Sometimes you think you know a word.
But then a native speaker throws a preposition onto the end of the word and the meaning totally changes.
Isn’t English wonderful?!
Never a dull moment.
EXAMPLE
You know the word “chicken,” right?
What about “chicken out”?
No, it’s not when you get KFC to go; but that’s a good guess.
See if you can figure out the meaning from this story.
SCARED BRITS IN PRAGUE
I have a friend who owns a haunted house in Prague.
One day, I was walking by just as a British couple was walking out.
I thought I’d make some small talk and maybe get some business feedback for my friend.
I asked the couple how the haunted house was.
“Dunno, mate” said the British man. “Wez chickened aaht.”
After I found my English to American dictionary, I realized they had been too afraid to walk through the haunted house.
They had chickened out.
