Father's Day Expressions
2020-06-21
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Every year, the United States celebrates Father's Day on the third Sunday in June.
3Other countries such as Britain, Canada, India, Ireland, Mexico also celebrate fathers on this Sunday in June.
4But some countries choose to celebrate fathers at other times of the year.
5In Australia, Father's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September.
6In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the holiday falls on the second Sunday in November.
7In countries with strong a Roman Catholic tradition -- for example, Italy, Spain, and Portugal -- Father's Day falls on March 19.
8That is the main feast day of a religious holiday honoring Saint Joseph.
9He was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
10And China celebrates Father's Day on August 8 - the eighth day in the eighth month of the year.
11Why on that day, you may ask? The word in Chinese for "eight" is ba and two of them -- ba ba -- is a term for "father" in Chinese.
12Regardless of when or even if your country holds Father's Day, today we will celebrate fathers around the world with a father-related expression:
13Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.
14The phrase has this meaning: People are often quick to connect themselves to successful events and distance themselves from failed ones.
15So you can use this expression when talking about people wanting to be close to success or far away from failure.
16Here is an example.
17Let us say you are working hard on a risky business project.
18There is a good chance that it could fail. For that reason, other people do not want to help you.
19They keep their distance. So, you are forced to work by yourself.
20Finally, you complete the project, and over time, it becomes a huge success.
21So, you decide to throw a celebration party.
22Now, some of the people who thought it would fail come to your party.
23They want to be close to you and your successful project.
24They may say things like, "I knew you could do it." or "I had a feeling this was a great idea!"
25You can say to them, "Yes, success has many fathers..."
26You don't even need to say the whole phrase. They should understand the insult.
27Several websites claim that the man who first used this phrase was an Italian diplomat named Count Caleazzo Ciano.
28He was married to a daughter of Benito Mussolini, Italy's leader during World War II.
29In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy popularized this saying.
30Kennedy used the expression in a speech when he announced the failure of the U.S.-supported Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.
31Perhaps some people wanted to distance themselves from the failed invasion.
32But Kennedy, as Commander in Chief, could not.
33He changed a few words, but the meaning is still the same.
34Here is part of his 1961 address to the American people.
35"There's an old saying that victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan. I've said as much as I feel can be usefully said by me in regard to the events of the past few days. Further statements, detailed discussions, are not to conceal responsibility, because I'm the responsible officer of the government, but merely because I, and that is quite obvious, but merely because I do not believe that such a discussion would benefit us during the present difficult situation."
36That was former president John F. Kennedy expanding on the phrase, Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.
37And that is Words and Their Stories for Father's Day. Until next time. I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Every year, the United States celebrates Father's Day on the third Sunday in June. Other countries such as Britain, Canada, India, Ireland, Mexico also celebrate fathers on this Sunday in June. 3But some countries choose to celebrate fathers at other times of the year. In Australia, Father's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September. In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the holiday falls on the second Sunday in November. 4In countries with strong a Roman Catholic tradition -- for example, Italy, Spain, and Portugal -- Father's Day falls on March 19. That is the main feast day of a religious holiday honoring Saint Joseph. He was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. 5And China celebrates Father's Day on August 8 - the eighth day in the eighth month of the year. Why on that day, you may ask? The word in Chinese for "eight" is ba and two of them -- ba ba -- is a term for "father" in Chinese. 6Regardless of when or even if your country holds Father's Day, today we will celebrate fathers around the world with a father-related expression: 7Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. 8The phrase has this meaning: People are often quick to connect themselves to successful events and distance themselves from failed ones. 9So you can use this expression when talking about people wanting to be close to success or far away from failure. 10Here is an example. 11Let us say you are working hard on a risky business project. There is a good chance that it could fail. For that reason, other people do not want to help you. They keep their distance. So, you are forced to work by yourself. Finally, you complete the project, and over time, it becomes a huge success. 12So, you decide to throw a celebration party. Now, some of the people who thought it would fail come to your party. They want to be close to you and your successful project. They may say things like, "I knew you could do it." or "I had a feeling this was a great idea!" 13You can say to them, "Yes, success has many fathers..." 14You don't even need to say the whole phrase. They should understand the insult. 15Several websites claim that the man who first used this phrase was an Italian diplomat named Count Caleazzo Ciano. He was married to a daughter of Benito Mussolini, Italy's leader during World War II. 16In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy popularized this saying. Kennedy used the expression in a speech when he announced the failure of the U.S.-supported Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Perhaps some people wanted to distance themselves from the failed invasion. But Kennedy, as Commander in Chief, could not. He changed a few words, but the meaning is still the same. 17Here is part of his 1961 address to the American people. 18"There's an old saying that victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan. I've said as much as I feel can be usefully said by me in regard to the events of the past few days. Further statements, detailed discussions, are not to conceal responsibility, because I'm the responsible officer of the government, but merely because I, and that is quite obvious, but merely because I do not believe that such a discussion would benefit us during the present difficult situation." 19That was former president John F. Kennedy expanding on the phrase, Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. 20And that is Words and Their Stories for Father's Day. Until next time. I'm Anna Matteo. 21____________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23feast - n. a special meal with large amounts of food and drink : a large formal dinner 24regardless - adv. despite everything 25orphan - n. a child whose mother and father are dead 26conceal - v. to keep (something) secret 27merely - adv. nothing more than : only 28obvious - adj. easily discovered, seen, or understood 29benefit - n. a good or helpful result or effect