What Does It Mean to 'Hit Pay Dirt' - November 14, 2024

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1. 0:01And
2. 0:09now, words and their stories from VOA Learning English.
3. 0:19On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
4. 0:25We give examples and notes on usage.
5. 0:30Many valuable materials are buried deep inside the ground, such as gold, oil, and diamonds.
6. 0:39But finding these riches, and bringing them to the surface, takes much time and effort.
7. 0:48In the past, the term paydirt was used to describe something found in the dirt that could bring you money.
8. 0:57Gold is a common example of paydirt.
9. 1:01In fact, word experts say the term dates back to when North America's famous gold rush was happening.
10. 1:10By the mid -1800s, thousands of people had come to parts of the United States and Canada to search for gold.
11. 1:20The work was hard and dangerous.
12. 1:24The weather and terrain presented many difficulties.
13. 1:30Here is an example of how to use paydirt from Cambridge's online dictionary.
14. 1:46However, paydirt does not have to be a valuable material found in the ground.
15. 1:54These days, it can also describe something that produces money or profit.
16. 2:00Or it can even be the money or profit itself.
17. 2:05Here are some additional examples.
18. 2:26And that gives us the expression to hit paydirt.
19. 2:33To hit pay dirt means to do or find something that results in money or success.
20. 2:42And like digging gold, it usually doesn't come easily.
21. 2:47It requires work.
22. 2:49When you hit pay dirt, you work hard to make money or profit from an idea or activity.
23. 2:57We often use the verb hit when using the term paydirt, but sometimes we also say strike paydirt.
24. 3:07This is similar to the expression to strike it rich.
25. 3:12Many people have dreams of striking it rich one day.
26. 3:18In her book Gold Rush, author and illustrator Flora Delargy describes the process
27. 3:25of hitting pay dirt.
28. 3:28She writes that in order to get large amounts of pay dirt out of the ground,
29. 3:34miners would have to break through layers of permafrost to reach the gravel bedrock beneath.
30. 3:42This description demonstrates the difficulties faced by miners seeking to strike pay dirt.
31. 3:50And that's the end of this words in their stories.
32. 3:53Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.