ー英会話講師の英語日記ー　札幌英会話スクールSTEP UP（札幌駅、大通駅徒歩５分）

A gritty time of year

2018年3月26日 (月)

The snow is melting here in Sapporo and downtown the streets are covered in grit. What is grit? It’s the black crushed stone scattered over the ice and snow to prevent people from slipping.

Sidewalks, streets, city corners – there’s grit everywhere. This morning after riding my bike to work, I had to dump the grit out of my boots! Yes, Sapporo is pretty gritty.

But grit is much more than just crushed rock – it’s also a word that connotes things like determination, perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity. People with grit are tough and don’t give up easily. A gritty situation is one that’s difficult, and tests your will power and strength. And when you’re talking about very fine small details, you’re talking about the nitty gritty details.

So while grit may make the streets unpleasantly dirty for a few weeks before it’s swept up, grit is an important thing to have. It makes our citizens safer against injury and also (figuratively) stronger against the vicissitudes of life. We should all strive to have a little more grit in our lives – even if it means having it in our boots ; )