“to storm” and “flying numbers”
Learning English can be difficult when words seem to have so many different forms and uses. A storm is normally a noun, but when we talk about a group of people, it can become a verb. Here is the beginning of a news story from yesterday:
Hungry Haitians stormed the presidential palace Tuesday to demand the resignation of President Rene Preval over soaring food prices and U.N. peacekeepers battled rioters with rubber bullets and tear gas.
From the context we can see that the people were angry and peacekeepers had to “battle” them. Their behavior was like a storm, in a sense, with lots of lightning and thunder. And the reason they stormed the palace was interesting - because of “soaring” food prices. Did you know that numbers can fly? All around the world, prices are going up, so the meaning is clear. Prices are not just going up, they’re waaaaaay up there, as if they are flying.
Had you heard these expressions before? I think it’s very useful to see them in context, so that you can understand them without even using a dictionary.
You can read the whole news story by clicking the link below: