PE 3/17 Salman Khan Speech – Part 3

Many of you will soon enter the outside world and be somewhat taken aback. It will be far less efficient, far less fair, far less productive, and far more political than what you may have imagined it to be.

* be taken aback: to be surprised and confused

= be caught off guard; be thrown; be startled

ex> Sam and Tommy were taken aback by the size of the record company’s offer.

There will be pessimism and cynicism everywhere. It is easy to succumb to this, to become cynical or negative yourself.

* succumb to: to yield to something, especially a disease, weakness, etc.

ex> My aunt eventually succumbed to the cancer she had fought for over ten years.

ex> We will probably succumb to the temptation to buy some donuts.

I am not too much older than most of you, so take all of this with a large grain of salt.

* take something with a grain of salt: to acknowledge that something may be untrue, inaccurate or biased

ex> Take this with a grain of salt, but I’m convinced that the world is controlled by aliens.

ex> Because the magazine was financed by advertisers, we chose to take its recommendations with a grain of salt.

Realized or even rationalize that the grass is truly greener on your side of the fence. Just the belief that it is becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

* the grass is greener on the other side (of the fence): what one doesn’t have seems more appealing

ex> I left home when I was only seventeen because I foolishly believed the grass was greener on the other side.

Note> The idiom can be used in the short or long form, but just saying “the grass is always greener” is most common, as the listener will normally know the full idiom.

* self-fulfilling prophecy: something that happens because its prediction was expressed

ex> I don’t want to predict poor sales for this product because it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.