TRANSPORTATION means carrying things that are important in our lives. All kinds of things are brought from somewhere over land, or sea or through the air. Automobiles and trains travel across the land, ships on the sea, and planes fly through the air. So, when we travel we have lots of choices about how to do so. And, there are many idioms and sayings about using the language of transportation in English. Here we give you a few of them.

　　Bus/car

　　"To be in the driver's seat"means to be in charge of a certain situation. For example, "Although Mrs Jones thinks she wears the pants in the family, it's Mr. Jones who's in the driver's seat." However, "take a back seat" means to have a lesser role. For example, "Vice President Johnson takes a back seat in policy matters." There is also "backseat driver", meaning some passenger who tells the driver what to do, or a meddler who insists on giving unwanted advice. For example, "Thanks for the advice, but I can handle this matter without the help of a backseat driver."

　　Drivers usually pay much attention to the mileage on the cars. When someone buys a "used car", they may often ask how much mileage the car has. Now "mileage" is not only used on cars, but for completely unrelated things. For example, "Professor Smith can get a lot of mileage out of his old lectures."

　　"Car boot sale" refers to an event in a public place where people sell their unwanted possessions, often from the back of their cars. You can also say, "to sell at a car boot". For example, "You can pick up a lot of bargains at a car boot sale." In western countries, car boot sales are held in a variety of venues, usually fields, school playgrounds or car parks. Some are regular events, held every Sunday, others are "one-offs", or held only occasionally.

　　"To have a face like the back end of a bus" means "to be really ugly". For example, "John has a face like the back end of a bus, but he's a really nice fellow."

　　Flight

　　There are many idioms about "flight" in English as well. When you mention "a flight of fancy or the imagination", you refer to an idea that shows a lot of imagination but is not very practical. For example, "Your idea about cleaning nuclear fuel is a real flight of fancy." This idiom uses "flight" in the sense of "a soaring of the imagination". "Top flight" means "to be at the highest level in a job or sport." It is a phrase often used to describe movie stars, sport stars or business executives. For example, "David Beckham is a top flight footballer."

　　Ship

　　If two lovers are "like ships that pass in the night", they meet once or twice by chance for a short time and then do not see each other again. For example, "I only met him once or twice, we were like ships that pass in the night, but I've never met anyone else like him." If you talk about what you will do "when your ship comes in", you mean when you are rich and successful. For example, "When my ship comes in, I'll build you a huge house in the country."

　　If you "run a tight ship", you control a business or other organization firmly and effectively. For example, "Our company runs a really tight ship and will not tolerate strikers". Another interesting idiom is "jump ship". If you jump ship, you leave a job or activity suddenly before it is finished, especially to go and work for someone else. For example, "Another advertising agency offered him US$1,000 more and he jumped ship immediately."

　　Railway

　　"To go off the rails" means "to start behaving in a way that is generally not acceptable, especially dishonestly or illegally". For example: "Prince Harry really went off the rails recently when he started running around with girls."

　　When you "get on the gravy train", you attempt to make money quickly, easily, and often dishonestly. For example, "I wouldn't trust him if I were you, he's just trying to get on the gravy train." If you say something is "off the beaten track", you mean something is not known or popular with many people. It can be a place where few people go, far from any main roads or towns. For example: "The hotel is difficult to find, it is really off the beaten track."