to cram in [find time for]

[apblopes]

Hi,
in this sentence: "Before becoming television celebrities they had to cram in some study." Does that mean that they've studied hard or studied something, but not so hard?
The verb cram appears on the dictionary as being 'studying hard', but the word 'some' has confused me...
Thanks.

 

[Nullomore]

cram means to pack something in very very tightly. If your schedule is busy, you can cram in the time to shop. If your suitcase is full, you can cram in just one more pair of jeans. Also, you try to cram right before an exam, meaning that you try to pack in all the information at the last minute.

that sentence means they had to try very hard to find the time to study, and they could only find a little time.

I don't know exactly how to explain the use of "some." Maybe it means they couldn't find that much time to study, so they could only do "some" of the studying?

 

[clairanne]

This use of "some" is the same as saying would you like some lunch? or would you like some tea? A person might say " I just have to do some study before I come out this evening" meaning I just need to spend some time on my study before I can come out.
It is very common usage in UK english. The phrase you quoted just means that before becoming TV celebrities they had to study very hard.