Vocabulary In the News : Osama bin Laden Killed

"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body," President Obama said late Sunday evening.

direction – leadership or management

targeted – aimed at something or someone, having an objective

compound – an enclosed area where a particular group of people live or work

to carry out – to do a particular piece of work, research, operation, etc..

harmed – hurt, injured, damaged

a casualty – someone who is injured or killed in an accident or military action

a firefight – an exchange of gun fire

to take custody of something -  to take possession of

Vocabulary In the News: One million throng London for royal wedding

One million well-wishers thronged the streets of London yesterday for the royal wedding turning the streets into a blanket of red, white and blue. They all turned out hoping to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds who exchanged their vows at Westminster Abbey.

A jubilant crowd waiting at the palace gates were treated to a public kiss on the lips, a break with royal protocol which states that royals are not allowed to kiss publically.

To the relief of the royal family, everything went off without a hitch.

VOCABULARY
a well-wisher – someone who shares your feelings or opinions and hopes that you will be successful

to throng – to gather in large, numerous crowds

a throng – a large crowd of people

a blanket – a thick layer of something, for example snow, fog or clouds that completely covers an area

to turn out – to go somewhere to be present at an event or take part in an activity

Synonym: to show up

to catch a glimpse – to see something or someone for a moment only

to exchange vows – a set of promises that people make to each other, for example during a wedding ceremony

jubilant (adj.) – extremely happy because something good has happened

to be treated to something – to have something special done for or given to you

to treat oneself/someone to something – to do something or to give something special to yourself or someone

a treat – something special you do or buy for yourself or someone else

to go off without a hitch – to happen successfully without any problems

Synonym: with flying colours (UK)/colors (US)

Vocabulary In the News : Governor Haley Barbour Pulls the Plug On a 2012 Presidential Run

25 April 2010 - It appeared certain that Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi was going to throw his hat into the ring and seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States in 2012. He had lined up an official May 2 announcement that would be following by a fly-around to several states winding up back in Jackson, Mississippi for a huge fundraising bash. He even lined up a campaign manager. However, to the surprise of his backers, Barbour announced on Monday that he was pulling the plug. One of the reasons he gave for his decision to not run for the presidency was that he couldn’t offer with “total certainty” a commitment to endure the crucible of a presidential campaign.

VOCABULARY:

to throw one’s hat into the ring: to enter a political race as a candidate; to announce that you intend to compete for something (This expression comes from the early 19^th century when boxing was very popular. If anyone wished to challenge a boxer, he would simply throw his hat into the boxing ring.)

to line up: to organize or prepare things for an event or a series of events

to wind up: to end something (Here, Barbour would finish his fly-around the country in Jackson, Mississippi.)

a bash: a party or a celebration

a backer: a supporter (the verb is ‘to back’)

to pull the plug: to stop an activity (It is used especially when money is no longer being provided to allow an activity to continue. A plug is what is connected to the electrical socket in the wall to make our appliances work. If you remove it from the wall, electricity is no longer supplied and the appliance stops working.)

a crucible: an environment that is very dangerous, difficult or exciting

Vocabulary In the News : Yahoo! News (Online Article From 31 December 2010)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/new_year_s_eve;_ylt=Au.EDaRl._gD.QwBr2YE2kKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNlY2NscGgwBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMjMxL25ld195ZWFyX3NfZXZlBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDNgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbWlsbGlvbnNnYXRo

If you are awake at midnight and are celebrating the arrival of the New Year, we say in English that you are ringing in the New Year. At midnight the world ushers in 2011, in other words, the world will inaugurate 2011. Some dream that in 2011, successful talks between Israel and Palestine will usher in a new era of peace.

Worldwide (around the world), people are celebrating  and enjoying themselves by being lively and noisy. Many of these revelers are singing, dancing and drinking. These revelers are gathering in large crowds such as in Times Square, New York. Others are simply at home gathered with their family. When people gather, they come together in one place to see or do something. This Christmas, I returned to the States to gather with my family.

Happy New Year 2011!!

To read the full article, click on the link or image above!

Vocabulary In the News : Yahoo! News (Online Article From 31 December 2010)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101231/wl_nm/us_france_newyear

Well, it’s that time of year in France when friends get together with a glass of champagne around a blazing fire. However, that blazing fire could be your car! Once again, French authorities brace for these annual New Year torchings. In other words, they are preparing for an unpleasant night. Have you ever watched a movie where a boat, ship or space ship are about to be hit by a large object? Usually in this situation, the captain will cry out, “Brace for impact!” This tells the crew to prepare themselves for the impact or blow that will hit the vessel. In France, the authorities are bracing for the impact of the car torchings.

