Is "until mine is on tight" an idiom?
I was studying English, so I downloaded a comprehension reading test and I found a phrase which I can't understand:
Seat belts save lives and that's a fact. That's why I don't drive anywhere until mine is on tight.
I think that it's an idiom because I don't find word definitions that help me understand the phrase.
Solution 1:
It's not an idiom. Each word means exactly what it says.
Mine means 'my one', referring back to the seat belt.
On tight means exactly what it says - fitted securely. So
I will not drive anywhere until my seat belt is fitted securely.
Solution 2:
" I don't drive anywhere until mine is on tight."
If you built this sentence bit by bit, it would go like this:
- I don't drive anywhere until my belt is on.
- I don't drive anywhere until my belt is on tight. [the belt is tight, snugly fit]
- I don't drive anywhere until mine is on tight.
So each word (after until) means this:
- Until: while the following doesn't occur.
- Mine: reffers to [my] "seat belt" in the previous sentence.
- Is on: the belt is on = the belt is in place [i.e. the belt is fastened]
- Tight: the belt is fastened tight [i.e. the belt is tight and safety is assured].