Vocabulary In the News : 06 March 2010 – The Journal (Newcastle, UK)

The main story from the front page concerns the tragic story of an ex-lawyer whose life was destroyed because he hit the bottle after the breakup of his marriage.

Jimmy Grogan descended into a downward spiral of alcoholism as his life careered out of control before hitting rock bottom. He lost his lucrative job as a lawyer and his alcohol addiction trapped him in a vicious circle of crime causing him to appear in courts but no longer as the lawyer but as the criminal.

Unfortunately, he is now crippled with pancreatitis and chronic liver disease and his doctors have given him only a few months to live. With his remaining days, Mr. Grogan has decided to speak out about his alcoholism and warn others about the devastating effects of turning to the bottle. Full story >>

 

 

 

 

to hit the bottle	-	to start drinking a lot of alcohol
to descend into a downward spiral	-	to deteriorate, to slowly be destroyed, to decline
to career out of control	-	to be in a situation in which you loose control because things are happening quickly
to hit rock bottom	-	to arrive at the lowest possible level
a vicious circle	-	a process in which the existence of a problem causes other problems, and this makes the original problem worse
crippled	-	physically disabled, severely damaged
to speak out	-	to state your opinion firmly and publicly about something, especially in order to protest against or defend something
to turn to the bottle	-	to start drinking alcohol in an attempt to help yourself when you are having difficulty dealing with a situation

Note: most definitions for vocabulary on this blog are taken or adapted from www.macmillandictionary.com