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what's 'buried' mean here?

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Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Good question. It may seem confusing to use "bury" in this context. However, one of the definitions of "bury" is "immerse," "absorb," or "engross." You might hear sentences like: Ex: She buried herself in her work. Ex: He was buried in housework throughout the week. We often see "bury" used in combination with "head" or "face," especially in the context of reading. In this case, the speaker is saying that he was engrossed in/concentrating very hard on reading/looking at the map, so his chin was "buried" in it. Ex: His head was buried in a good book. Ex: That book must be very interesting, considering how his face is buried in it.

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Popular Q&As

04/17

1
What does "organic growth" mean?
"Organic growth" is another way of saying "natural growth," which is growth resulting from businesses that already exist, and not by acquiring or merging with other businesses. Ex: We prefer an organic growth model for its simplicity. Ex: Inorganic growth is often the business strategy of large corporations.

2
Why "say" is present form in here?
"Say" is in the present tense here because the entire sentence is in the present progressive tense with the verb "twist" + ing. Since he is talking about something which has happened and continues to happen, he can use the present tense form "say", even though he has already "said" something.

3
What does “who cares?” mean? How can I use this?
Great question. The phrase "who cares" is usually used to express that something is not important to you. This phrase is usually used by itself when you are responding to a statement someone made. But it can also be used as as a way to say "forget about what I was saying", which is how it is used here in this clip. The narrator has things that he should be saying, but he is saying they are unimportant, let's just have fun instead. Ex: Who cares if they win or lose? Ex: Who cares whether or not it rains. Ex: Who cares about what they think. Ex: A: Did you happen to watch the game last night? B: No I was not home. A: I was just wondering who won? B: Who cares, I don't really like either teams.

4
What's the difference between lightning and thunder?
"Lightning" is an electrical charge that occurs between clouds and/or the ground. It is then seen as a flash of light across the sky. "Thunder" is the sound this electrical discharge makes. Therefore "thunder" is what you hear and the "lightning" (or lightning bolt) is what you see, but even if you can’t see the lightning, it is always there, as it is the lightning that makes the roaring sound, “thunder.” Since sound travels slower than light you will often see the "lighting" before you hear the "thunder." Ex: I could hear the thunder rumbling all night. Ex: My dog gets scared by the sound of thunder. Ex: The lightning lit up the sky. Ex: The lightning was really bright during the storm.

5
What does "spot on" mean?
"Spot on" means completely accurate or exactly right. This is an informal British term that seems to be used often. This is not a term commonly used in the United States. A: How old do you think I am? B: 33? A: Spot on! Ex: She was spot on about getting the ice cream cake for the birthday party.

Complete the expression with a quiz!

Obviously,

if

I'd

kept

my

chin

up

and

not

buried

in

this

useless

map,

maybe

we'd

have

won

by

now.