Hangover    

 

A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit."
"And why not, darling?" the father asked.
"You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning."

 ***

Cute little joke, I think!  Little did she know that her father's headache was a hangover symptom of hangover caused not by the tuxedo, but by the extra shots he always has when he wears that tuxedo! 

Notice the difference: who is suffering from hangover (=noun) is hungover (=adjective).

 

***

 

"A hangover is the wrath of grapes."

"Ressaca é a ira das uvas" 

This clever saying plays with the title of the well-known book The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, translated to Portuguese as "As Vinhas da Ira".

The Grapes of Wrath was written in 1939. It's about a family of farmers moving from Oklahoma to California during the American Great Depression (1930's), looking for better opportunities. It's a sad story, reflecting the sad reality stamped in the American History.

It's worth reading the novel - at least in Portuguese, if you will.

The movie made after the book and directed by John Ford (1940) is pretty good too and has Henry Fonda in the cast. The end is not the same as in the novel.

Veja mais informações sobre a obra em Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grapes_of_Wrath  (in English)

or

 http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_vinhas_da_ira  (in Portuguese)

 ***

 

 Vocabulary Helper:

shot = (noun) small amount of liquor (dose de bebida alcoólica)

donning = (verb, "to don") to dress, to put clothing on

tuxedo = (noun) man's formal clothing; type of formal jacket

warned = (verb, "to warn") give advice

wrath = (noun) fury, anger, rage

cheers = (interj.) salutation or toast; word said just before drinking alcoholic drinks, to express good wishes

 

 

Enjoy your parties, but avoid hangovers! They really slow you down!

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

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