Stuck in the Jam
Phrasal Verb Story
Diego left his apartment in Mexico City early, hoping to beat the traffic, but luck wasn’t on his side. As soon as he reached Avenida Insurgentes, everything came to a complete stop. “Well,” he sighed, “might as well stick it out.”
He turned on the radio to kill time, but the same news played over and over. His boss had told him not to mess up again by arriving late, so Diego decided to call off his morning meeting until he could figure things out.
Just then, a motorcyclist cut him off, nearly hitting his side mirror. Diego wanted to blow up, but he remembered his mother’s advice to keep his cool. “No point in losing it,” he muttered, trying to cheer himself up by watching the street vendors walk between cars selling coffee and tamales.
After almost an hour, traffic started to move along. Diego finally reached the office and decided to make up for lost time by skipping lunch and finishing his reports. When his boss walked by and said, “Rough morning, huh?”, Diego just smiled. “You could say that. But I pulled through.”
By the end of the day, Diego looked out over the glowing city skyline and thought, If you can handle Mexico City traffic, you can handle anything.
Phrasal Verbs
- stick it out – To continue with something difficult or unpleasant until it ends.
Example: He decided to stay in traffic and stick it out. - mess up – To make a mistake or do something poorly.
Example: His boss warned him not to mess up again. - call off – To cancel something.
Example: Diego decided to call off his morning meeting. - figure things out – To understand or solve a problem.
Example: He needed time to figure things out. - cut (someone) off – To suddenly move in front of another vehicle while driving.
Example: The motorcyclist cut him off in traffic. - blow up – To lose one’s temper or get very angry.
Example: Diego almost blew up at the motorcyclist. - cheer (oneself) up – To make oneself feel happier.
Example: He tried to cheer himself up by watching the street vendors. - move along – To start progressing or continuing after being stopped.
Example: Traffic finally began to move along. - make up for – To compensate for something that went wrong.
Example: He made up for being late by working through lunch. - pull through – To succeed in a difficult situation or recover from hardship.
Example: Despite the rough morning, he pulled through.
Idioms
- beat the traffic – To leave early enough to avoid heavy traffic.
Example: He hoped to beat the traffic by leaving early. - kill time – To do something just to pass the time while waiting.
Example: He listened to the radio to kill time. - keep (one’s) cool – To remain calm in a stressful or frustrating situation.
Example: He tried to keep his cool instead of yelling. - If you can handle Mexico City traffic, you can handle anything – A figurative expression meaning that if you can deal with one of the hardest challenges, you can face any other challenge in life.