Disaffected youths in France’s suburbs compete with other suburbs to see who can cause the most damage. To be disaffected means to longer feel any loyalty. Many of France’s youth in the suburbs feel that they are discriminated against and thus have become hostile and rebellious toward authority.

Bracing for this night and in an attempt to fight against this competition between suburbs, the police will keep the vandalism statistics under wraps. If you are good at not telling anyone a secret, you can keep it under wraps. You could also say that the French police will keep a lid on the vandalism statistics.

To read the full article, click on the link or image above.

Vocabulary In the News : CBS News (Online Article from 22 December 2010)

In this sad story, a student of Rutgers University, Tyler Clementi, was outed by his roommate who spied on him with a webcam during a tryst. The roommate then put the video online publically humiliating him. As a result, a humiliated Tyler committed suicide.

If someone is outed, this means it is made publically known that he or she is gay. Tyler Clementi, who was publically still in the closet, was caught in a tryst (pronounced ‘trist’) with another man.  A tryst means any secret meaning between two people who are having a romantic relationship.

The act caused national outcry in the United States. This is an angry expression of protest or shock!

Tyler’s parents believe that Rutgers University failed to enforce policies that would have prevented the act. His parents are now considering whether or not to sue the university. If you sue someone, you are making a legal claim against them, usually for money, because they have done something bad against you. To formally ask a court to look at your case against someone, you file a lawsuit.

To read more about this story, click on the image above.

I had just finished writing the blog post above when I noticed that Newsy had just posted video on this story:

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For the transcript, go to : http://www.newsy.com/videos/rutgers-facing-lawsuit-over-clementi-suicide

Vocabulary In the News : Yahoo News (Online Article from 26 November 2010)

If you stab someone or something, you push a sharp object such as a knife into that person or thing. Thankfully, in the case of this Marine who was stabbed in the back, his wound wasn’t severe. The Marine was trying to stop a shoplifter, who had tried to shoplift a laptop computer. Shoplifting is the act of stealing from a shop. This comes from the verb ‘to lift,’ which also means to steal.

Other interesting expressions with ‘stab’:

• Unpleasant feelings or emotions can stab you if you feel them very strongly. When my grandmother passed away, sadness stabbed my heart. If someone’s words stab you, you feel a strong sense of sadness or fear.
• a stabbing – In the article, the Marine was a victim of a stabbing. This is the name for this type of attack.
• a stabbing pain – This is very intense and sharp pain such as would be felt in a heart attack or severe injury.
• to stab someone in the back – If someone trusts you and that person thinks you are loyal to them, but you do something bad that is disloyal and hurtful, you stab them in the back.
• a stab in the dark – If you make a guess at a question or problem that is not based on any knowledge and which will probably be a wrong answer, we call this a stab in the dark. Sometimes while playing trivia games and I don’t know the answer, I’ll make a stab in the dark.

Click on the above image to access the article’s main page.

Vocabulary In the News : The Guardian (Front Page Headline from 23 November 2010)

Visit the The Guardian : http://www.guardian.co.uk/

A bailout is an economic term that we’ve been hearing a lot these last few years. This is the money given or lent to a person or organization with financial problems in order to save them. Ireland is the latest EU country after Greece to get a bailout package. However, according to the headline, the bailout is ending in turmoil.

If something is in turmoil, it is in a state of extreme confusion, chaos or agitation. They fear that this economic turmoil is going to spread to other European countries such as Portugal or Spain. In other words, the crisis will proliferate across the EU.

The crisis is provoking political turmoil as well in Ireland. The Taoiseach, the head of the Irish government,  is at bay as the ruling coalition disintegrates. If something or someone is at bay, this means that they are cornered or trapped. The Irish leader is under tremendous pressure to step down and to call for new elections.

Vocabulary In the News : New York Post (Online Article from 20 November 2010) – “What a catch!”

The headline of this article has some great idiomatic expressions that come from fishing terminology. Let’s first look at “What a catch!” Of course the meaning is clear because when you go fishing, you want to catch fish. If you catch or someone else catches a nice, big fish you would say, “What a catch!” You can also use this expression to describe someone’s partner. If a friend of yours found a really nice boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife you would tell them the say thing! Of course if they unfortunately lose them, you could say “There are other fish in the ocean.”

