Backed up meaning in English
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Definition
(The traffic is) backed up!: (The traffic is) blocked, not moving, stuck!
Examples
- "Northbound traffic on highway one isn't much better: An accident at the Embarcadero exit has traffic completely backed up."
- "On highway 80, eastbound traffic is backed up all the way to the Bay Bridge, so if you're headed across the bay this morning, you're out of luck."
Exercise 1
Choose all the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
There may be more than one correct answer!
Choose all the TRUE statements from the list below.
There may be more than one correct answer!
There may be more than one correct answer!
Ray tells Moira and Brent that "unless you own a helicopter or small plane you should probably stay home". He means that traffic is so bad today that the only way to get around is by plane or helicopter. Ray isn't saying that helicopters and planes are having a hard time because of the traffic.
A "traffic jam" describes blocked or congested "traffic": cars and trucks trying to move from one location to another. Traffic jams often occur on the highway due to accidents or bad weather. When Ray says that the traffic is "backed up all the way to the Bay Bridge" he means that the vehicles are moving so slowly that there is a line of vehicles starting at the Bay Bridge, or that there is a traffic jam at the Bay Bridge.
Ray tells Moira that the traffic is so bad "you should probably just stay home." He is advising people to stay at home rather than to travel on the freeways because of the poor traffic circulation.
Ray says that "Northbound traffic on Highway one is not much better" (than the traffic on the Bay Bridge). Ray doesn't advise people to travel on Highway 1 because the traffic is as bad there as it is everywhere else.
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