I did some sledding recently and it got me thinking about winter sports. So let’s learn
some new vocabulary today as we learn English with News. Watching a story about
three weird winter sports. The sports are obscure, but the vocabulary
isn’t. We’ll learn 29 words, phrases, and idioms, in this news story.
I just used the word “obscure”. It’s an adjective that means not well-known, not
known to most people. These sports are obscure. If you’re listing every sport you can think of,
you might not even be on your list. This is also a verb that means to try to hide
something or make something hard to understand. They tried to obscure the truth about the scandal.
Now let’s check out this first part of this news clip.
Hurtling along snow or ice on metal blades isn't insane enough?
Check out these other weird winter sports.
Hurtling. Hurtle is a verb that means to move rapidly or forcefully. An object might
be hurtling through space. On a roller coaster you’re hurtling through the air.
Hurtle and hurtling sound just like the word with a D,
hurdling, which we also associate with racing. A hurdle spelled with a D is this,
And hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle. We have a related idiom here. When there
are hurdles involved in a situation, that means there is some difficulty. For example, there were
some hurdles involved in getting my son signed up for summer camp. Maybe I had to prove his age,
that he’d gotten his vaccines, maybe I had to list any allergies, and so on. Extra things to do.
So hurdling with a D, jumping over something. Hurtling with a T, moving very very fast.
Hurtling along snow or ice on metal blades isn't insane enough?
That isn’t insane enough? This is a dramatic way to say that you think something is crazy,
dangerous, or scary. It’s insane to ski a double-black diamond if you’re
not an expert skier. We also use ‘insane’ to describe something that’s hard to believe.
“I can’t believe you got a perfect score on the SAT. That’s insane!”
Hurtling along snow or ice on metal blades isn't insane enough?
Check out these other weird winter sports.
Let’s start with horse skijoring.
Skijoring is putting a skier behind a horse with a 30-foot rope.
Asking the skier to go around 16 to 20 gates, a few jumps, and the horse to go wide open.
Here in Pennsylvania, this is not a winter activity I’ve seen, so I did some reading,
and yes, I had to look up the pronunciation, and I found that the word “skijoring”
comes from a Norwegian word meaning “ski driving.” It’s said to have originated as
a mode of winter travel with a horse, dog, or motor vehicle pulling a person on skis
through the snow. Now, skijoring is mostly a competitive sport. Let’s hear that word again.
Skijoring
Skijoring. Three syllables with stress on either the first or second
syllable. The narrator puts stress on the second syllable here, “jor”
Skijoring
The man being interviewed put stress on the first syllable, “ski”
Skijoring is putting a skier behind a horse with a 30-foot rope. Asking
the skier to go around 16 to 20 gates, a few jumps, and the horse to go wide open.
Wide open. This means open all the way, like a door.
“The door wasn’t cracked; it was wide open.”
But it also means without limits or restrictions. So, if the horse is going wide open,
that means it is running just as fast as it can, as fast as it wants to. No restrictions or limits.
You know what this reminds me of? Hurtling, with a T, to move rapidly or forcefully.
I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be pulled by a horse when it’s going wide open. Let
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Skijoring is putting a skier behind a horse with a 30-foot rope.
Asking the skier to go around 16 to 20 gates, a few jumps, and the horse to go wide open.
Still not crazy enough? Well, the skiers also try to gather
rings that are suspended along the course and stack them on their arms.
There are three terms here that are worth taking a look at.
First is the verb “gather.”
Well, the skiers also try to gather rings.
When “gather” is used with an object, it means to bring together into one group,
collection or place. “We gathered some firewood for our campfire.”
But it doesn’t have to be a tangible thing,
“Hey, we’re just trying to gather some ideas here in this brainstorm."
It can also mean to bring together or assemble from various places;
“The college is gathering faculty from all over the country for a conference.”
It can also be used without an object, and it means not to collect,
but to bring around a central point. For example, “Gather around; it’s time to sing Happy Birthday!”
That’s like saying, come here. Or, “Clouds are gathering in the southeast.”
They are coming around a point, coming together, over there, in the southeast.
Well, the skiers also try to gather rings that are suspended along the course.
Suspended. The verb “suspend” has many meanings.
Let’s focus on the definition used here. It means to hang something or attach an object to
something above to allow free movement. “The chandelier is suspended from the ceiling.”
