What 'Strikes a Chord' with You?
2021-07-18
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
3We give examples that show how to how to use them.
4And sometimes we explain where they come from.
5Today, our expression comes from music.
6A chord is three or more musical notes sounded at the same time.
7The word "strike" means to hit.
8But when we play a note on a musical instrument, we can also say we struck a note.
9So, our expression for today is to strike a chord.
10In its most general definition, to strike a chord means something relates to you somehow.
11It resonates with you.
12If something strikes a chord with you, it is familiar to you in some way, for better or for worse.
13Something can strike a positive chord.
14It is familiar to you in a good way.
15It creates good feelings or thoughts.
16For example, a love song struck a deep chord with James.
17It is the song he sang to his wife at their wedding.
18Or maybe the song was playing on the radio when she left him.
19In that case, the song would strike a negative chord with James.
20As you can see from those examples, you can add other words to describe what type of chord is being struck - a deep chord, a negative chord.
21Here are some other examples.
22A teacher's advice can strike a responsive chord with students.
23And a politician's speech can strike a sympathetic chord with voters.
24Those two words - sympathetic and responsive - are commonly used with this expression.
25You might hear people say something "struck a familiar chord."
26But to me, this sounds a bit unnecessary.
27If something strikes a chord, it means it is familiar in some way.
28So, we don't need to add the word "familiar" to the expression.
29But I have heard it used that way before.
30Maybe it means something is really familiar.
31Sometimes we use to strike a chord this way:
32 If something creates strong feelings or thoughts, it strikes a chord.
33And that "something" could be unfamiliar to the person.
34Here is another situation where we use this expression:
35If something strikes a chord with you, you approve of it. You agree with it.
36For example, during the election the politician's position on the economy and jobs must have struck a chord with voters because she won easily.
37Let's talk for a minute about sentence structure.
38If you look back at our examples, most if not all of them use the word "with" - with James, with students, with voters.
39But you can use this expression without the word "with."
40In this way, "strike a chord" means it caused a strong emotional reaction to something.
41For example, that movie must have really struck a chord.
42 Everyone came out of the theater crying.
43Hopefully learning English continues to strike a chord with all of you ... a positive one!
44And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give examples that show how to how to use them. And sometimes we explain where they come from. 3Today, our expression comes from music. A chord is three or more musical notes sounded at the same time. The word "strike" means to hit. But when we play a note on a musical instrument, we can also say we struck a note. 4So, our expression for today is to strike a chord. 5In its most general definition, to strike a chord means something relates to you somehow. It resonates with you. If something strikes a chord with you, it is familiar to you in some way, for better or for worse. 6Something can strike a positive chord. It is familiar to you in a good way. It creates good feelings or thoughts. For example, a love song struck a deep chord with James. It is the song he sang to his wife at their wedding. Or maybe the song was playing on the radio when she left him. In that case, the song would strike a negative chord with James. 7As you can see from those examples, you can add other words to describe what type of chord is being struck - a deep chord, a negative chord. 8Here are some other examples. 9A teacher's advice can strike a responsive chord with students. And a politician's speech can strike a sympathetic chord with voters. Those two words - sympathetic and responsive - are commonly used with this expression. 10You might hear people say something "struck a familiar chord." But to me, this sounds a bit unnecessary. If something strikes a chord, it means it is familiar in some way. So, we don't need to add the word "familiar" to the expression. But I have heard it used that way before. Maybe it means something is really familiar. 11Sometimes we use to strike a chord this way: If something creates strong feelings or thoughts, it strikes a chord. And that "something" could be unfamiliar to the person. 12Here is another situation where we use this expression: If something strikes a chord with you, you approve of it. You agree with it. For example, during the election the politician's position on the economy and jobs must have struck a chord with voters because she won easily. 13Let's talk for a minute about sentence structure. 14If you look back at our examples, most if not all of them use the word "with" - with James, with students, with voters. But you can use this expression without the word "with." In this way, "strike a chord" means it caused a strong emotional reaction to something. For example, that movie must have really struck a chord. Everyone came out of the theater crying. 15Hopefully learning English continues to strike a chord with all of you ... a positive one! 16And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 17Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 18________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20resonate - v. to have particular meaning or importance for someone : to affect or appeal to someone in a personal or emotional way 21positive - adj. good or useful 22negative - adj. a part of something which is harmful or bad 23responsive - v. reacting in a desired or positive way : quick to react or respond 24sympathetic - adj. having or showing support for or approval of something