The Day That Never Was

The year 2008, was a leap year[1], which meant that it had an extra day, the 29th of February, which is also known as leap day. Babies born on this day will have to wait until 2012 to celebrate their first birthday! For the next two years, February 29th won’t exist. To honor the day that never was, let’s explore expressions with leap and jump[3].

If you leap/jump at something, you accept an opportunity without thinking too much about it. This often happens when you want to get a jump on someone, or do something before another person does in order to have an advantage over them. As a result, you may jump the gun, or start an activity prematurely. Or in other words, jump in at the deep end (of the pool), start an activity without being prepared, or jump in with both feet, without testing the water first, without testing the situation before getting involved. The important thing is to not make assumptions[3] about a situation without having the facts first, or jump to conclusions.

Because things might go badly. In fact, they may go from bad to worse, and you may find yourself jumping out of the frying pan[4] and into the fire. You may be so shocked[5] that you jump right out of your skin[6]. At this point, you may decide to jump ship, abandon an activity before finishing it. Of course, you may receive a lot of criticism, or have someone jump all over you, for doing this. They may tell you to go away[7] in a not-so-friendly way, like Go jump in a lake! Or, Go take a running jump!

So you have to be careful to look before you leap, because it’s important to think about possible consequences before you make a decision. Of course, if you’re not sure what to do, it’s always easier to jump on the bandwagon[8], or participate in an activity that has proven success. Once a decision is made, you may find that you have gone far in a short time, or that you have progressed by leaps and bounds[9]! In order to achieve such progress, it may be necessary to jump through hoops[10]. If the progress is very significant, then it is a quantum leap. If this is case, you’ll be so happy that you’ll be jumping for joy!

[1] año bisiesto, [2] saltar, [3] suponer, [4] sartén, [5] sacudido,
[6] piel, [7] marcharse, [8] carro, [9] limites, [10] aros