Lesson 16 - Face the Music!

Easy American Idioms » Lesson 16 - Face the Music!

Word List

To give someone a break

→ To hold back criticism, judgment, or effort against someone.
To brush something off

→ To fail to take something seriously. To treat something as unimportant or inconsequential.
To put something away

→ To save something, such as money.
To burn through something

→ To use something very fast, with little care for future supplies.
To live paycheck-to-paycheck

→ To earn only enough money to meet weekly or monthly bills, to not be able to save or spend on nonessentials.
No skin off someone’s nose

→ To be of no concern or importance to someone. To fail to affect someone. To say “it’s no skin off your nose” means that there’s an inconvenience only for the speaker, but none for the listener.
To make your own way in the world

→ To support yourself, to be responsible for your own needs in life.
To get the ball rolling

→ To get started doing something.
To get your feet wet

→ To get experience, to try something out.
Like talking to a wall

→ Communicating with someone who doesn’t understand or listen.
To go about something

→ To handle, to act, or to perform in a situation or with a certain goal.
To have your head in the clouds

→ To be a dreamer, to fail to be realistic or pay attention to realistic needs.
To sell out

→ To betray your principles for money.
To get along with

→ To behave in an agreeable way with someone.
To see eye to eye

→ To agree.
To take charge of something

→ To become responsible for something and make active decisions about it.
To wake up and smell the coffee

→ To acknowledge the reality of a situation.
Neither here nor there

→ To not be the point. To not matter or beimportant in the current context.
To cut the cord

→ To detach yourself from someone or somethingthat you used to have strong influence or control over. The image is of a baby being physically attached to his or her mother by the umbilical cord.
It’s about time

→ To be the right time. This expression may also communicate the opinion that something should have been done a long time ago.
To face the music

→ To confront or accept unpleasant realities or consequences of bad actions.
To sink or swim

→ To be in a situation where you must eitherperform your best or fail.
To cut someone off

→ To stop someone’s supply of something, often money or support.

Face the Music!

Father: We need to talk.

Patrick: Can this wait? It’s after two. I’m tired.

Mother: You’re hardly ever home, Patrick. We can’t put this off any longer.

Patrick: Fine. What?

Father: We want to talk to you about your life.

Patrick: Here it comes . . .

Father: You need to be more responsible. You stay out too late. You’re not taking your graduation very seriously.

Patrick: Give me a break! I do have a job, you know.

Father: Actually, you’ve had three different jobs in the last six weeks. You seem to brush them off like they’re games. And you aren’t putting away any of your money. You burn through it and live paycheck-to-paycheck.

Patrick: Well, it’s no skin off your nose. It’s my money, right?

Mother: Yes, but you don’t seem to be thinking at all about your future. We can’t support you forever, you know. You’ve got to start to make your own way in the world soon.

Father: Patrick, you’re smart. You have to get a real job. If you’d like, I can help you get the ball rolling. I’d like to get you a job working at my company. It will be a way to get your feet wet in business until you find something on your own.

Patrick: It’s like talking to a wall with you two! How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t want to work in business! I’m going to be a writer.

Father: Patrick, that’s an admirable goal, but you can’t go about it with your head in the clouds. You need to start somewhere concrete, but even before that you need to earn a living somehow.

Patrick: I’ve told you a thousand times, I don’t want to sell out and work for a corporation!

Mother: Who put this idea in your head anyway? Was it Marcie?

Patrick: I knew it. That’s what this is all about. Just because you don’t get along with Marcie!

Father: Patrick, it’s true that we don’t see eye to eye with you on girlfriends. But this is not about Marcie. This is about you taking charge of your life.

Mother: Wake up and smell the coffee, Patrick . . . Marcie hasn’t set very high goals for herself in life, and if you . . .

Father: Honey, we agreed we’d focus on the job situation first. Let’s just . . .

Patrick: Oh, I can’t believe this!

Father: Your mother just wants the best for you. But your relationship with Marcie is neither here nor there. The point is you are twenty-three and haven’t had a decent job since you graduated.

Patrick: Must you constantly be on my case about this? Look, the way I see it, it’s my life now, and I’m the only one who should have to worry about it. You two have to cut the cord.

Father: Well, we’re glad you think so son, because your mother and I have decided it’s about time you moved out.

Patrick: What?!

Father: Time to face the music. It’s sink or swim, Patrick. Welcome to the real world.

Patrick: You’re just cutting me off ?

Mother: Oh, of course not, son. Your father is just being dramatic. But it really is time for you to face the real world. We’re doing this because we love you. We’ll be there to help if you need it.

Patrick: Oh. Okay . . . So, does that mean I can drop my laundry off here for you, Mom?

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