As CNN and the other global news organizations rushed to tell the world, a 5.4 earthquake hit Los Angeles yesterday. The earth shook, people got scared, and fears of “the big one” entered the minds of millions. The shaking lasted for almost a minute, many pictures fell from walls and books left their shelves.
Yet nobody was killed, no bridges fell, and very few injuries were reported. This hometown earthquake was, in many ways, a non-event.
It was an earthquake, not a lifequake! We’re lucky!
A lifequake, as slang experts and blog readers know, is an event that suddenly changes your life. Being hit by a falling building, injured in a car accident, getting diagnosed with a terrible illness, or losing a job is a lifequake. The 5.4 earthquake spooked many Los Angeles residents, but it was only an earthquake. It wasn’t a lifequake.
Let’s hope that the next earthquake is just as harmless – and lifequakes stay far away!
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P.S. Yesterday’s earthquake reminds Los Angeles residents to prepare for emergencies. Adult schools usually have a mandated lesson on this life skill, but IEP and EFL students could benefit from reviewing safety procedures too.
PPS. The sound “ake” appears in many words in English.
Bake cake fake lake
make take wake shake
quake earthquake milkshake lifequake
