Give it a Go! Expressions for Starting and Stopping Activities
From school clubs and hobbies to habits and routines, we are always starting and stopping different kinds of activities. However, “start” and “stop” sound quite dry and boring if you use them too often.
In English, there are a variety of expressive ways you can talk about these situations to keep your conversations sounding more lively. Let’s dive in and learn some new expressions to add to your vocabulary!
Starting or trying activities
Give (something) a go
Sometimes you start a project with strong determination that you will complete it. Other times, however, you are not sure if you will like the activity or if you will do it for a long time.
When you want to express that you are starting something as a test, you can use this expression.
I’ve never tried badminton, so I decided to give it a go last weekend.
You can replace “go” with “try” or “whirl” to get the same meaning.
Let’s give the restaurant’s daily special a try; we might like it.
She doesn’t usually watch documentaries, but I convinced her to give this one a whirl since I think she’ll enjoy it.
Dive in
As opposed to giving something a go, "diving into" an activity includes the nuance of a stronger commitment. Just like diving into a swimming pool, you can’t do it only a little bit — it has to be 100%!
After my friend recommended it, I decided to dive into this series of fantasy novels. It’s going to take a long time to finish them!
Take a punt (at)
This is an informal British English phrase for trying something new or unfamiliar.
Zach took a punt at playing darts with us. He's not bad!
Joan was unsure about investing in the company, but after doing some research, she decided to take a punt and buy some shares.
Take a crack at
When you “take a crack” at something, you are trying it or attempting to do it.
When Kyle took a crack at stand-up comedy, no one expected him to be so good!
People also often say “have a crack” at something, which means the same thing.
I had a crack at playing tennis, but I didn’t enjoy it very much.
Pick up
Just like picking up an object, you can also “pick up” a hobby or activity that you do regularly.
I picked up record collecting during last summer. Now it's my favorite hobby!
Stopping or quitting an activity
We don’t always enjoy or continue to do the things we try. Luckily, there are a variety of ways to talk about this as well.
Give up
This is the most common way to express stopping an activity before it is complete.
"Giving up" often includes the nuance that someone is tired or stressed from the activity. In other cases, the person simply does not want to do it anymore.
I gave up on the book after the third chapter. It just wasn’t very interesting to me.
Don’t give up! Keep going just a little more!
Throw in the towel
In a boxing match, a coach will throw his or her towel into the ring to signal that their boxer cannot continue the fight. As a result, the expression “throw in the towel” is now used as another way to say “quit.”
When her after-school activities became too stressful, Grace decided to throw in the towel and stop going to meetings.
Drop
The opposite of picking something up is putting it down, or "dropping" it. The nuance here is that an activity is stopping quickly and suddenly.
Johnny dropped his guitar lessons and started to play the drums instead.
Everyone, drop everything. We’ve got a new project that’s the priority now.
Bounce off of
To “bounce off of” something means to stop after having a negative reaction. This is often used by people who play video games.
Don’t confuse this expression with “bounce something off of” (someone), which has a different meaning we'll explain in another article.
I bounced off the game pretty quickly when I saw how difficult it was to play.
Nope out of
You may already know that “nope” is a very informal way of saying “no.” Similarly, when you “nope out” of something, you are refusing or rejecting it strongly.
This expression is very casual, so use it only in the appropriate situations.
We noped out of the party as soon as we found out Karen would be there.
Everyone noped out of the project when we discovered how expensive it would be.
Fall off of
If you nope out of something, you quit it immediately. On the other hand, if you stop doing something gradually, you can say that you “fall off” of it. You don’t dislike the activity, but perhaps it isn’t holding your attention.
I really wanted to finish the novel, but I fell off of it a few chapters from the end.
We used to jog every morning, but we fell off of it when the weather started getting too hot.
Pack it in
As opposed to some other expressions, “packing it in” sounds like stopping temporarily instead of quitting completely.
We decided to pack it in for the day and get dinner at the local restaurant.
Call it a day
This idiom is used in the same way as the previous expression. You “call it a day” when you stop working. Think of it as “calling a work day complete.”
We can’t call it a day until this room is completely clean. Let’s keep going.
Abandon
“Abandon” is a verb that means “to leave a person or thing with no plan to return.” It has a very strong nuance of being completely finished.
The idea was abandoned after we discussed it in detail. We don’t think it’s worth the time and energy.
Let’s call it a day
Starting a project is much easier than completing one, which is probably why there are so many more expressions for stopping!
However, no matter which of the two you are doing, your conversations will be much more interesting and lively if you use these idioms when discussing it.
By the way, if you're taking a crack at learning English but are low on motivation, Engoo has thousands of excellent tutors who can help you. So don't throw in the towel; keep going!
