VOA词汇掌故2023--Are You 'Sitting Pretty'?

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning¹ English.

Today we talk about being in a good place. And we begin with an old American pop singer.

When Karen Carpenter sings about being "on top of the world," she describes feeling happy, thankful, and being in a great place.

If you are on top of the world, you are in a great position. You are happy with life.

When things are really going your way, you can also say you are sitting pretty. Sitting pretty, means you are in a very favorable² situation. You love your job. You have a nice home. And your finances³ are in good order.

This expression can also mean you are in a good, safe, and secure⁴ position. You don't need to worry about the future.

It can also mean you are in an advantageous⁵ position. For example, when a friend of mine bought property, she found herself in a price war with another buyer. However, she was sitting pretty for several reasons: She offered a big down payment⁶ and a flexible move-in date.

This example shows how sitting pretty can have a little difference in meaning than other similar expressions. It can suggest that you are in a good situation, especially when others are not.

As we said, we have other expressions that mean about the same thing as being on top the world and sitting pretty. If you are in a great situation and have a favorable position, you can also say you have it made. You are ahead of the game. You are going places.

If you feel great about your life and just feel great in general, you might say you are on cloud nine. The origin of this cloud expression comes from the field of agriculture. The Farmer's Almanac explains that scientists wanted to make recording⁷ cloud observations easier. So, they rated clouds zero to nine. Zero represented the lowest clouds and nine the highest clouds.

Word experts say this is where the expression to be on cloud nine probably comes from. If you're on cloud nine you'll be very high up which may also describe your feelings.

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

When it comes to your English studies, we hope all of you are on cloud nine.

Words in This Story

advantageous – adj. helpful; favorable

down payment – n. a part of the full price paid at the time of purchase or delivery⁸ with the balance to be paid later

flexible – adj. readily changed or changing

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 favorable   

adj.赞成的，赞成的；有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The book received a favorable review.这本书赢得了好评。
• Each nation suppressed news that was not favorable to it.每个国家都扣留对它不利的消息。

3 finances   

n.(pl.)财源，资产

参考例句：

• I need a professional to sort out my finances. 我需要专业人士为我管理财务。
• The company's finances are looking a bIt'shaky. 这个公司的财政情况看来有点不稳定。

4 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

5 advantageous   

adj.有利的；有帮助的

参考例句：

• Injections of vitamin C are obviously advantageous.注射维生素C显然是有利的。
• You're in a very advantageous position.你处于非常有利的地位。

6 payment   

n.付款，支付，偿还，偿还，报应

参考例句：

• I gave ten pounds in payment for the goods I bought.我买那些东西付了10英镑。
• This last payment will wipe out your debt to me.这最后一笔付款将了结你欠我的债务。

7 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

8 delivery   

n.交付；投递；分娩；解救者；演讲的风格

参考例句：

• The strike caused a great delay in the delivery of the mail.这次罢工严重地延误了邮件的投递。
• He was employed at the local grocery store as a delivery boy.他受雇于当地杂货店当送货员。