English Learning Conversation

A:  You look exhausted.  Are you ok? B:  I’ve been burning the candle at both ends.  The boss has been on everyone’s case lately and has been piling on a lot of work.  I’ve been getting up at 6 everyday and I’m usually not in bed until at least 1:30. A:  That sucks.  I hope you’re at least getting paid a lot of O.T. B:  We get some but it’s not great.  Everyone is working hard lately mainly to try to justify their salaries.  The boss hasn’t said anything specifically, but everyone in the office feels that he will probably let some people go. A:  You’ve been working there for a long time.  I’m surprised you think your position is in jeopardy. B:  I don’t really think I’ll get fired, but when all the dust settles and things get back to normal, I’m planning on asking for a raise. A:  Good luck.  I hope it happens soon though.  I can barely recognize you with those bags under your eyes. B:  Is it that bad? A:  It’s worse.

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Burning the candle at both ends: This phrase means that you are staying up late and then waking up early the next day.  It means you are not getting enough sleep.

The boss has been on everyone’s case: If someone is “on your case” it means that they are paying close attention to what you are doing and they are not giving you many breaks.  If you make another small mistake, they will notice and be more upset than usual.  A kid might say, “My dad has really been on my case about me failing my Chemistry test”.   In this situation, the dad is probably not allowing the son to have very much freedom.  For example, if the kid started to watch TV, the dad might notice and say something like, “Don’t you have any homework?”

Piling on: “Piling on” just means “giving a lot” or “using a lot”.  If someone is putting a lot of mashed potatoes on their plate, you could say to them, “you’re really piling on the mashed potatoes”.  That usually means, “you are taking too much food”.   A student might say, “the teachers have been piling a lot of homework this year”.

O.T.: This is a short form for “over-time”.  If you work O.T., it means that you are working more hours than you are scheduled to work.  If you get paid O.T. it means that you get paid extra money for the over-time work that you did.

Justify their salaries: Often in companies, people who get high salaries need to occasionally explain or show why they are worth so much money.  So “justifying your salary” means to prove to the company why you deserve so much money.

Let some people go: This is a soft way to say, “fire some people”.  Last year the company let go a few of my best friends.  This means, “last year the company fired a few of my best friends”.

In jeopardy: If something is “in jeopardy” it means it is “at risk”.  “She’s in jeopardy of losing her job” means, “she might get fired”.

When all the dust settles: This is the outcome after something goes through a change or is the result at the end of a period of uncertainty. After the change, “when all the dust settles”  is what the new situation is like.   We often hear this in the news about a developing technology or a company restructuring.  For example,  “When all the dust settles the company’s future should look bright”.  This is a company that is going through many changes and after the changes, it should be doing well.

Bags under your eyes: Sometimes when people get really tired, their eyes look like they have little bags under them.  Having bags under your eyes is something that no one wants, so if they notice them, they will want to make sure they get more rest.

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 4:28 pm and is filed under Fun English Lessons, fun-english-vip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.