Vertical drop. That’s about a 122 meter descent over a 305 meter length. Not very high compared to traditional skiing, but I’m not sure I’d agree to ride a shovel down that. Shovels have some very sharp edges. “Vertical drop” is another collocation that I hear a fair amount. Let’s list some synonyms for “drop.” We have: Decline. The hillside has a steep decline. Descent. Going down. The descent of the trail begins here. Plunge. I often think of this with water. He jumped off the cliff and plunged into the lake. Drop-off. A noun. Be careful, there’s a steep drop-off just off shore. Grade. There’s a 5% grade on this road. A second meaning of “drop” as a noun is a tiny bit of fluid, shaped like a sphere. A drop of rain. Eye drops. Today I will not have even one drop of alcohol. And third, “drop” occurs regularly as a verb, meaning, to fall unexpectedly or suddenly. I dropped my phone. Have you heard the idiom “to drop the ball”? This means to make a mistake, to not get something done. It has nothing to do with an actual ball. I missed registration for summer camp and now it’s full. I dropped the ball! You can also use “drop” as a verb to explain that something doesn’t matter anymore. I know we disagree, but let’s drop it and move on. And another meaning I use, meaning to release something to the public. My new videos drop on YouTube every other Tuesday. Ok, let’s take a look at the third and final unusual sport. Finally, there’s fat bike racing. Three, two, one, begin! You’ve probably seen them before. Mountain bikes with tires that are at least 4 to 5 inches wide. This makes them perfect for winter races that usually take place on snow-covered, cross country type trails. There are races all over the country, but the premier race in North America takes place on the 65 mile-long American Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin. My bike tires are definitely not that wide. How did she describe the width of the tires? Fat bike racing. Fat bike. To link those first two words smoothly, we put a stop T in fat so it’s not released. Fat bike. Fat bike racing. I like the way the landscape is described. Native speakers sometimes create strings like this: Snow-covered, cross-country-type trails. The formula is “Adjective + Adjective + type” or “Noun + Noun + type.” And there’s no limit to how many adjectives, nouns, or complex phrases you can string together. You end the phrase with “type,” meaning “that kind of thing.” Let’s practice building a couple of these descriptive strings. I’ll give you the noun, and you fill in the adjectives, the descriptive phrases. Let’s describe someone who’s very romantic. “He’s a roses and chocolates type guy.” you can also use ‘of’, type of guy. “He’s a sing-love-songs-in-public, send-you-gifts-at-work type of guy.” What did you fill it in with? Share your ideas in the comments. Now try one describing a super expensive car. “It’s a midlife-crisis, sell-your-house-to-pay-for-it type car.” How about describing a job you’ve always wanted? “It’s my dreams-come-true, once-in-a-lifetime type job.” If you think of other ways to string adjective phrases or noun phrases together, share in the comments! Last, let’s look at the word “premiere.” The premiere race in North America takes place on the 65 mile-long American Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin. Premiere as a noun is the first performance or exhibition. The debut. The opening. It’s the world premiere of a new opera. Or, As a verb: The movie is premiering tonight at midnight. And as an adjective: The premiere showing is tonight at midnight. But it can also mean the principal, the most important. The Met is the premiere opera house in the US. The hotel is one of the premiere resorts in the area. Here, she says “This race is the premiere race.” It’s more important than the others. There are races all over the country but the premiere race in North America takes place on the 65 mile-long American Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin.