'Kicking Off' a New Year
2025-01-05
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2One of the most popular sports in the United States is American football.
3In the U.S., "football" is a sport that involves a lot of contact.
4What people around the world call "football," Americans call soccer.
5For today's show, we talk about some idioms and expressions that come from American football.
6The American sport mainly involves carrying or throwing the ball.
7But there are times when a player must use their feet to kick the ball.
8The kicker can kick field goals to get points.
9In addition to that, the game starts with a kickoff and, after scoring points, a team will kick off to the other side, beginning their turn on offense.
10The term kickoff is commonly used to describe the start of an event or project.
11For example, we could say experts from all over the world attended the kickoff of the new language museum.
12You can use it as a phrasal verb, as well.
13For example, people often like to "kick off" the new year with a resolution, or promise to yourself, to reach a goal or to do something.
14Football also has the term "punt."
15Punting is another sort of kick a team uses when they cannot score.
16The punter kicks a ball with the top of his foot.
17"Punt," like "kick," can be both a noun and a verb.
18When you punt the ball, you put it in play for the other team.
19The same can be said for punting in life. When we punt something, we give our task, job, or responsibility to someone else.
20For example, if I'm not good at a certain task or I just don't want to do it, I can punt it to someone else.
21It can also mean to delay a decision.
22If I'm not sure about taking a trip, for example, I can punt the decision until later.
23Another way to say this in American English is to table it.
24If you are not ready to think about something, it can or must wait until later.
25In football, the kicker not only starts the game with a kickoff but also kicks field goals.
26To do this, the kicker must kick the football between the goalposts at either end of the football field.
27If he succeeds, his team gets three points.
28Kicking a field goal can be difficult if the kicker is far from the goalposts or if the weather in an outdoor stadium is windy, rainy or snowy.
29But imagine if the goalposts were moving? That would make kicking the ball between them much more difficult.
30We can face this problem in everyday life. Imagine if you are given a task at work with specific goals to reach.
31For example, if you are a social media manager you could be asked to increase followers by 10,000 by the end of the month.
32But when the end of the month comes, your boss tells you that now you need to add 20,000 followers, not 10,000.
33In this case, your boss has moved the goalpost.
34Sometime a person moves the goalposts on purpose.
35They have a reason for doing so.
36If the goalposts keep moving, it is difficult or even impossible to reach the goal.
37So, if you say that someone has "moved the goalposts," you are accusing them of changing the rules or end goals to make it difficult for you to succeed.
38We can also say to move the target to mean the same thing.
39A moving target is a changing goal or result.
40A desired goal, end, or objective that changes all the time is difficult or perhaps even impossible to reach.
41Both expressions - to move the goalposts and to move the target - can be used in the same way and in similar situations.
42However, moving the goalposts is a classic football expression.
43While moving the target can refer to several sports.
44And that's Words and Their Stories. Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2One of the most popular sports in the United States is American football. In the U.S., "football" is a sport that involves a lot of contact. What people around the world call "football," Americans call soccer. 3For today's show, we talk about some idioms and expressions that come from American football. 4The American sport mainly involves carrying or throwing the ball. But there are times when a player must use their feet to kick the ball. The kicker can kick field goals to get points. In addition to that, the game starts with a kickoff and, after scoring points, a team will kick off to the other side, beginning their turn on offense. 5Kicks and punts 6The term kickoff is commonly used to describe the start of an event or project. For example, we could say experts from all over the world attended the kickoff of the new language museum. 7You can use it as a phrasal verb, as well. For example, people often like to "kick off" the new year with a resolution, or promise to yourself, to reach a goal or to do something. 8Football also has the term "punt." Punting is another sort of kick a team uses when they cannot score. The punter kicks a ball with the top of his foot. "Punt," like "kick," can be both a noun and a verb. 9When you punt the ball, you put it in play for the other team. The same can be said for punting in life. When we punt something, we give our task, job, or responsibility to someone else. For example, if I'm not good at a certain task or I just don't want to do it, I can punt it to someone else. 10It can also mean to delay a decision. If I'm not sure about taking a trip, for example, I can punt the decision until later. Another way to say this in American English is to table it. If you are not ready to think about something, it can or must wait until later. 11In football, the kicker not only starts the game with a kickoff but also kicks field goals. To do this, the kicker must kick the football between the goalposts at either end of the football field. If he succeeds, his team gets three points. 12Kicking a field goal can be difficult if the kicker is far from the goalposts or if the weather in an outdoor stadium is windy, rainy or snowy. 13But imagine if the goalposts were moving? That would make kicking the ball between them much more difficult. 14To move the goalposts 15We can face this problem in everyday life. Imagine if you are given a task at work with specific goals to reach. For example, if you are a social media manager you could be asked to increase followers by 10,000 by the end of the month. But when the end of the month comes, your boss tells you that now you need to add 20,000 followers, not 10,000. 16In this case, your boss has moved the goalpost. 17Sometime a person moves the goalposts on purpose. They have a reason for doing so. If the goalposts keep moving, it is difficult or even impossible to reach the goal. So, if you say that someone has "moved the goalposts," you are accusing them of changing the rules or end goals to make it difficult for you to succeed. 18We can also say to move the target to mean the same thing. A moving target is a changing goal or result. A desired goal, end, or objective that changes all the time is difficult or perhaps even impossible to reach. 19Both expressions - to move the goalposts and to move the target - can be used in the same way and in similar situations. However, moving the goalposts is a classic football expression. While moving the target can refer to several sports. 20And that's Words and Their Stories. Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo. 21Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. 22________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24idiom -n. a word or expression that does not mean what the dictionary definition of the word or words would suggest 25field goal -n. a three-point score in American football that is made by kicking the ball through goalposts 26kickoff -n. the start of something; the beginning kick of an American football game 27goalpost -n. one of two upright poles that exist in a goal which is used in several field sports including American football and soccer 28stadium -n. a very large structure that surrounds a playing field or court where people can sit and watch a sports competition or a performance 29classic -adj. one of the best examples of something 30refer -v. to have a connection to or be related to something 31We want to hear from you. Do you have similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. Our comment policy is here. Or send us an email at LearningEnglish@voanews.com.