Do you have any new habits, new shows, or new interests?
Do you find that when you have a new interest, you tend to get “glued to” this and focus only on it?
Have you heard the English expression “glued to” used in conversations in English?
Today we are going to look at this phrase, and how it can be used in your conversations to talk about something in either a positive or a negative way.
Though you may not necessarily think that being glued to something is bad, you want to think of this in the big picture and we will look at this sort of impact in various aspects of your life.
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Using The Word Glue In Conversation
We’re not really looking at glue here in the conventional way where you are using the actual substance to hold something together.
We’re looking at idioms that center around the word “glue, and you will see that there are a lot of different uses for this.
So let’s start by looking at the actual definition of the word “glued” and how you can use this in conversation.
What does it mean to be glued to something? You can think of it in two different ways, because it works in either capacity.
1. To be extremely focused
2. To be almost physically stuck to something
We’re looking at the less literal earlier example, though both can work just fine.
This is a word to be used in a variety of ways, but it also lends itself to a phrase that you may really come to enjoy using in conversation.
Breaking Down The Usage
You start to get the feel for how this works.
Though we are looking at the less literal meaning, you can almost envision it when you use it in this context.
In some instances, you are trying to talk about something or someone being attached in some manner.
It’s a phrase that is fun to say, but is also very useful.
A couple of examples are worth looking at such as:
“I’m glued to this new series on Netflix.”
“I’m glued to my son. He doesn’t leave my side.”
Which one is more physical?
Some are both in a way, such as saying that you are “glued to the phone” for example.
What are you glued to physically right now?
Are there things in your life that you feel glued to like perhaps your phone?
You may find that you love saying this because it is so much more interesting than just saying you are interested in something on something.
You are focused or attached to this thing or even this person, but this phrase gives you a much more enjoyable way to say it.
This leads to a conversation about attention span, and yes this one phrase can be a great transition to get there.
Thinking Of This In Terms Of Attention Span
If you think about toddlers as a starting example, you may find that they have a very short attention span with toys.
Toddlers may have very short attention spans in general, and therefore you may find that you are constantly working to get them to focus.
Many adults may feel as if they have a short attention span too, and you might be one of them.
This is quite common, particularly in this day and age of so many different distractions.
The impact of technology and social media for example provide endless possibilities in our lives.
This may also present plenty of distractions though too, and it may contribute to short attention spans that prove to be a problem.
In some ways, you may find that our attention span has gotten shorter, but sometimes longer for certain activities such as binge watching shows or using your cell phone.
It’s not that these activities are necessarily good or bad per se, but they contribute to your shorter or longer attention span in some capacity.
You may find that setting something like a one hour timer on your Facebook usage helps to remind you how long you’ve been on.
This can help you to focus for a certain amount of time, rather than getting lost and spending endless hours online.
This is a very interesting point of view and discussion on attention span, particularly how it relates to your online presence and social media usage overall.
So when you think of something like the phrase “glued to” this can bring about all sorts of discussion points that you may not have otherwise thought about.
How Does This Idea Impact Our Lives?
So you want to really think about this and consider what sort of impact this may have in your life.
How does the overall idea of being glued to something impact our lives in other ways?
What areas of your life might be affected if you are “glued to” something, either good or bad?
How does this idea of being glued to something impact our lives in other ways?
Let’s take a look at the various areas where this may have some sort of impact.
- Jobs: If you are glued to a certain place or certain idea, it may hurt your potential to advance. That may not be a big deal to you, or it may hurt you down the road. It’s certainly something to think about because it can have a long term impact. You might say “She won’t move up because she’s glued to her own ideas of what is right and won’t listen to anyone else.”
- Friends: If you are very tight or close to someone, then you may say that you are glued together. You can almost visual this, as it can mean that you are always by each other’s sides. You may hang out every day or spend most of your free time talking or being with one another.
- Dating: This can be a good thing early on in a relationship when everything is new and you are trying to get to know each other. If it continues overtime or if you are leaving out other people in your life for this one person, then it can be a bad thing. There’s a fine line between being close with somebody that you are dating, and being glued to them and not seeing or talking to anyone else.
- Lifestyle: This usually speaks to somebody that has a sedentary or dependent lifestyle in some capacity. It’s definitely not a good thing, and it doesn’t sound like a positive or favorable thing to say about somebody. You might say “He’s glued to his couch.” This is often speaking to the fact that somebody may be lazy in some way.
There are other interesting idioms that can be used in this area that are worth trying out.
These are very similar to the ones listed above, but they can be a nice change to mix things up.
- Attached at the hip: This means the same thing as glued, and it’s talking about a connection between two or more people. It is to say that these people are together all the time. You might hear “They are always together. They are attached at the hip.”
- The glue that holds this _________ together: You can almost visualize this as it’s something that speaks to the person who keeps things going. If you didn’t have this person, then things might fall apart. You could say “She’s the glue that holds this family together.”
These are all fun and useful idioms that are worth trying out in your conversations.
It’s fun to try them out and speak like a native, which is exactly what these sorts of phrases allow you to do.
Takeaway
We have taught you new vocab that centers around the word “glue”, and so you see what they are and how they work.
We talked about the impact of a short attention span, particularly how it relates to something like social media.
This is certainly something to keep in mind, as it’s an important topic of conversation as well as something to think about.
Though these idioms all have different meanings and usages, they all have distinct purposes in conversation.
Now you can try them out and speak like a native in a fun and effective way in your everyday conversations.
If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
