【英語ブログで学ぶ使える英語表現！】A Visit to the Eye Doctor 「眼科への訪問」

Hello, this is Simon.

Simon先生の英語ブログを読もう！

I went to the eye doctor for the first time ever the other day. It was because of an eye infection, for which I only have myself to blame.

It all started around mid-February. There was a particularly warm day and the pollens were out in full force. I knew this because a few students were absent due to hay fever that day, and I started sneezing on my way to work. As the lessons progressed, I could feel my eyes starting to itch, and by the time I got home they were all red and puffed up. I had been trying to resist the urge to rub them but I couldn’t help myself so I ended up rubbing them countless times throughout the day.

The next day, I woke up with something akin to a small pimple on my lower eyelid. After looking at it for a while in the mirror, I did what I’ve always been told not to never to do. Even though it was against my better judgment…I squeezed it. I made a few attempts and then finally I gave it my all. It popped and some stuff came out. Over the next few days my eye slowly got worse and worse. I started waking up every morning with eyelashes caked in sleep. My vision started to blur and the whole area under my eyelid completely puffed up. I started to worry that I might have done some real damage.

Fortunately, it turned out to be just a small infection in my eyelid. The doctor cut it in a couple of places removed all the stuff that was putting pressure on my eyeball and gave me eye drops to take for the next couple of weeks. It started feeling better almost immediately, and after only a few days it was about 90% recovered. Now, it is completely fine.

I now know from experience that I shouldn’t play with anything around my eye, but if it happens again that I get a kind of pimple on my eyelid, when push comes to shove, will I be able to resist the urge to squeeze it? I honestly can’t say…

英語ブログから使える英語表現をおぼえよう！

I only have myself to blame

To “only have oneself to blame” means to be responsible for something bad that has happened (e.g. You went out without an umbrella, so you only have yourself to blame for getting wet.)

out in full force

To be “out in full force” means to be present in large numbers or quantities. My mother often used it when we were out driving somewhere. If we saw a few people driving in a bad or reckless way, she would say to my father “The idiots are out in full force.”

resist the urge to

An “urge” is a strong desire to do something (e.g. I have a strong urge to tell him what I really think about him.)  To “resist an urge” is to not give in to a desire to do something (e.g. It is difficult to resist the urge to overeat during the Christmas holidays.)

something akin to

The adjective “akin” means to have some of the same qualities and is usually followed by the preposition “to” (e.g. Both his hobbies and interests are akin to mine.)

against my better judgment

To do something “against one’s better judgment” means to do something opposite to what you feel to be wise or sensible (e.g. Against my better judgement, I loaned him the money.)

caked with sleep

“Sleep” in this case means 「めやに」. The adjective “caked” means to be covered with a think layer of something. It is usually followed by the prepositions “with” or “in” (e.g. When I got home, my shoes were caked with/in mud.)

when push comes to shove

The phrase “when push comes to shove” means when you must commit yourself to doing something (e.g. He talks big, but when push comes to shove, you won’t see any action from him.)

The above expressions aren’t related in any particular way, but I tried to use some lesser known ones in the hopes that you won’t have heard of some.  I hope they can be of use to you.

See you next month!

＊Simon先生の前回の英語ブログ　”【英語ブログで学ぶ使える英語表現！】A Fortunate Mishap 「幸運な災難」”　を見逃した方はこちらからどうぞ！

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Simon

Hello! My name is Simon.

I am from New Zealand, and have been living and teaching English in Japan since 1999.

My hobbies include movies, playing the guitar, gardening and hiking.