Do You Know “Shake”? - Part 2

Continuing with our review of the word "shake," let’s explore a few more definitions of this word and how it is used in different expressions in English.

If an apple tree is shaken, its apples will fall to the ground where they can then be collected

Angličtina na iDNES.cz
VŠECHNY LEKCE ZDE

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When someone says they are going to "shake things up," this is another way of saying that they plan to do something which is either out of the ordinary, or that it will change the status quo or the existing order or nature of things. Examples:

"The American hockey team really shook things up, they beat the Czechs 27-1!" or "The sudden increase in the cost of oil has really shaken things up, the economy now is starting to suffer."

Shake it loose
If someone is going to "shake it loose," this means that they are going to try something which will hopefully cause some sort of desired reaction or result. Examples:

"The boss said he would try a few new things to see if he could shake loose some extra profits for the company" or "The police were hoping to shake loose a few more informants to try and help them solve some of these recent crimes."

In both of these examples, the term "to shake loose" means to basically do something or take a series of actions which you hope will produce some results.

The use of this phrase comes from the real physical world. If an apple tree is shaken, its apples will fall to the ground where they can then be collected. This is where the origin of popular expressions come from such as: "Let’s shake their tree and see what falls out," or "Let’s shake a few trees and see what falls out of them."

                                                        Part 3 next week

    Joke of the Day: Do You Know This?

1. Honey is the only food known to science which does not spoil. Honey has actually been discovered in ancient tombs and has been tasted and eaten by modern man and was found to be perfectly fine!

2. The tongue twister sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick is supposed to be the most difficult short sentence in the English language.

3. One out of every 1,500 lobsters in the Atlantic Ocean are born blue.

4. 23% of all copy machine problems or breakdowns are caused by people either sitting on them, or trying to photocopy their butts!

5. The average butterfly has 12,000 eyes to admire you with.

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