Are You 'Sitting Pretty'?
2023-11-12
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Today we talk about being in a good place.
3And we begin with an old American pop singer.
4When Karen Carpenter sings about being "on top of the world," she describes feeling happy, thankful, and being in a great place.
5If you are on top of the world, you are in a great position.
6You are happy with life.
7When things are really going your way, you can also say you are sitting pretty.
8Sitting pretty, means you are in a very favorable situation.
9You love your job.
10You have a nice home.
11And your finances are in good order.
12This expression can also mean you are in a good, safe, and secure position.
13You don't need to worry about the future.
14It can also mean you are in an advantageous position.
15For example, when a friend of mine bought property, she found herself in a price war with another buyer.
16However, she was sitting pretty for several reasons: She offered a big down payment and a flexible move-in date.
17This example shows how sitting pretty can have a little difference in meaning than other similar expressions.
18It can suggest that you are in a good situation, especially when others are not.
19As we said, we have other expressions that mean about the same thing as being on top the world and sitting pretty.
20If you are in a great situation and have a favorable position, you can also say you have it made.
21You are ahead of the game.
22You are going places.
23If you feel great about your life and just feel great in general, you might say you are on cloud nine.
24The origin of this cloud expression comes from the field of agriculture.
25The Farmer's Almanac explains that scientists wanted to make recording cloud observations easier.
26So, they rated clouds zero to nine.
27Zero represented the lowest clouds and nine the highest clouds.
28Word experts say this is where the expression to be on cloud nine probably comes from.
29If you're on cloud nine you'll be very high up which may also describe your feelings.
30And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
31When it comes to your English studies, we hope all of you are on cloud nine.
32Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Today we talk about being in a good place. And we begin with an old American pop singer. 3When Karen Carpenter sings about being "on top of the world," she describes feeling happy, thankful, and being in a great place. 4If you are on top of the world, you are in a great position. You are happy with life. 5When things are really going your way, you can also say you are sitting pretty. Sitting pretty, means you are in a very favorable situation. You love your job. You have a nice home. And your finances are in good order. 6This expression can also mean you are in a good, safe, and secure position. You don't need to worry about the future. 7It can also mean you are in an advantageous position. For example, when a friend of mine bought property, she found herself in a price war with another buyer. However, she was sitting pretty for several reasons: She offered a big down payment and a flexible move-in date. 8This example shows how sitting pretty can have a little difference in meaning than other similar expressions. It can suggest that you are in a good situation, especially when others are not. 9As we said, we have other expressions that mean about the same thing as being on top the world and sitting pretty. If you are in a great situation and have a favorable position, you can also say you have it made. You are ahead of the game. You are going places. 10If you feel great about your life and just feel great in general, you might say you are on cloud nine. The origin of this cloud expression comes from the field of agriculture. The Farmer's Almanac explains that scientists wanted to make recording cloud observations easier. So, they rated clouds zero to nine. Zero represented the lowest clouds and nine the highest clouds. 11Word experts say this is where the expression to be on cloud nine probably comes from. If you're on cloud nine you'll be very high up which may also describe your feelings. 12And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. 13When it comes to your English studies, we hope all of you are on cloud nine. 14Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 15Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 16________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18advantageous - adj. helpful; favorable 19down payment - n. a part of the full price paid at the time of purchase or delivery with the balance to be paid later 20flexible - adj. readily changed or changing