“To push the boat out”
The silence of those sleepy, after-lunch hours at Le Terrazze when all the shops are closed was broken last Thursday as the children finished school for the summer. Eggs and water balloons were thrown and eventually two Carabinieri cars arrived with their sirens going! What a great feeling to be young and finishing school for 3 months!!
Pizzerias, restaurants and ice-cream shops were full of parents and students who had decided to push the boat out and have a party to celebrate the end of the school year!
If we say we push the boat out it means we spend more money than we usually do to celebrate something special. At the beach you might see someone having difficulty pushing their boat out, so people generously go and help. It is this generosity which gives us the meaning of the idiom – you are generously spending more money to enjoy an occasion.
- Let’s push the boat out and order Champagne!
- My friends decided to push the boat out and have a special holiday to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary
- Did you push the boat out when you celebrated your 18th birthday?
- I think we should all push the boat out and celebrate as much as we can in life!
Have a good week!
The English Tree Team
