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Phrasal Verb: Carry on

1. To continue to do something (transitive and intransitive). "Please just carry on with your work and pretend we're not here". "She carried on the business after her father retired". "'Carry on, Private', said the Major". "I want you to carry on with the project while I am out of town".
2. Be involved or engaged in something (transitive). "They were carrying on an intense conversation in a corner of the cafe". "Joe and the guys were carrying on a game of poker in the back of the warehouse". (This phrasal is usually used for conversations and games, but could be used somewhat humorously describe a habitual obsession). "Dad's carrying on in his workshop again".
3. Behave foolishly or improperly: to behave or talk in a way that is socially awkward or improper- informal (intransitive) "I'm ashamed of the way he's been carrying on in public".
4. Continue in an annoying way (transitive). "He kept carrying on about how much money he makes". "How much longer are you going to carry on with your nagging?"
4. Have an affair: to have a casual affair with somebody- informal disapproving (intransitive). "Chung Hoon and Hyon Mi have been secretly carrying on an office romance for months now".

Idiom: Close but no Cigar

Meaning: To be very near and almost accomplish a goal, but fall short and receive nothing for your efforts.

Origin: The phrase, and its variant 'nice try, but no cigar', are of US origin and date from the mid-20th century. Fairground stalls gave out cigars as prizes, and this is the most likely source, although there's no definitive evidence to prove that.

Song: A Day in the Life, The Beatles. 1967.

"A Day in the Life" is one of the last true collaborations between Lennon and McCartney: Lennon wrote the opening and closing sections, while McCartney contributed the "woke up/Fell out of bed" middle. For the climax, they hired forty classical musicians, dressed them in tuxedos and funny hats, and told them they had fifteen bars to ascend from the lowest note on their instruments to the highest. "Listen to those trumpets -- they're just freaking out," McCartney said. The final thundering piano chord concluded the Sgt. Pepper's album and made rock music seem like it had infinite possibilities.

Appears on: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

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