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don't rock the boat

Date: Jul 26 2001

Quote

1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.

“She has a measured, don’t rock the boat way about her personality.”
- Jodie Foster, movie actress talking about her role in a movie.

Definition

1. Definition - Study the definition.

don’t cause any disturbance, don’t try to change anything, don’t mess up the situation, don’t do anything drastic, keep things as they are, stay normal and calm, don’t make anyone upset

2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.

Don’t rock the boat is most often used as a warning. For example, if you go to a restaurant with your parents but you don’t like any of the food on the menu, they might say, “Don’t rock the boat. Just find something you can eat. I don’t want you to cause any problems.”
Or, if you’re hanging out with your friends, and one of them has recently broken up with his girlfriend, you probably shouldn’t talk about it. If you did, you’d be rocking the boat.

Examples

1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.

””When you get a new job, make sure you don’t rock the boat. Just stay normal and calm. Your boss will like you much more that way.”“

””Dan’s mother just died, so when we see him, make sure you don’t rock the boat. Don’t say anything about his mother.”“

””When we go to my parent’s house this weekend, make sure you don’t rock the boat. Try to fit in and please don’t upset my mother!”“

Winners

1. Winners - See who guessed the slang definition correctly.

i guess if u don’t want to rock the boat, it means u don’t want to arose any incidents or cause any changes to the present environment u’re in.
by bigblue
Do not do anything stupid to make things worse; if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. Don’t go messing around with it, leave it like it is.
by Diane (Montana USA)
If one tends to “rock the boat,” he makes trouble or causes problems. The boat will overturn if a person rocks the boat too severely, and that’s dangerous when there are people on the boat.
by Stacey (Taiwan)
That means to cause problems when something’s already solved
by Alfonso (Spain)
“don’t rock the boat” means don’t stand against progress or interfere with an activity or project.
by Dannah
I think “don’t rock the boat” has the same meaning with “measured” It means when someone copes with a matter, he/she knows what should do and what should not to do. Also means very cautious and careful.
by Robin
Don’t spoil something that has proved to be good.
by Alessia (Chile)

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