2023年も始まって1か月が経ちますね。新年や新学期は「今年はｘｘｘをしたいな。」とか「ｘｘｘを継続して頑張ろう！」とか何かを始めるのに良い機会ですよね。しかし頭では思っても、実際に始めるのは難しいものです。そんな重い腰を上げたい時に、やる気を出す、後押ししてくれるイディオムを講師Davidに紹介してもらいました。
では、講師Davidの投稿です！（原文は、日本語訳の後にあります。）
“Pull your socks up and just get down to it!”
子どものころ、私が学校の宿題の量について不平を言うと、両親はよく私にこう言いました。“Pull your socks up and just get down to it!” もちろん彼らは正しかったのですが、当時はあまり励まされるものではありませんでした。
この“Pull your socks up and just get down to it!”意味をご存じですか？
● pull your socks upは、怠け者で努力しない人に向けて言われるイディオムです。 「もっと頑張れ」という意味です。
● get down to something は、「何かを始める」という意味です。仕事でよく使用します（この例では「it」=「宿題」）
だから、両親は私に「怠けるのはやめて、もっと頑張って、今すぐ宿題を始めなさい！」と言っていました。
最近、私はこれらの表現を自分自身に言う傾向があり、後回しにしていた何かを始めるように自分を励ましたり、後押ししたりします。教師として、採点しなければならない英語のエッセイの山にマークを付けたくないときもありますが、「Pull your socks up and just get down to it! （直訳：靴下を上げて、それに取り掛かるように、デビッド!）」と自分に言い聞かせています。
仕事をするように促したり、やる気を起こさせたりするイディオムは他にもたくさんあります。ツイッターと連携してクイズ形式で紹介していきますので、ツイッターもフォローして下さい。Hashtag #comebacktoclasses でツイートしていきます！
ブリティッシュ・カウンシル英語コースツイッター：https://twitter.com/BCJapanEnglish
★ツイッターで紹介したクイズの一覧★
1回目：I reckon you need to take the bull by the __________ and tell him you love him.
This idiom means ‘do something brave’, especially something you have been avoiding for a long time. What do you think the missing word is?
1. ears 、2. nose 、3. horns
The answer is 3, take the bull by the horns. ‘him’ is not a bull, but a man who you haven’t told you love yet.
Have you been thinking about restarting your English studies after a long period without classes? Why don’t you take the bull by the horns and sign up for MyClass at the British Council?
2回目：I guess I just have to ________ the bullet and do the qualification, even though it’ll mean a really busy year for me.
This idiom means ‘do something difficult (that you do not want to do) for your own good’. What do you think the missing word is?
1.fire 、2.bite、3.eat
The answer is 2, bite the bullet. This person doesn’t want to do the qualification (it would mean that they’ll have a tough year) but they realise they need to do it as it will be good for their future career.
Have you been thinking about restarting your English studies? What about taking an English exam like IELTS or a Cambridge exam? Or perhaps you just want to practise speaking in English. Why don’t you bite the bullet and try the British Council? It might be tough at first, but you’ll soon find you’re learning English and making new friends in a friendly and enjoyable communicative environment.
3回目：I took a year’s maternity leave from work. Afterwards, I thought I’d be able to pick up from where I left _______, but lots of things had changed and it took me a while to get back into the routine.
This idiom means ‘start at the same point as before’. What do you think the missing word is?
1.off、2.on、3.up
The answer is 1, pick up from where one left off. This person was hoping that they could come back to work after a year off and everything would be the same. However, it wasn’t as easy as that, because a lot of things at her workplace had changed.
Have you had a break from learning English due to the pandemic or other reasons? Are you worried that you’ve forgotten a lot and won’t be able to pick up from where you left off? Well, you’ll probably be a bit rusty, but you’ll soon get back into the swing of things. The longer you leave it, the more difficult it will be! Check out MyClass at the British Council in Iidabashi.
4回目：She was concerned about whether she’d be able to cope so far away from home, but decided to take the __________ and accept the job in London.
This idiom means ‘decide to do something after thinking about it for a long time’. Although she was worried about it, she bravely decided to accept a job offer in London, far away from her home. You could also say ‘go for it’ [‘She decided to go for it’]. What do you think the missing word is?
1. dive, 2. plunge, 3.fall
The answer is 2, take the plunge. Plunge means ‘dive’ or fall, but we don’t use ‘dive’ in this idiom. Have you been thinking about taking the plunge and restarting English lessons after a break? Or maybe you haven’t learnt English since school, but would love to meet new people and practise speaking at the same time. Well, take the plunge and book a consultation at the British Council!
おまけ：The train leaves in half an hour! Get ___________ or we’ll miss it! .
This idiom means ‘start doing something very soon’. In the example, they need to hurry up and start going to the station soon, otherwise they’ll miss the train. What do you think the missing word is? 1. smashing, 2 .breaking ,3. cracking
The answer is 3, get cracking. When’s the best time to start taking English lessons? Spring? How about summer, or when it’s cooler in autumn? How about next year??! Well, my advice to you would be the sooner the better! Get cracking and sign up for MyClass at the British Council!
So …. pull your socks up, get down to it, bite the bullet, take the bull by the horns, take the plunge, and get cracking! You might not be able to pick up from where you left off, but you will enjoy learning English and improve your English skills at the British Council.
David Cruse
ブログ原文
“Pull your socks up and just get down to it!”
That’s what my parents used to say to me when I complained about the amount of homework I had at school. They were right of course, but it wasn’t very encouraging at the time!
Do you know what they meant?
● pull your socks up is an idiom said to someone who is being lazy and not trying. It means ‘try harder’.
● get down to something means ‘start to do something’. We often use it with work (‘it’ = ‘homework’ in the example).
So, my parents were telling me to “Stop being lazy, try harder, and start doing your homework now!”
Nowadays, I’m more likely to say these expressions to myself, to encourage or push myself to start something I’ve been putting off. As a teacher, I sometimes don’t feel like marking the pile of English essays I have to mark, but I tell myself “Pull your socks up and get down to it, David!”
There are lots of other idioms which can encourage or motivate us to do some work.