When you fish, you hope to catch a fish on your hook. However, the headline states that some young New Yorkers are also hooked. If you are hooked on something, you are really interested  or attracted to it and you want to do it as much as possible. These guys are hooked on fishing. This expression can also be used to describe an addiction that you can’t stop such as being hooked on drugs.

Angling is the sport of catching fish. When you fish, you hope to catch a fish on the line when it bites your hook. Of course, while reeling in your fish, you could lose it! For these New York fisherman, they are putting their angling skills on the line.  If you put or lay something on the line, you put something at risk. The young New Yorkers are risking their reputations as good fisherman. When our soldiers go on mission into a combat area, they put their lives on the line for us.

To read the article, click on the above image.

Video of the Moment : Prince William and Kate Middleton To Marry (Sky News–16 November 2010)

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Royal-Wedding-Prince-William-And-Kate-Middleton-To-Marry-Next-Year/Article/201011315810564

 

to wait in the wings	-	attendre dans les coulisses
to take centre stage	-	arriver sur le devant de la scène
relieved	-	soulagé, déchargé
fairytale	-	un conte de fée
to pop the question (informal)	-	demander la main d’une femme
to date someone	-	sortir avec quelqu’un
expected	-	attendu, espéré
to fail	-	échouer
to catch the eye of someone	-	accrocher le regard
a crush (idiomatic)	-	le béguin, la toquade
a boarding school	-	le pensionnat
to pin	-	fixer avec une punaise
prying eyes	-	des yeux indiscrèts
to graduate	-	terminer ses études
the bubble of privacy burst	-	la bulle d’intimité a éclaté
to pass out (British)	-	términer avec succès (une université militaire ou un centre de formation de la police)
to set tongues wagging	-	faire jaser
reminiscent	-	évocateur
rumours swell	-	les rumeurs gonflent
scrutiny	-	le regard scrutateur
to take its toll	-	faire des ravages
the spotlight	-	la sellette, la une
high profile	-	à forte visibilité, médiatique
stroke	-	dit pour un événement important mais inattendu
to hijack an event	-	récupérer un événement

Vocabulary In the News : Politico (Online Article from 15 November 2010)

In January when the new Republican-controlled Congress convenes, California Democrat Nancy Pelosi will no longer be Speaker of the House, the second most powerful position in the US government and second-in-line to the presidency. She appears to have enough votes though from her Democrat colleagues to maintain her leadership position, but as Minority Leader. However some of the more moderate Democrats are unhappy with her maintaining leadership of the Democrats in the House. Since they don’t have enough votes to remove her from leadership, they are attacking Pelosi’s power to appoint lieutenants.

If you appoint someone to do a job, you choose that person. Pelosi, as leader of the Democrats in the House, has the power to appoint the lieutenants. These are Democrat members holding other lower ranking leadership positions in the party and are considered the leader’s ‘enforcers.’

Nancy Pelosi is scrambling to stop opposition from the more moderate Democrat members. This means that she is hurrying and working very hard in competition against these member to maintain her authority. She wants to thwart a Democrat rebellion in her party. In other words, she is trying to prevent or stop this rebellion.

This is seen as the first test of her might (or power) in the new Congress. The article states that she is trying to extinguish the rebellion. If you extinguish a fire or a cigarette, you stop the burning. The rebellion is viewed like a fire that has to be stopped.

To read the article, click on the above image.

Vocabulary In the News : Daily Mail (Online Article from 7 November 2010)

Evan Davis, from the British reality show Dragons’ Den, defied BBC strikers. If you defy someone, you refuse to obey or to follow the wishes of someone. In this case, he defied his coworkers at the BBC who were on strike.

How did he defy the will of these strikers? He crossed the picket line. A picket line is literally a line or procession of people who are publicly protesting. The expression, to cross the picket line, means a worker continues to work while his coworkers are on strike.

When Davis crossed the picket line, he provoked a furious row. A row is a very noisy argument or serious disagreement between people. This noun is pronounced like “wow!”

US 2010 Midterm Election Results

This is a congressional district map of the United States since the 2008 elections. All the districts in blue have a Democratic representative and all those in red have a Republican representative. Before the election Tuesday, there were 255 Democratic seats, 178 Republican seats, and 2 vacant seats.

