'Freedom Convoy': Arrests made: BBC News Review

In Ottawa in Canada, Freedom Convoy protesters have been arrested.

This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

Hello, I'm Rob and joining me today is Roy. Hello Roy.

Hello Rob and hello everybody.

If you would like to test yourself on the vocabulary around this story,

all you need to do is head to our website

bbclearningenglish.com to take a quiz.

But now, let's hear more about this story from this BBC News report:

So, lorry drivers in Canada have been protesting

against rules that they must be vaccinated against Covid-19

in order to enter the United States.

They have been blockading and blocking the city of Ottawa.

An interesting story, and we've got three words and expressions

from the news headlines that you can use to talk about this story.

What are they please, Roy?

We do. We have 'siege', 'bitter divisions' and 'final push'.

That's 'siege', 'bitter divisions' and 'final push'.

OK. Well, let's have a look at the first headline please.

OK. So, our first headline comes from the Bangkok Post and it reads:

So, that's 'siege' — organised operation to prevent a place

from receiving supplies in order to force a surrender.

Yes. So, 'siege' is a noun

and it is spelt S-I-E-G-E.

And it basically refers to an operation

that prevents a place — for example, a city —

from receiving any kind of supplies

in order to force them to surrender.

Now, it's commonly used as a military tactic

and we often see it used with the verb 'lay':

'to lay siege'.

Yeah. So, we tend to see this used in war

and depicted in films. Is that right?

Yeah, it is.

It's a military tactic where, for example, a group like...

like an army surrounds a place — for example, a city —

and it stops that city from receiving supplies, like food,

and it prevents people from leaving the city.

So, in other words, people inside the city are potentially starving

and this is a tactic used to make those people surrender.

OK. So... we're, kind of, talking about the military and the army,

but this headline isn't about that;

it's about truckers. What are truckers?

OK. Yeah. So, 'truckers' is another word for truck drivers.

Now, a 'truck', in American English,

refers to that massive vehicle

that is used to transport goods along the road.

Now, as I say, 'truck' is an American-English word;

in British English, we refer to the vehicle as a 'lorry'

and the person who drives it is a 'lorry driver'.

And you can also call that person an 'HGV driver'.

'HGV' stands for 'heavy goods vehicle'.

OK. And going back to this word 'siege' then,

we sometimes use it in connection with groups of protesters

or even terrorists.

Yeah, the important idea here is that it's all about groups of people.

So, it's like a...

an organised operation of a group of people

to stop a place from being supplied,

or to force a, kind of, capitulation or surrender.

OK. Let's have a summary then of that word:

In News Review recently, we talked about the volcanic eruption

and tsunami that hit the Pacific island of Tonga,

where it was cut off from the rest of the world.

How can we watch that video again please, Roy?

All you need to do is click the link in the description below.

OK. Let's have a look at your next headline please.

OK. So, our next headline comes from the Financial Times and it reads:

So, that's 'bitter divisions' — angry disagreement between two groups.

Yeah. So, this is a two-word expression.

First word is 'bitter' — B-I-T-T-E-R.

Second word: 'divisions' — D-I-V-I-S-I-O-N-S.

And basically, the first word 'bitter' relates to, kind of, being angry,

and the second word 'divisions' is a disagreement

or some kind of split or separation.

So, I thought 'bitter' had something to do with taste,

like the taste of coffee or lemons. They are 'bitter'.

Absolutely. It can refer to taste, but it also has another meaning,

which refers to being angry.

So, 'bitter' is... you can say you're...

It's a replacement for the word angry: so, for example,

if you have a bad day, you could be quite 'bitter'.

Now, we commonly use 'bitter' to talk about a longer form of anger.

So, it's not quick and it also, sort of, builds over time.

So, you can become 'bitter' over time.

Hmm. I mean, I'm 'bitter' if I have to go into the office for a meeting

that either doesn't take place, or is a waste of time.

I get 'bitter' about the time wasted.

I can understand that. So, that's a good example of being 'bitter'.

Now, we're also talking about 'divisions'.

Now, a 'division' is when two parties

or two groups disagree and it separates them.

It splits them, for example, in their opinion, down the middle.

So, it could be talking about two countries who are divided.

It could be 'divisions' in political groups

or, for example, between protesters and other groups of protesters.

OK. What about, though, if I had a disagreement with you, Roy,

about who's going to make... who's going to make the tea or coffee.

Would we have a 'bitter division' over that kind of situation?

Well, I disagree. We never have a disagreement...!

But no. As I said, it's about groups,

so individuals... you may say that I disagree with Rob —

it's your turn to make the coffee.

Or maybe if I disagree with you over an opinion, I may say that

'we can't see eye to eye' — means disagreement.

But, we don't commonly use it to talk about just two individuals.

It's more commonly used to talk about groups.

Yes. So, two large groups: they are divided into different opinions or...

or... or where they stand on a situation.

Absolutely.

Good stuff. OK. Let's have a summary of that expression:

Are you struggling to disagree with someone?

Well, we made a programme about how to disagree better, didn't we, Roy?

No, we didn't...

...just disagreeing!

OK. All you need to do to watch that programme is click the link

in the description below.

Yeah, it's definitely down there below.

OK. Let's have a look at your next headline please.

So, our next headline comes from the Mail Online and it reads:

So, that's 'final push' — last effort or movement.

So, another two-word expression.

First word is 'final' — F-I-N-A-L.

Second word: 'push' — P-U-S-H.

Now, a 'push' is a movement or an effort,

and 'final' — that means last.

Yeah, and I hear this a lot in sport:

a football team makes a 'final push' for promotion,

or even just a 'final push' to win the game

by scoring, maybe, another goal.

Absolutely. So, what a 'final push' means —

it's an ultimate last effort,

where you get all of the energy that you can

to just make that final, last, huge effort

to achieve something that possibly before

you haven't had too much success doing.

So, in terms of the football team and the promotion,

maybe it looks like they're not going to get promotion,

they're not going to go up to the next league,

but they just get that final effort to try and get promoted.

But in this headline, we're not talking about sport or football;

we're actually talking about the police,

who are trying to break up a protest, yeah?

That's right. So, they're making a huge final effort

to end the protests.

Now, we don't only use it in this sense; you can use it in many different ways.

For example, a politician can make a 'final push'

to run for a position or presidency.

Or in terms of business, if negotiations between two parties —

they're not going too well — you can make a final push to close the deal.

And can we use this expression informally, casually?

Erm... not... not really.

So, for example, if it's your birthday, Rob,

and I've been trying to buy you a birthday present without success,

I'm not going to say: 'I'll make a final push to get your birthday present.'

This is for bigger, kind of, operations:

for example, ending a protest or closing a business deal.

OK. You'd still make an effort to buy me a present, wouldn't you?

Always.

Good. Let's have a summary of that expression:

OK. We're almost out of time,

but let's have a recap of the words and expressions

that we've discussed today please.

Yes. We had 'siege' — organised operation to prevent a place

from receiving supplies in order to force a surrender.

We had 'bitter divisions' — angry disagreements between two groups.

And we had 'final push' — last effort or movement.

Don't forget — you can test yourself on these words and expressions

in a quiz that's on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.

And that's the place to go to for lots of other Learning English materials.

And don't forget — we're on social media as well.

That's all for News Review for today.

Thank you for watching and we'll see you next time. Goodbye.

Bye.