In skijoring, the rings are suspended on polls; they’re free hanging to make them easier to grab.
“Suspend” used without an object most commonly means to come to a stop;
to cease operation for a period of time.
“We aren’t sure if we want to keep our tv streaming service,
so we suspended payments for now.”
The third term in that clip is “stack.”
Well, the skiers also try to gather
rings that are suspended along the course and stack them on their arms.
As a noun, a stack is more or less an orderly pile or heap. A stack of books.
A neat stack of notes. The verb stack can be used with or without an object;
meaning to pile or arrange objects on top of each other.
“Let’s stack the boxes in that corner.” “The chairs easily stack on top of each other.”
That means they’re stackable, an adjective now, which makes it easier to store them. Once I
posted this to Instagram with the caption, Friday morning face stack! Let’s hear that bit again.
Well, the skiers also try to gather rings that
are suspended along the course and stack them on their arms.
Next up, we have a couple of fantastic idioms
that you can use in any context. Their use is not limited to sports.
Guys that are doing it successfully have some ski racing
behind them or, you know, a lot of skiing under their belt.
To “have something behind you”. Literally, this is about order and orienting objects to one another.
The wall is behind me. The camera is in front of me. But it has other meanings
as well. To have something behind you means that you have experience doing something.
“I have some competition behind me.” “I have some graduate work behind me.”
“I’m not totally new at this. I’ve done this before. It’s not my first time.
They have some ski racing behind them.”
That is, they have some experience in ski racing. They’ve already done that.
Be careful not to confuse this with “putting something behind you,” which means to forget
about a bad experience, to try to move on. “We had a huge fight, but we’ve put it behind us.”
Another way to say you have accomplished something or have practice at doing it
is to say that you “have it under your belt.” A lot of skiing under their belt.
I read that this idiom came into English as a way to reference how much alcohol
a person has drunk. But as in idiom it means, experienced. Once you’ve worked hard at a skill,
the ability is under your belt. It’s in you. You can do it. “I’ve got Over 10
years of teaching under my belt.” Or, “I’ve got 10 years of teaching behind me.”
Again, take care that you don’t accidentally say a really similar idiom that has a different
meaning and that would be below the belt.
Don’t say “below the belt” when you mean “under the belt.” Hitting below the belt
is when an opponent unfairly targets a weakness or vulnerability. As with boxing, you can’t hit your
competitor’s lower abdomen; it’d be too painful, and it’s prohibited. So let’s say you’re fighting
with your partner and they bring up something your mom said that was hard for you to deal with.
In this fight, bringing that up, man, they know you’re sensitive about. You could say,
that’s below the belt. Or, that’s a low blow. Below and under,
similar meanings. But ‘below the belt’ and ‘under the belt’, different meanings.
If you have experience, you have it under your belt.
Let’s go on to the next segment.
The whole race only lasts about 20 to 30 seconds,
and takes skiers at speeds of up to 40 miles an hour.
The skill set is missing a few brain cells and
making some calculated decisions and definitely accepting the risks.
Skill set is a term you might see related to a job post. What are the skills required for the job,
what are the skill sets they like to see in job applicants? Those would be skill sets.
So this guy is joking here, the participants are a little crazy,
“missing a few brain cells”. We use this term to mean not smart. If you’re willing
to let a horse pull you up to 40 mph, you might be missing a few brain cells.
Let’s face it, it’s an insult, but he’s using it jokingly. Let’s hear it again.
The skill set is missing a few brain cells.
I love this next collocation. A collocation is a pair of words that often occur together.
This collocation is an adjective plus a noun.
making some calculated decisions--
Calculated decisions. Calculated, you’ve thought it over thoroughly, you’ve weighed all the risks
and rewards, you’ve done your homework on this issue. You’re not just randomly choosing. So
as you’re going down this course you’re making calculated decisions about how to use your body.
Intentional, thought out. Something you can do in the moment when you’re experienced.
Making some calculated decisions and definitely accepting the risks
Coming to terms with possible consequences, and being ok with whatever happens. Risk acceptance.
Let’s keep going.
Next, why waste that snow shovel on your driveway when you can use it for racing?
It’s kind of a crazy idea but a lot of people end up really liking the feel of it.
Felt great! Let’s do it again!
Shovel racing started in the 1970s at the Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico.
