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Idiom: Capture lightning in a bottle
We all need a little luck, and when we capture lightning in a bottle, we succeed against all odds, just when it was least expected.
Isn’t that a fantastic way to achieve success?
This is a common expression in North America.
To capture lightning in a bottle means to be very lucky and achieve success, especially in something that is extremely difficult or unlikely.
Capturing lightning in a bottle is a fantastic feeling, but the problem is that it’s usually fleeting.
I certainly hope that’s not the case with Shohei Otani or the Los Angeles Angels.
Yes, he is a fantastic baseball player, but you have to admit he did capture lightning in a bottle this summer.
Few thought he would be able to not only succeed but excel as both a pitcher and a home run hitter at the major league level.
Watching him play this year was like watching the impossible happen night after night before your eyes.
I’ll be the first to admit he is a highly skilled individual.
However, he has done what no other player has managed to do in almost 100 years.
Will Shohei be able to capture lightning in a bottle again next year?
We’ll have to wait with bated breath.
You may be wondering if I have ever captured lightning in a bottle.
Well, I did.
In my high school days, I was very much into woodworking and painting.
I started making personalized sports plaques related to North American sports, but mostly ice hockey.
For three years, I was highly successful and never lacked pocket money.
From September to Christmas Eve, I earned between six and eight hundred dollars a week selling what I made at flea markets.
I was a young man, studying at high school, working very long hours in my basement, watching the money roll in, and wondering how I ever managed to capture lightning in a bottle.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 70.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.