Here’s the new map for the House of Representatives starting in January 2011 when the new Congress is sworn in.

Here are the results as they stand now. The votes for two Senate seats (Washington and Alaska) are still being counted. There are 10 House seats being recounted because the races are very close.

Prior to Tuesday, there were 59 Democratic seats (including 2 Independent) and 41 Republican seats in the Senate.

Vocabulary in the News : The Wall Street Journal (Front Page from 3 November 2010)

Let’s look at some of the vocabulary found in the article titles. If you want to read each article on The Wall Street Journal webpage, click on the each title.

GOP Claims House in Huge Swing, Tea-Party Wave Creates New Dynamic in Washington and the States; Democrats to Retain Senate Despite Drubbing

• A swing is seat that hangs from ropes or chains and moves back and forth which is usually used by children. So you can imagine the illusion here of a swing. In politics, we this word to describe when one ruling party has been replaced by a new one. The term can be used to describe any change in emotion, idea, condition, etc, to another. For example, Spain was a very conservative and Catholic country but there was a swing away from traditional family values when the country allowed same-sex marriage. In Amsterdam, there is a swing in the government position on legalized marijuana which may cause coffee shops to close down in the future.

• A change in political parties in power at a national level can also be described as a wave or even a tidal wave. A wave of course is a raised line of water you find in the ocean or other body of water. Last night a Republican wave swept (past irregular form of ‘to sweep’ – balayer) across the country pushing Democrats out of power.
• The Majority Leader Harry Reid, despite the drubbing the Democrats received by the Republicans last night, surprisingly won his reelection in Nevada. If you received a drubbing, this means that you were severely beaten. This word is believed to have been possibly derived from the Arabic word darb which means a beating, particularly by a stick.

Unaligned Voters Tilt Rightward In Droves

• Voters who don’t identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats tilted rightward in this election. In other words, they favored the particular program or opinion of those running as Republicans. Literally, to tilt means to incline or to cause to slope to one side. For example, these slashes ‘///////’ all tilt to the right.  If these unaligned (or nonaligned) voters had favored the Democrats, we would have said that they tilted leftward. In any case, the election is over and the United States must now move forward and not backward.
• The headline also said that these independent voters favored the political right in droves. If people do something in droves, it means they do it in very large numbers.

How the Rout Was Won : Careful Plans, Timely Wave

• A rout is a term to describe the complete defeat of your opponent in a battle, competition or an election. The word is also a verb. For example, Spain won the FIFA World Cup after having routed the Netherlands.
• If something happens in a timely manner, it happens at the most suitable or proper time.
   

Vocabulary In the News : The Washington Times (Front Page from 01 November 2010)

Let’s look at some of the vocabulary found in the article titles. If you want to read each article on The Washington Times webpage, click on the each title.

• ‘Rhetoric heats up in homestretch, Partisans fire up troops for trench warfare’ – We often talk about political rhetoric during electoral campaigns or political debates. Rhetoric is the art of studying and the skill of using language effectively to persuade and convince the listener. It can also be used to describe language that is elaborate, pretentious and insincere. Now that we are in the homestretch, this rhetoric is becoming more intense. This expression is a sports term often used to describe racing. Well, political campaigns are referred to as races and thus such sports terms apply! If in a race you are in the homestretch, you are in the last turn of the racetrack heading towards the finish line.
• Now that we are getting to the end of the race, the partisans are firing up the troops, i.e. the voters for trench warfare. In other words, they are trying to motivate and inflame with enthusiasm the voters to come out and vote for them. It’s a fight to the finish and it will be a difficult and dirty one, just like trench warfare. World War I is the best example of this type of war!
• ‘GOP takeover would tighten gridlock on financial relief’ – A takeover is the act of taking control, management or responsibility for something, particularly when talking about power in a nation or in a business. The article states that if the Republicans takeover Congress, Obama’s plan for financial relief would face gridlock. This term is used to describe traffic that cannot move on the motorways because of some sort of problem. In political terms, it means a complete lack of progress. With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, they are expected to block Obama’s political agenda causing gridlock.

Vocabulary In the News : Red Celery!!

Run your cursor over the words to discover their definitions.

Florida company unveils red celery

MIAMI | Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:59am EDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida-based U.S. produce company is looking to titillate the eye and the taste buds by offering a new red-colored celery to give a "colorful crunch" to salads and dips.

