Be Bold. 'Break the Mold'!
2024-06-02
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Today, we talk about making things.
3When you make things using a mold, the material takes the shape of the mold, and everything comes out the same.
4So, if you have a mold of a duck and put clay inside it, you will have a lot of ducks made out of clay with the same shape.
5They will look exactly like each other.
6Now, if you break the mold, you have to shape the clay by hand to make one duck at a time.
7As a result, all of the hand-made ducks will look different. Each one is special and unique.
8That is where we get the expression to break the mold.
9The dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster says to break the mold mean "you do something in a completely new way."
10Those who break the mold usually try to find new ways to deal with a problem.
11They do things differently from what has been done before.
12They try new methods and do not follow what is usually done.
13We also call these new ways and methods fresh, one-of-a-kind, or novel.
14For example, after a toy company lost money for three straight years, the owner tried something completely different.
15She asked young children to develop new toys for the company. And it worked.
16The new toys sold very well.
17So, we say she broke the mold of toy development by asking children instead of experts to design new toys for the company.
18We also use this expression to break the mold to "describe a very unusual or admired person."
19Let's look at the story of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.
20His father was a black man from Kenya; his mother was a white American from the Midwestern state of Kansas.
21By 2009, only five Black Americans had ever served in the U.S. Senate.
22Yet, Obama defeated all other well-known candidates to become the first Black American president in the country's history.
23Even those who did not vote for Obama agreed that he broke the mold.
24The expression is usually used to praise someone.
25But people sometimes use it to describe someone a bit unusual as well.
26Used this way, we might say, "Well, they certainly broke the mold when they made her!"
27And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories.
28Do you have a similar expression in your language? Or do you have an expression or idiom you would like us to explain? Send us an email at LearningEnglish@VOANews.com.
29Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Today, we talk about making things. 3When you make things using a mold, the material takes the shape of the mold, and everything comes out the same. So, if you have a mold of a duck and put clay inside it, you will have a lot of ducks made out of clay with the same shape. They will look exactly like each other. 4Now, if you break the mold, you have to shape the clay by hand to make one duck at a time. As a result, all of the hand-made ducks will look different. Each one is special and unique. 5That is where we get the expression to break the mold. 6The dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster says to break the mold mean "you do something in a completely new way." 7Those who break the mold usually try to find new ways to deal with a problem. They do things differently from what has been done before. They try new methods and do not follow what is usually done. 8We also call these new ways and methods fresh, one-of-a-kind, or novel. 9For example, after a toy company lost money for three straight years, the owner tried something completely different. She asked young children to develop new toys for the company. And it worked. The new toys sold very well. So, we say she broke the mold of toy development by asking children instead of experts to design new toys for the company. 10We also use this expression to break the mold to "describe a very unusual or admired person." 11Let's look at the story of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. His father was a black man from Kenya; his mother was a white American from the Midwestern state of Kansas. By 2009, only five Black Americans had ever served in the U.S. Senate. Yet, Obama defeated all other well-known candidates to become the first Black American president in the country's history. Even those who did not vote for Obama agreed that he broke the mold. 12The expression is usually used to praise someone. But people sometimes use it to describe someone a bit unusual as well. Used this way, we might say, "Well, they certainly broke the mold when they made her!" 13And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. 14Do you have a similar expression in your language? Or do you have an expression or idiom you would like us to explain? Send us an email at LearningEnglish@VOANews.com. 15Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo. 16Anna Matteo and Hai Do wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 17_______________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19mold - n. the frame on, around, or in which something is constructed or shaped 20unique - adj. being the only one of its kind : being the only one : very unusual 21novel - adj. new and not resembling something formerly known or used 22We want to hear from you. Do you have similar expressions in your language? Our comment policy is here.