Quote
1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.
“I felt like writing a comic book was right up my alley. Growing up, I didn’t have a TV, so comic books were everything to me.” (Entertainment Weekly)
- Rapper Method Man discussing his new graphic novel.
Definition
1. Definition - Study the definition.
matching my interests, knowledge, or abilities
2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.
Method Man has a pretty impressive employment history. Although he’s probably best known as a rapper and member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, he’s also been a record producer, an actor, and now…a comic book writer.
While it seems surprising that Method Man has turned his attention to comics, he says they’re right up his alley. Since he was poor growing up and his family didn’t have a TV, he spent a lot of his free time reading comics. So now he knows a lot about comics and is interested in them. Writing his own graphic novel came naturally to him.
An alley is a narrow street or road. Weirdly enough, the words “up” and “down” basically mean the same thing in these phrases. In this phrase the word “up” doesn’t mean “up” like the sky. Instead, it means something more like “on.” If something is literally up your alley, it’s on the street where you live. So you’re probably pretty familiar with it and feel a connection to it.
Examples
1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.
“I like Josh’s new Porsche, but it isn’t really up my alley. I prefer big trucks to small sports cars.
You should tell Chris about that article you read on killer bees. It sounds like the kind of thing that would be right up his alley.
Are you a fan of Metallica, or is that kind of music not really up your alley?”