Celery producer Duda Farm Fresh Foods unveiled the celery variety, to be sold under the brand name Celery Sensations, at the U.S. Produce Marketing Association's annual Fresh Summit Trade Show in Orlando, Fla. on Saturday.

The company said its researchers developed the milder-tasting red salad vegetable by cross-pollinating an existing green commercial variety with an old-world heritage celery root, or celeriac variety, whose original heirloom seed could be traced back to Eastern Europe.

"It has the same great crisp, fresh flavor as regular celery," Duda Farm Fresh Foods' President Dan Duda said in a statement.

(Reporting by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Stacey Joyce)

Taken from : http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69F0VC20101016

Vocabulary In the News : Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minnesota) – 07 July 2010

Go to the Duluth News Tribune homepage

Drivers in Duluth, Minnesota are experiencing a new problem that they had not planned on due to work that began on a stretch of highway. When a problem seems to appear unexpectedly, we refer to this as a snag. In French you would refer to this as un pépin. Work on this segment of road, or stretch, is causing a traffic snarl. In other words, it complicates the movement of traffic making it difficult, if not impossible, to move.

When traffic moves slowly and you follow very closely the car in front of you and  there is also a car following you very closely in the rear, we call this bumper-to-bumper traffic. This is often experienced during  the morning and afternoon rush , when everyone is on the road going to and from work in the morning and evening. Your bumper is that long piece of metal or plastic attached to the front and back of your car to protect it if it hits or bumps anything.

Because of the road work, traffic has slowed down to a stop-and-go crawl. This of course describes the action of slowly moving forward in short movements while constantly having to brake in order to avoid hitting the car in front of you. During rush hour, traffic usually slows to a crawl.

When there are a lot of cars on the road due to the morning or evening rush,  we call this commuter traffic. A commuter is someone who travels to and from work by car, by train or by bus. Some American cities have tried to improve their traffic problems by putting in place HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes. Usually this is the farthest lane on the left which is reserved for cars with 2 or more people in them. The HOV lane was designed to encourage carpooling, the act of sharing cars to get to and from work. If you are caught driving in this lane without passengers, you will get stopped and fined by the police. Some, however, have tried to trick the police by disguising a mannequin to appear as a sleeping passenger!

OTHER VOCABULARY FOUND IN THE TEXT

the interstate – an American term for the motorway or highway because they cross state lines.

northbound, southbound, etc.. (adj.) – moving towards the north, south, etc..

a motorist – someone who drives a car

an off-ramp – a road that leads off a huge highway (opposite = an on-ramp)

a block – an area of buildings in a city with roads on all four sides (un pâté)

pavement (American – uncountable) – the surface of the road (NOTE: in British English the pavement, now a countable noun, refers to the ‘le trottoir’)

an intersection – where two or more roads join or cross each other.

a curve – a bend in a road or river.

downtown – American English for the city centre

Read the complete article at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/173144/

Video Of the Moment / Vocabulary In the News : ‘No Appetite’ for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (taken from Newsy.com)

In his first speech on immigration, President Obama called the system “broken," urging Congress to toughen enforcement of existing laws.

Newsy’s sources: CNN / KSAZ / The Huffington Post / The Guardian / ABC

For a full transcript, go HERE!

