This is a great English expression today: by and large. This is one of those expressions that means absolutely nothing like <\/span> the words inside of it. \u201cBy and large\u201d means \u201c in general <\/span>,\u201d or \u201c everything considered <\/span>.\u201d How did you hear \u201cby and large\u201d in the first part of today\u2019s lesson? <\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I said: The rich world by and large squandered <\/span> the advance warning <\/span> it received of the coronavirus. Squandered means, wasted. The rich world saw it coming <\/span> and\u2026it\u2019s not that countries like the US did nothing, but they certainly could have done more. Most people assumed <\/span> this would be like SARS or MERS or similar, previous viruses. I remember seeing China build makeshift hospitals in a matter of weeks <\/span>. Now, the New York area could use a makeshift hospital. So, countries like the US, Spain and Italy didn\u2019t prepare very well. But there are a few notable exceptions <\/span>: South Korea performed six times more tests, per capita, than the US did. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan also responded better and more effectively <\/span> than most other countries. <\/p>\n \u201cBy and large\u201d fits this situation. Much of the rich world squandered its advance notice of the coronavirus. But that\u2019s not true of every country. We still want to make the point, but we want to make sure that we\u2019re speaking in a generality <\/span>. That\u2019s why we say \u201cby and large.\u201d The rich world, by and large, squandered its advance warning of this pandemic.<\/p>\n Sporting events worldwide are, by and large, canceled or postponed <\/span> due to the coronavirus. Soccer, baseball, tennis, basketball, ice hockey, marathons, even now the Olympics: all have been canceled or postponed. But there are exceptions. Horse racing <\/span> has continued. A horse named Tiz the Law won the Florida Derby\u2014I know you were all anxiously awaiting <\/span> that result\u2014Tiz the Law won that race before empty grandstands <\/span> in Miami, Florida.<\/p>\n Liga MX, Mexico\u2019s soccer league, is still playing games, albeit <\/span> without the traditional handshake. Turkey is also playing soccer. UFC\u2014if you consider that a sport\u2014is still on. Australian football is being played, but without fans.<\/p>\n So, it\u2019s not accurate to say <\/span> all sports around the world are canceled. But it is accurate to say that, by and large, sports have been canceled due to coronavirus. In general, for the most part, taking all the evidence into consideration <\/span>, sports around the world are canceled.<\/p>\n Do you remember the lesson we did about direct-to-consumer companies? They\u2019re the companies that, by and large, bypass the traditional retail model <\/span> of selling in stores and sell online to consumers. For example, they sell on their web sites. Or, they have their own stores that stock <\/span> samples, but typically not a lot of inventory <\/span>. The majority <\/span> are doing this; the majority are skipping the traditional retail model of trying to get on store shelves <\/span> at big retailers.<\/p>\n I say \u201cby and large\u201d because some direct-to-consumer companies do both. Harry\u2019s razors <\/span>, for example, is now available at Target, a big retailer in the US. Harry\u2019s grew so fast that, in order to <\/span> continue growing, it had to be on traditional store shelves. So they are the exception <\/span>. But, by and large, you don\u2019t find these direct to consumer brands on the shelves of popular stores.<\/p>\nQuote of the week<\/h3>\n