard that the Picasso estate has zeroed in on the credibility of the handyman’s story. They can’t prove the paintings were stolen. There’s no police report, no evidence that they were in someone else’s house or gallery, no documentation, no receipts, no money changing hands. There’s no hard evidence that they were stolen. But the estate is zeroing in on the credibility of the handyman’s story. They’re focusing their attention on the credibility of his story. That’s the part that suggests something is awry, the credibility. So they keep looking into the story. Really, these were in your garage this whole time? Really, you wrote this catalog? Really, they were preserved so well in just a trash bag? They zeroed in on the credibility of the story. They focused on the credibility of the story.

I saw a story that the governor of my state of Illinois and the mayor of my city, Chicago, will zero in on corruption. The governor says he’s furious watching public officials betray the public trust, so he’s going to focus his attention, he’s going to zero in on, corruption.

The Brazilian government is zeroing in on a ship that it thinks was responsible for an oil spill in September. The oil spill hit hundreds of beaches and harmed the fishing and tourism industries, but the source of the spill had been a mystery. Now authorities are zeroing in on a single ship that was in the area; they say it was the only ship that could have discharged so much oil into the ocean at the time. They are now focusing their investigation on that ship. They are zeroing in on that ship.

Quote of the week

I wanted to pick a quote from Picasso for today’s episode. And I came across a quote that I’ve frequently seen attributed to him. But one thing I’ve learned since including these quotes is that very often the “quotes” you see on Instagram or on the internet are not accurate. So here’s a quote often attributed to Pablo Picasso. Here it is: “I am always doing what I can’t do yet in order to learn how to do it.”

In truth, that quote was first written in Dutch by Vincent Van Gogh in a letter to a fellow painter in 1885. Regardless, I like it. And it rings true for me, too, since I am now figuring all kinds of new things out as the proud owner of a membership web site—something I never thought I would have, or be able to figure out. So here it is again, “I am always doing what I can’t do yet in order to learn how to do it” by Vincent Van Gogh.


That’s all for today. Thanks for being with us once again. JR and I will be back with another episode coming up on Thursday. See you then!

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Story: Picasso stolen paintings