Could you explain "catch a break"?

To catch a break is to have a bit of luck or some relief during a difficult time. For example, you could say, “After a run of bad relationships, my sister finally caught a break and met the man of her dreams”, meaning, after some ups and downs, your sister’s love life finally improved.

Although I can’t find much information online to back this up, I have always assumed the saying originated from surfing terms. A “break” is a slang term for a “breaker”, which is a wave that crests or breaks into foam, as it approaches a shoreline. Surfers, who ride waves standing on surfboards, will wait offshore, out beyond the white water, to “catch” these “breakers”, and then they ride them into the beach. I have sat on a beach watching surfers struggle time and again to catch a breaker, and when they do, it is a mix of good timing, patience, skill and a bit of luck.

Related stories:

Gee up

Media-friendly

Big mind

Blanket statement

Making knee-jerk changes is not in our DNA

Pick one's brains

Bury the hatchet& have an ax to grind

Vocal proponent

Growing pains

Fleeting acquaintance

All-weather friend

Lead the pack

Fish or cut bait

Gilt-edged

To do more with less

Right down the middle

Take my word for it

40-sometimes

Last but not the least

Call it a dog

Pull my leg

Ego bath

Tough call

Rain check

Upper reaches

Off the shoulders

Off and running

Gold dust

Frugality fatigue

Red flag

Foregone conclusion

Call balls and strikes

Stare in the face

Cyber Monday

點擊進入譯點通

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

About the author:

Kim Bowden hails from Auckland, New Zealand, where she recently completed AUT University’s Postgraduate Journalism Diploma.