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

to toughen / to toughen up	-	to become more strict, or to make something more strict Example: Due to the current economic crisis, many countries are toughening (up) financial rules.
to be a matter of	-	to be a question of Example: It’s only a matter of time before he realizes the mistake he made.
undocumented (adj.)	-	lacking documentation or authentication; lacking proper immigration or working papers Example: About 60% of the illegal alien population in the US are "undocumented aliens," who are commonly known as "unlawful border crossers," or more properly known as "illegal aliens."
to make a mockery of something	-	to make someone or something seem stupid or useless Example: Ten-year marriage contracts would make a total mockery of marriage vows.
to urge	-	to advise someone very strongly about what action or attitude they should take Example: Environmentalists are urging the US Government to stop drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
an appetite for	-	to advise someone very strongly about what action or attitude they should take Example: The public’s appetite for celebrity gossip seems insatiable. Synonym: a desire for
mixed (adj.)	-	mixed feelings or emotions make you not certain how you feel about someone or something Example: Teachers have mixed feelings about the use of distance language teaching.
coverage (uncountable)	-	news about something on television or radio or in the newspapers Example: People around the world watched live coverage of the FIFA World Cup on television.
to shine a spotlight on something	-	to give a lot of importance to, to give a lot of public attention to Example: The BP oil spill is shining the spotlight on how dangerous and difficult deepwater drilling can be. Other expressions: to be in the spotlight (= to have a lot of public attention) ≠ to be out of the spotlight
after (prep.)	-	in quest or pursuit of something Example: Participants in Star Academy are seeking after fame. / Some believe that President Obama is going after amnesty for illegal immigrants.
a spin (informal / uncountable)	-	a way of presenting information, especially a way that makes something seem good or less bad Example: Not even the craftiest politician could put a positive spin on this. Other Expressions: to spin a story / a spin doctor (=someone who works in public relations or the media who presents news in a way to promote a particular political agenda, they usually try to make a situation look better or worse than what it really is)
to enact legislation	-	to make into an act or statute Example: With the president’s signature, the new legislation/bill on healthcare reform was enacted into law.
to stem	-	to stop something from spreading or increasing, especially something bad Example: France passed a new retirement policy in an attempt to stem an increasing budget deficit.
misguided (adj.)	-	a misguided idea or action is based on judgments or opinions that are wrong Example: Many people believe that the war in Iraq was misguided. Synonym: unfounded
the purview	-	the area of responsibility or influence that a person or organization has Example: Organizing new training is under the purview of the human resources department.
to put forth (formal)	-	to state or offer an idea, opinion, plan ,etc Example: The French government put forth a plan to reform retirement benefits.
to require	-	if a rule, law, contract etc requires something, you must do that thing Example: Car insurance is required by law in most countries.
to be driven by something	-	is motivated by Example: He is driven by the desire to be the best football player.
to outline	-	to give the main ideas of a plan or a piece of writing without giving all the details Example: The document outlines our company’s recycling policy.
contentious (adj.)	-	causing disagreement between people or groups Example: Abortion in the United States is a major contentious issue.
to take something/someone on	-	to fight or compete against someone Example: The United States took on Ghana at the FIFA World Cup but was eliminated by them.
pandering (from the verb ‘to pander’)	-	this is the act of saying or doing what someone wants in order to please them, even though you know it isn’t right. Example: Politicians do a lot of pandering during election time and really don’t mean a lot of what they say or promise.

 

So, what do you think? Did the president’s speech on comprehensive immigration reform make any progress or was he simply pandering? What immigration reform would you like to see in your country? Please feel free to leave your comments!

Vocabulary In the News : The San Francisco Chronicle – 30 June 2O1O

Read full text here!!

In San Francisco, sting operations are being conducted to curb the rise in bicycle theft due to a rise in commuting by such vehicles. A sting is a trick prepared by the police in order to nab the wrongdoer. If you curb an action, behavior or a situation, you try to take control of it and limit it. Commuting is the act of traveling (by means of a vehicle such as a bike, train or car) back and forth between your home and place of work. When you commute, you’re called a commuter.

 

The police are working with cycling advocates, people who strongly support the use of bicycles, to nab these criminals. You don’t want to get nabbed by the police because this means you’ve been caught and arrested by them. To catch the criminal, they are placing a transponder in decoy bikes placed in various hot spots around the city. By doing this, they will be able to not only track the thief (pl. thieves), but also find the buyer and the seller. If you track something (or someone), you follow its course.

 

OTHER VOCABULARY ON THE FRONTPAGE

stock	une action (titres d’une société)
a pill	un comprimé, un cachet
to draw ire	provoquer la colère
to bust a myth	faire s’effondrer un mythe
to debunk	déboulonner

Vocabulary In the News : 15 March 2010 – The San Francisco Examiner

A crackdown is a strong action taken by authorities to stop a particular action. The verbal expression is to crack down on. (Ex. San Francisco is cracking down on tax cheaters.)

A tax dodger is someone who illegally avoids paying taxes; in other words, he or she dodges taxes!

A variation of this term is a fare dodger, who is someone who tries to ride the bus, metro or tram for free without buying a ticket.

Besides meaning ‘rigid,’ stiff also means more severe or difficult than usual. Tax dodgers in San Francisco will face stiff fines; the city is making the penalty more expensive. In another example of the term, President Obama is facing stiff opposition to his health care reform.