Reader question:

Please explain “up for grabs” in “long-lost treasures that are still up for grabs”.

My comments:

Those long-lost treasures are still not found, in other words. They’re still out there – for anyone to locate them – and to seize and clutch them with greedy fingers.

To grab, you see, is to seize something and grasp it and hold it tight in a quick and sudden move.

Imagine the commotion that may ensue if someone throws a bunch of 100-dollar banknotes up in the air in a crowded area. People will jump and holler as they try to grab a piece of them.

Now, calm down. I’m just making it up as an example. Nobody’s tossing banknotes up in the air for the public to take hold of as their own. Such events don’t happen in real life; at least they don’t happen often.

Or at the very least, they don’t happen often enough. They do happen in movies, but, anyways, you get the picture.

So, metaphorically speaking, if something is still up for grabs, then it’s still unclaimed. It’s still available. It’s still there for you to take hold of.

For example, the 2022 Winter Olympics are going to be held in Beijing early next months, featuring a total of 109 events. That means hundreds of medals – of gold, silver and bronze – will be up for grabs for athletes from around the world.

All right?

Okay. Here are recent media examples of covetable things that are “up for grabs”:

1. Arsenal legend Martin Keown has suggested that the top four is “up for grabs” and earning a spot in the Champions League is a “really realistic” ambition for the Londoners.

The Gunners made a poor start to the 2021/22 campaign as they lost their first three Premier League games.

Mikel Arteta’s side have recovered since then though as they are unbeaten in their last seven league games. They have picked up five wins and two draws.

Arsenal have beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City in this run. This form has seen them rise up to sixth in the Premier League.

The Londoners host Watford this weekend in their last game before the international break.

Keown has told the Mirror that Arsenal have been able to wipe away the feeling that they have a “soft underbelly”:

“I think the win against Leicester was a statement victory. When you go there and you do that to Leicester, you’ve climbed another major hurdle in your development. That’s all it is at the minute, just a team developing but going in the right direction.

“They’ve done really well to turn it around after losing the first three games of the season. It was about the manager identifying after that first international break, these are the personnel that I can rely on. They’ve made a number of changes since that City game, but it’s now paying dividends.

“The form team of the season is West Ham going into fourth place. With Manchester United and Tottenham having a difficult run, that top-four place comes into view.

“I think it’s about Arsenal rebuilding the reputation as it is about anything else. There was a feeling they had a soft underbelly, but they have been able to wipe that away in just a few games.

“The top four is up for grabs. They definitely need to get back into Europe, fourth or fifth position is a really realistic goal for Arsenal this season.”

- Arsenal legend believes top four is ‘really realistic’ this season, Football365.com, November 3, 2021.

2. If you had any desire for the Buccaneers -who are currently dealing with a lot of injuries- to rest players in Week 18 in hopes of getting healthier for the upcoming playoff run, well, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Because according to Bruce Arians - that ain’t happening.

The Bucs currently own the NFC’s No. 3 seed. Only the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams own a better seed. Unfortunately, the Packers wrapped up the No. 1 seed with their win over the Vikings on Sunday night. But the No. 2 seed is still up for grabs when it pertains to the Rams and Bucs.

Tampa Bay will jump up to No. 2 if it beats the Panthers and if the San Francisco 49ers beat the Rams on Sunday. Therefore Sunday’s game is technically a must-win in terms of postseason aspirations.

And that’s why Arians isn't resting any players outside of the ones who absolutely need it.

“There is no balance, brother, you play to win,” Arians told reporters Monday in regard to whether or not he plans on voluntarily resting players. “You’re playing to get that second seed, that’s huge. We’re not resting anybody. We’re playing to win.”

- Buccaneers Won’t Rest Starters During Week 18 Matchup vs. Panthers, SI.com, January 3, 2022.

3. Will you kick off 2022 by becoming a millionaire Monday night? Anything is possible!

The Powerball’s first 2022 jackpot is still up for grabs after no one won Saturday night’s drawing. The jackpot is now up to $540 million.

The next drawing is Monday night at 10:59. If you win, you can take the lump sum cashout of $348 million or get 30 $18-million payments over 29 years.

No one has won the jackpot in nearly three months. The odds of winning are about 1 in 292 million.

- Powerball jackpot reaches $540 million ahead of Monday drawing, Local12.com, January 4, 2022.

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：張欣 編輯：丹妮）