Under your belt

A female wearing multiple belts.

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Idiom: Under your belt

One of the best things about being an English teacher is that you never run out of things to teach.

No matter how many years of study a student has under their belt, you can move the goalposts and introduce them to another idiom or phrase.

Here we are on another Monday, and I have another idiom for you to get under your belt.

I’ve already used it twice.

This one has two meanings.


You can use it when you have achieved something or gained experience.

You can also use it when you have consumed something.


October 31st, 2021, was election day in Japan.

I thought it was quite fitting to have it on Halloween, and it was pretty scary for Ishihara and Amari.

Sayonara boys! It’s nice to see you – LEAVING!

Anyways, it’s time to get back to our topic.

Many politicians have multiple elections under their belt.

What I mean is that they have much experience winning elections.

Some even have a few losses under their belts.

Ishihara, Amari, you know what I mean.

After winning an election, it’s time to celebrate.

That’s when we can use the other meaning of under your belt.

Although politicians can, do and should be able to have a drink or two, they must be careful not to have too many under their belts.

This is Japan, after all, and we never know when the next major natural disaster will strike, or North Korea will send up another missile to attract attention because they feel lonely and unloved.

By the way, how many missile launches do they have under their belt now?


Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 72.

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.


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