San Juan Hill
- proper noun
- /sæn wɑn hɪl/
:
Colina de San Juan
- Like, uh, Teddy Roosevelt, T. R. , rushing up San Juan Hill.
Examples
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And Teddy Roosevelt, who led the Rough Riders' charge up San Juan Hill, built the navy, busted monopolies, and founded America's national parks.
Blog text (12) -
During the Spanish-American War, many soldiers fought bravely at San Juan Hill near Santiago de Cuba.
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My grandfather, a colonel, rode beside Teddy Roosevelt up San Juan Hill.
Fiction book (1993) -
The charge up San Juan Hill was a pivotal moment that influenced the outcome of the Spanish-American War.
-
Teddy Roosevelt earned fame after leading his troops in the charge up San Juan Hill during the battle in Cuba.
Surface Forms
Morphology
San + Juan + hill
The phrase is a toponym built from 'San Juan' (a personal/place name) plus 'hill', so a learner who knows 'hill' and recognizes 'San Juan' as a name can infer it refers to a specific hill called San Juan. While the historical significance (the battle) is not predictable from the parts, the referent type (a hill/place) is transparently derivable and follows common cross-linguistic naming patterns (Saint + name + geographic feature).
Etymology
San Juan Hill is the name of a hill near Santiago de Cuba where, in 1898, United States forces led by Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders made a famous charge up the slope during the Spanish-American War. So today San Juan Hill usually refers to that hill and the famous 'battle' and daring charge that made it well known.