The course is a thousand feet long with a 400 foot vertical drop. The resort still hosts the
world championship. The record for the fastest time is 13.5 seconds at almost 75 miles an hour.
Oh wow! That set a record I think for height of shovel.
Did you catch what the racers are sitting on?
Next, why waste that snow shovel on your driveway when you can use it for racing?
Not a traditional sled, but it takes you down the hill pretty quickly.
And did you hear the phrase used to describe how high the hill is?
The course is a thousand feet long with a 400 foot vertical drop.
Vertical drop. That’s about a 122 meter descent over a 305 meter length.
Not very high compared to traditional skiing, but I’m not sure I’d agree to ride a shovel down that.
Shovels have some very sharp edges. “Vertical drop” is another collocation
that I hear a fair amount. Let’s list some synonyms for “drop.” We have:
Decline. The hillside has a steep decline.
Descent. Going down. The descent of the trail begins here.
Plunge. I often think of this with water. He jumped off the cliff and plunged into the lake.
Drop-off. A noun. Be careful, there’s a steep drop-off just off shore.
Grade. There’s a 5% grade on this road.
A second meaning of “drop” as a noun is a tiny bit of fluid, shaped like a sphere.
A drop of rain. Eye drops. Today I will not have even one drop of alcohol.
And third, “drop” occurs regularly as a verb, meaning, to fall unexpectedly or suddenly.
I dropped my phone. Have you heard the idiom “to drop the ball”?
This means to make a mistake, to not get something done. It has nothing to do with an actual ball.
I missed registration for summer camp and now it’s full. I dropped the ball!
You can also use “drop” as a verb to explain that something doesn’t
matter anymore. I know we disagree, but let’s drop it and move on.
And another meaning I use,
meaning to release something to the public. My new videos drop on YouTube every other Tuesday.
Ok, let’s take a look at the third and final unusual sport.
Finally, there’s fat bike racing.
Three, two, one, begin!
You’ve probably seen them before. Mountain bikes with tires that are at least 4 to 5
inches wide. This makes them perfect for winter races that usually take place on snow-covered,
cross country type trails. There are races all over the country, but the premiere race
in North America takes place on the 65 mile-long American Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin.
My bike tires are definitely not that wide. How did she describe the width of the tires?
Fat bike racing.
Fat bike. To link those first two words smoothly, we put a stop T in fat so it’s
not released. Fat bike. Fat bike racing. I like the way the landscape is described.
Native speakers sometimes create strings like this:
Snow-covered, cross-country-type trails. The formula is “Adjective + Adjective + type” or
“Noun + Noun + type.” And there’s no limit to how many adjectives, nouns, or complex phrases
you can string together. You end the phrase with “type,” meaning “that kind of thing.”
Let’s practice building a couple of these descriptive
strings. I’ll give you the noun, and you fill in the adjectives, the descriptive phrases.
Let’s describe someone who’s very romantic.
“He’s a roses and chocolates type guy.” you can also use ‘of’, type of guy.
“He’s a sing-love-songs-in-public, send-you-gifts-at-work type of guy.”
What did you fill it in with? Share your ideas in the comments.
Now try one describing a super expensive car.
“It’s a midlife-crisis, sell-your-house-to-pay-for-it type car.”
How about describing a job you’ve always wanted?
“It’s my dreams-come-true, once-in-a-lifetime type job.”
If you think of other ways to string
adjective phrases or noun phrases together, share in the comments!
Last, let’s look at the word “premiere.”
The premiere race in North America takes place on the 65 mile-long
American Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin.
Premiere as a noun is the first performance or exhibition.
The debut. The opening. It’s the world premiere of a new opera.
Or, As a verb: The movie is premiering tonight at midnight.
And as an adjective: The premiere showing is tonight at midnight. But it can also
mean the principal, the most important. The Met is the premiere opera house in the US. The
hotel is one of the premiere resorts in the area. Here, she says “This race is the premiere race.”
It’s more important than the others.
There are races all over the country but the premiere race in North America
takes place on the 65 mile-long American Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin.
Ok, great! We pulled out so many vocabulary words and idioms from these clips.
Which words were new to you? Let me know in the comments below.
I have several other Learn English with News videos, check them out on my YouTube channel.
And be sure you subscribe with notifications on so you never miss a lesson. I love being
your English teacher and accent coach. That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.