MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
Cute puppy struggles
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2:00
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/esl/cute-puppy-struggles-2391
Description

An English cliché often used when life gets hard. It also uses a "pun" which is a play on words that sound or are spelled the same or almost. 

Transcript

If at first you don't succeed

Get bark up and try again.

Have a good day

an send this to a friend that needs a boost...

or a smile :)

Explanations

The original English saying is:


- If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.


There is one variation that says:

- If at first you don't succeed, get back up and try again.


To GET BACK UP is to climb up again (get + place = go).

Here they changed this last version to fit the doggy so they say:

- If at first you don't succeed, get bark up and try again.

The pun here is the original word BACK and the word BARK, which is the sound a dog makes (bow-wow). If we pronounce them with a British or black American accent, they are kind of similar:
- Back   /bæk/
- Bark   /bɑ:k/
So the pun works and it sounds funny.


Just for the record, there is another variation that says:

- If at first you don't succeed, do it as your wife said.


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SEND IT TO A FRIEND THAT NEEDS A BOOST

A BOOST is a sudden rise in confidence, so to get a boost is to cheer up and feel more self-confident.


PUPPY= /pʌpɪ/ A baby dog.