[ti:Expressions That Hit the Spot] [ar:Rich Kleinfeldt] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more... [00:11.40]Now, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES [00:16.13]- a VOA Special English program [00:18.57]about American expressions. [00:21.26]I'm Rich Kleinfeldt [00:23.15]with some expressions containing the word hit. [00:26.49]Hit is a small word but it has a lot of power. [00:31.57]Baseball players hit the ball. [00:35.01]Missiles hit an airplane. [00:38.69]A car hits a tree. [00:41.48]Hit also joins with other words [00:45.32]to create many colorful expressions. [00:48.86]One is hit the road. [00:51.69]It means to travel or to leave a place, [00:55.82]as suggested in this song, "Hit the Road." [00:59.62](MUSIC) [01:23.48]Another common expression is hit the spot. [01:28.37]At first it meant hitting a spot [01:31.26]at the center of a target with an arrow. [01:34.59]Someone who did so was satisfied with his shooting. [01:39.52]Now, hitting the spot usually means [01:43.71]that a food or drink is especially satisfying. [01:47.46]Many years ago, Pepsi Cola sold its drink [01:53.03]with a song that began, "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, [01:58.12]twelve full ounces, that's a lot..." [02:01.60]Another expression involving hit is hit bottom. [02:07.28]Something that has hit bottom can go no lower. [02:12.05]If the price of shares of a stock hits bottom [02:16.65]that might be the time to buy it. [02:19.74]Its value can only go up. [02:23.02]A student who tells you his grades have hit bottom [02:27.71]is saying he has not done well in school. [02:31.44]When a student's grades hit bottom [02:36.52]it is time to hit the books. [02:38.96]Hit the books is another way to saying it is time to study. [02:45.19]A student might have to tell her friends [02:48.37]she can not go with them to the movies [02:51.41]because she has to hit the books. [02:54.15]Not hitting the books could lead [02:57.79]to an unpleasant situation for a student. [03:00.77]The father or mother may hit the ceiling [03:04.45]when they see the low grades. [03:07.05]Someone who hits the ceiling, the top of the room, [03:12.02]is violently angry. [03:14.26]A wife may hit the ceiling because her husband [03:18.69]forgot their wedding anniversary. [03:21.04]To build something of wood, you usually need a hammer. [03:26.22]That is what you use to hit nails [03:29.65]into the pieces of wood to hold them together. [03:33.38]When you hit the nail on the head, exactly on its top, [03:38.92]it goes into the wood perfectly. [03:42.02]And when someone says your words or actions [03:46.00]hit the nail on the head, [03:48.59]he means what you said or did was exactly right. [03:53.32]If you are tired after hitting all those nails on the head, [03:58.52]then it is time to hit the hay. [04:01.51]That expression comes from the days [04:04.99]when people slept on beds filled with dried grass or hay. [04:10.29]Some people slept on hay in barns [04:14.33]where they kept their farm animals. [04:16.82]Hitting the hay simply means going to bed. [04:21.49]That is a good idea. I think I will hit the hay now. [04:27.12](MUSIC) [04:37.66]This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, [04:42.49]was written by Frank Beardsley. [04:45.13]I'm Rich Kleinfeldt.