LOCKDOWN

“People over 70 have been grappling with the possibility that they could face an extended coronavirus lockdown after general restrictions end, filling them with fear and frustration.”

 The term “lockdown” isn’t new, but COVID-19 has given it new meaning. Current dictionary references to lockdown mention confining prisoners to their cells during a riot and isolating or resticting access to a place because of a dangerous situation.

 Since COVID-19 appeared, we’ve used the term “lockdown” in reference to measures taken to avoid spreading the virus, especially in relation to the new rules related to travelling, meeting with others and closing places that involve unnecessary contact between people. This is strictly a partial lockdown: most of us can still go out but only for certain reasons and normally only once a day. For others, and especially where people are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, the lockdown is total, as illustrated in the last of the following examples.


 Examples

 “The big weekly shop has made a comeback with supermarkets reporting record trolley loads as Britons develop new lockdown routines.”

 “Shops in cities and towns across the UK have been closed since lockdown measures were introduced.”

 “A total of 27 people – 17 residents with dementia and 10 staff – have been in lockdown for five weeks.”


Photo credit: byronv2 (Creative Commons)

MAKING ENDS MEET

“It’s becoming more and more difficult to make ends meet.”

 We’re hearing or reading this phrase a lot at the moment. Because of coronavirus (COVID-19), many people have lost their jobs, or their businesses have collapsed. Therefore, many people are struggling to pay their bills. To make ends meet is to earn just enough money to live on and pay necessary bills.

 More examples

 “Mangiafico calls it much needed comfort food for those now struggling to make ends meet.”

 “The service has been helping those in the local community – and beyond – who are struggling to make ends meet as a result of the coronavirus crisis.”

 “The consumer champion was back on our screens on Thursday, handing out useful advice for families up and down the country struggling to make ends meet.”



 Origin
 The ends mentioned in this idiom may have been the two ends of the year. The phrase probably referred to making one’s annual income stretch from the beginning to the end of the year. [1]


 Photo credit: Bob Bertsch (Creative Commons)

 [1] Cresswell, Julia. “end” in The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. Oxford University Press, 2009.

EMPTY-HANDED

This week, I visited my parents in West Yorkshire. Due to COVID-19 panic buying, after driving around for two hours hunting for liquid soap for them, I returned empty-handed.

 If you’re empty-handed, you failed to obtain what you wanted.

 Examples

 “Had it not been for Indian sportswomen, the nation would have returned empty-handed from the Rio Olympics - for the first time since the 1992 Olympics.”

 “He ran off empty-handed and was later caught by police.”

 “It has left supermarket shelves bare, and fears are growing for the elderly who are having to walk away empty-handed.”


 Photo credit: Tim Dennell (Creative Commons)

HISTORIC OR HISTORICAL?

The current situation with COVID-19 is unprecedented, meaning that it’s never been known before. While people have experienced far tougher times than this, never before have we had to isolate ourselves from everyone except close family to prevent transmission of a potentially life-threatening virus.

 This situation has been described as both historical and historic, and it will eventually be both these things, but what’s the difference?

 Something that is historical belongs to the past but is not necessarily significant, although it may be. While most of us are looking forward to COVID-19 being a thing of the past, it’s currently very much in the present and thus not yet historical.

 Examples

 “Scientists usually use historical data to predict how many extreme weather events are going to strike in the future.”

 “Again, given the circumstances and lack of historical parallels, investors apparently decided to sell everything until more information was available.”

 Something that is historic is important, or potentially important, in history. I believe that this current crisis can be described as historic.

 Examples

 “But we’re not meant to be bringing people together during a potentially historic pandemic.”

 “Between them, the six extraordinary historic buildings in our care have witnessed 1,000 years of history, from the Black Death to the Great Fire of London.”

Daniel Foster (Creative Commons)