Concetti Chiave
- Cemeteries, also called graveyards, are places for burying the dead, often featuring historical and cultural significance.
- The expression "whistling past the graveyard" is used to describe maintaining a cheerful demeanor in the face of a likely negative outcome.
- The "graveyard shift" refers to working during late night hours, typically starting at eleven or twelve o'clock at night.
- Graves are earth excavations for burials, and gravestones are monuments placed to identify grave occupants, often requiring skilled stone carving.
- Expressions with 'grave' like "turn over in one's grave" and "one foot in the grave" convey strong feelings about death and disapproval.
A cemetery is a place where the dead are buried. They are also known as graveyards.
Burial wishes
My father jokingly told my mother that when he dies, he doesn't want to be buried in a cemetery. He said he'd rather be buried under the garden where he grew all his tomatoes.
There is a small but well-tended graveyard behind the church, and that is where most of the famous residents of the town are buried, including the writer Charles Dickens.
There is an expression, whistling past the graveyard, that means trying to stay cheerful in a situation that is very likely to end badly. If you work at night, starting at eleven or twelve o'clock, that is known as working the graveyard shift.
Garrett has got to realize that ignoring these letters from the government about the tax money he owes is just whistling past the graveyard. Hopefully, he'll decide to be more proactive!
The night shift
Ernie and Joan have a very stable marriage, even though for the last year, he's been working the graveyard shift while she works during the day. I don't know how, but they still manage to spend time together!
A grave is an excavation in the earth, dug for a human or animal burial. A gravestone is the stone monument placed at the end of the grave, identifying the grave's occupant.
I've never understood why anyone would want to be a grave digger. It seems like hard work, and you'd be surrounded all day, every day, by reminders of death.
Nils is a stone carver, and while it isn't nice to think about, he earns a lot of money carving fancy gravestones. It's a living, I suppose.
Expressions with 'grave'
There are many expressions using grave, including turn over in one's grave, which means that someone who has passed away would be very upset to hear about something that has just happened. Another is one foot in the grave, meaning nearly dead, either from illness or age.
If your father knew that you were selling the house he raised you in, he'd turn over in his grave. I really think you should reconsider selling it.
Mark thought about the situation. The manager could give him the promotion, or it could go to Tony, who was more than eighty years old. Why would they give a promotion to someone who has one foot in the grave?
Domande da interrogazione
- What are some unique burial wishes mentioned in the text?
- How does the expression "whistling past the graveyard" relate to real-life situations?
- What challenges do people face when working the graveyard shift, according to the text?
- Can you explain the expression "turn over in one's grave" and provide an example from the text?
The text mentions a humorous burial wish where the author's father prefers to be buried under the garden where he grew tomatoes, rather than in a cemetery.
"Whistling past the graveyard" refers to trying to stay cheerful in a likely bad situation. The text uses Garrett's situation of ignoring government tax letters as an example of this expression.
The text highlights the challenge of maintaining relationships, as seen with Ernie and Joan, who manage to spend time together despite working opposite shifts.
"Turn over in one's grave" means a deceased person would be upset by current events. The text gives an example where selling a family home might upset a deceased father.
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