If you “sneak up” on somebody, you get closer without them knowing because you move quietly or without being seen. If a situation, deadline or date sneaks up on you, you didn’t see it coming… it’s a surprise because you hadn’t been thinking about it or aware of it.
1. When a lion stalks its prey (victim), it needs to sneak up on it before it charges and chases it down (pursues it). The lion needs to get as close as possible to have an advantage.
2. When you see a friend in public do you like to sneak up on them and surprise them?
3. “Before an elite team of U.S. Navy SEALs executed a daring raid that took down Osama bin Laden, the commandos were able to silently sneak up on their elusive target thanks to what aviation analysts said were top secret, never-before-seen stealth-modified helicopters.” – abcnews.go.com
4. My birthday always seems to sneak up on me because I don’t give it much importance… sometimes I only realize the day before that it’s my birthday. Has that ever happened to you before with special days such as Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day?
5. When you procrastinate and put off (postpone) something you know you should be working on, for example, studying for an important exam, finishing up a project or paying your bills, these deadlines kind of sneak up on us quicker than we think.
6. When I don’t pay attention to the time and get distracted watching TV my English classes sneak up on me and suddenly my next student is ringing the bell.
7. When time flies and passes a lot quicker than you anticipated, you can say, for example, “Wow, this year Christmas kind of snuck up on me!” (sneak/ snuck/ snuck).
Have you ever had a pleasant surprise sneak up on you?
ReplyDelete