Today, we talk about a time when half the world is waking from the dark, cold winter months.
Spring!
We often describe spring as a time of rebirth, renewal and awakening. Many trees are blossoming
and early flowers are pushing through the earth.
When the weather turns warm, many people suffer from spring fever. Common “symptoms” of spring
fever include not being able to focus on school or work, taking long walks, or falling in love.
So, are you actually sick when you have spring fever?
Originally, yes. Spring fever used to refer to an actual illness. When the weather turned warm, some
people developed sore throats, headaches, or stuffy noses.
People came to use the term to mean a sudden increase of romantic feelings.
“Spring fever, it comes to everyone. Spring fever, it's time for fun. There’s no doubt now, love is in the
air. Get up, get out, spring is everywhere”
These days, we use “spring fever” to describe a restless feeling after the long, cold days of winter.
But the word “spring” is not just a season. It is also a verb that means something happened or
appeared quickly.
When you put “spring” and “life” together, you get spring to life. This expression means something
suddenly becomes very active or perhaps seems more alive! You may spring to life after hearing that
a distant friend will be visiting you. Or maybe your favorite soccer team finally sprang to life in the
second half, played well and won the match.
But this is just the beginning. There are so many more "spring" expressions that mean to happen
suddenly.
As you can see, American English has so many phrases that use “spring” to mean "something
happens quickly." The ones we have heard are just the ones that sprang to mind. In other words, they
were the first ones I thought of, without spending much time thinking about it.
But perhaps those examples are confusing. Maybe I should have prepared you instead of just
springing them on you. And, I did it again. If you spring something on other people, you have
surprised them, usually not in a good way.
We end this Words and Their Stories back on the season spring.
Here is a short poem by Oliver Herford titled “I Heard a Bird Sing.” It tells how a simple bird song
brings a longing for spring during the month of December.
renewal – n. the state of being made new, fresh, or strong again : the state of being renewed
symptom – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present
coil – n. a long thin piece of material (such as a wire, string, or piece of hair) that is wound into circles
marathon – n. a footrace run on an open course usually of 26 miles 385 yards (42.2 kilometers);
broadly : a long-distance race