Example 1:
Mary: Let’s go to the Laker game this weekend!
Steve: Sounds like fun, but the traffic around Staples Center is such a nightmare… ugh!
Mary: How about if we leave early to beat traffic, and then have dinner downtown before the game?
Steve: Mary, that sounds great!
Example 2:
John: I got a really good job offer this week, but it’s all the way across town…!
Mark: Oh, you don’t want to drive during rush hour…
John: No way! But the pay is great and the benefits are really good.
Mark: Hmm. My cousin works on the other side of town and she leaves at 6:00 in the morning to beat traffic.
John: She’s smart! Maybe I can ask the boss for a flexible schedule and start work earlier to beat the traffic too.
Meaning: to drive somewhere before there is a lot of traffic
Usage notes: We say “to beat traffic” or “to beat the traffic.”
The idiom “to beat traffic” was taken from Unit 7 (Making it Work) in LSI’s textbook Reading Transitions for Level 4 Reading/Vocabulary classes.
