Simon先生の英語ブログで学ぶ使える英語表現ーGreener Pastures「緑豊かな牧草地」

※Simon先生のシリーズ前回の記事「Simon先生の英語ブログで学ぶ使える英語表現ーBoss Baby 「ボス・ベイビー」」を見逃した方はこちらからどうぞ！

今回のブログは、先生の最近のエピソード、Greener Pastures「緑豊かな牧草地」をお届けします。

英語ブログを読もう！Greener Pastures「緑豊かな牧草地」

Hello, this is Simon.

The other day we had our community gathering to cut the grass in our local park. It’s one of the many things I like about our community, because most of us use the park to some extent, so it makes sense that we help in its maintenance from time to time. It’s actually quite a good feeling, when everybody pitches in for a common cause. And, it’s done at the local level. Kind of a grassroots movement, if you will.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to attend the gatherings for some time due to work commitments, but this time I had work later in the morning, so I could stay until about 9:00 a.m. The event started at 8:00 a.m., so I could put in a good hour of work.

On the morning of the event, I walked out my front door to head to the park. I saw my next door neighbor standing outside his house. He was having a cigarette. I guessed he was just getting ready to go there himself. I said something like, ”Are you off to the park too?” and he nodded as if to say, “Yes.”

I arrived at the park, and there were people milling around, as well as people who had already started working. Not content to let the grass grow under my feet, I grabbed a plastic bag and started filling it with cut grass. As I was working, I would occasionally look up to see if my neighbor had arrived, but he never did. It started to dawn on me that he might not actually be coming. Maybe he was off to greener pastures and had something better to do with his Sunday morning.

Could he have deceived me when he answered my question, like a snake in the grass? No, of course not. He was not that kind of person. It must have just been a misunderstanding, when we greeted each other. Anyway, even if he did deceive me, I wouldn’t mention anything about him to the guys organizing the event. I’m not a grass. And, I would definitely not grass on my neighbor.

I continued to fill bags with grass and stack them at the park’s entrance. It got to 9:00 a.m. and the organizers called out to everyone to finish up. I felt pretty good that I was able to stay till the end because at 9:00 a.m., I thought I’d be leaving while everyone was still toiling away. The park looked a lot nicer and everyone seemed pretty content. My neighbor never did show up. And I haven’t seen him since. I wonder what happened…

ーそれでは、本文の中からピックアップした英語表現を見てみましょう！

“pitch in”

The expression to “pitch in” means to all contribute together as a group to help achieve some common goal. This can be work, time or money

(e.g. We are all pitching in to buy Tom a birthday present./If everybody pitches in, we should be able to get this mess cleaned up in no time.)

“grassroots movement”

A “grassroots movement” is a movement or initiative that starts at a local level and gains support gradually from ordinary people

(e.g. The success of the education reform was largely due to a powerful grassroots movement led by teachers, parents, and students.)

The local community gathering isn’t a true grassroots movement, because it doesn’t expand to gain support from a wider group of people, but it is done at the local level, and not from some big government decree.

“let the grass grow under my feet“

This expression means to be idle or lazy, procrastinating instead of taking action

(e.g. I can’t afford to let the grass grow under my feet; I need to finish this project before the deadline./ Don’t let the grass grow under your feet—start working on your goals today.)

“greener pastures“

This means a situation that is both new and better. It is often used to talk about work or one’s living situation

(e.g. After years in a dead-end job, she left for greener pastures with a new company offering better opportunities.)

“a snake in the grass”

This idiom describes someone who appears harmless or honest, but is actually treacherous or deceitful

(e.g. She thought he was a loyal friend, but he turned out to be a snake in the grass, spreading rumors behind her back.)

“I’m not a grass”

The noun “grass” is slang for someone who tells on others. Another word for a tattletale

(e.g. He was called a grass by his classmates for telling the teacher who was responsible for the prank./His life was in danger for a while, when the crime group suspected him of being a grass.)

“grass on my neighbor”

This is the verb form of the word above. To “grass on” someone means to tell on them (tell someone in authority that someone did something wrong or bad)

For example,

“He threatened to grass on his classmates if they didn’t stop bullying him./The thief was caught after his partner in crime grassed on him to the police.”

Take care in this heat, and see you next month!

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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.