Winning English - Mastering Idioms, Slang, and Cultural References
Hit the road • Traffic jam • Great minds think alike • Jinx it • In the free and clear • Make really good time
The work week has ended, and you and a friend plan to drive to the beach to relax.
You call your friend and say, “Hey, let’s hit the road early. I don’t want to get stuck in a traffic jam.”
Your friend says, “Great minds think alike. I can be ready to leave in one hour.”
“Excellent,” you say. “I’m sure we’ll avoid traffic this way.”
“Don’t jinx it!” your friend says.
“To hit the road” means to begin traveling somewhere, whether it’s driving or walking or flying.
A “traffic jam” is when a road has so many cars on it that no one can move forward.
“Great minds think alike” is a common saying. It means that you and another person have the same thoughts about a situation. You’ll notice it also gives you and the other person a fun little compliment by calling you both “great minds”, which means smart.
“To jinx” something means to cause bad luck by describing a good outcome out loud. For example, in this story, you say that you are sure you will avoid traffic. The worry is that you will cause the traffic by saying you will avoid it. It’s as if there is a magic force in the universe that punishes people who say out loud that good things will happen.
Unfortunately, you and your friend do get stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the beach.
“See,” your friend says. “You jinxed it!”
“Maybe,” you say. “But look! Google Maps says the traffic jam ends soon. We’ll be in the free and clear and make really good time after that!”
Within the hour, you’re lying on the beach. Very nice.
To be “in the free and clear” means that you are now free of some burden. In this case, it means that you will no longer be stuck in traffic. This comes from the world of home-buying and mortgages. Once a mortgage is fully paid off, it is said that you are in the “free and clear”.
“To make time” means to speed up and shorten how long a trip will take. It can be modified, too, as in the story. You can “make really good time”. That means the trip will be even shorter than you expected.
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