Speak Business English Like an American » LESSON 17 - Telling Somebody Off

Telling Somebody Off

Doug and Joe work at the reception desk of the Boston Empire Hotel, a large hotel. Kara, the hotel manager, yells at Doug for being late to work every day.

Doug: Good morning, guys. How's it going?

Joe: Lousy. You were supposed to be here at 8 a.m. It's now 11 o'clock. What's the deal?

Doug: Sorry about that. My alarm didn't go off this morning.

Kara: You've been late every day this week!

Doug: I had a rough night last night. My girlfriend Liz dumped me and told me she's in love with my best friend!

Kara: Oh please, spare us the sob story!

Joe: I'm sick and tired of your excuses. You need to start pulling your weight around here.

Doug: Hey, cut me some slack! My life's a mess right now.

Kara: Doug, I'm trying to run a tight ship. I can't continue turning a blind eye to the fact that you're always late. Shape up or ship out!

Doug: I promise tomorrow I'll be here at 8 a.m. on the dot.

The Next Day...

Doug: Sorry, I'm running behind. I had to...

Kara: Don't waste-your breath! You're three hours late again

Doug: But my car wouldn't start, my mechanic is on vacation in Florida, and then I...

Kara: Today was the last straw. You're fired!

Doug: That's fine. I was miserable working for a slave driver like you anyway!

Kara: Don't burn your bridges. You may need me later as a reference.

* To “tell somebody off” is to criticize them or yell at them for doing something wrong.

Idioms
  • What's the deal?
    What's going on? What happened? What's the explanation?
    EXAMPLE: We received 5,000 mailing envelopes from your company, and you sent us an invoice for 50,000. What's the deal?
  • (to) have a rough night
    to have a difficult evening or night
    EXAMPLE: You look exhausted this morning. Did you have a rough night?
  • (to) dump someone
    to end a romantic relationship
    EXAMPLE: Walter Jenkins, the CEO of a real estate firm, dumped his wife of 40 years and married his young assistant.
  • spare us (or me) the sob story
    don't bother making excuses; don't try to explain yourself
    EXAMPLE: You can't finish your work tonight because you've got a toothache? Spare me the sob story!

    NOTE: "Sob" means cry.

  • sick and tired of
    completely bored with; sick of; fed up with
    EXAMPLE: Jane is sick and tired of hearing her boss talk about how great he is. She's hoping to find a new job soon.
  • (to) pull one's weight
    to do one's share of the work
    EXAMPLE: Don't rely on others to get your job done. You need to pull your own weight.

    NOTE: You will also hear the variation: to pull one's own weight.

  • (to) cut someone some slack
    to be forgiving; to not judge someone too harshly
    EXAMPLE: Cut Gretchen some slack for failing to finish the report on time. She's going through a bitter divorce.
  • (to) run a tight ship
    to run something effectively and efficiently
    EXAMPLE: Jack Welch is known as one of the greatest business leaders ever. He ran a tight ship while he was the CEO of General Electric.
  • (to) turn a blind eye to something
    to ignore a problem or an issue; to refuse to recognize
    EXAMPLE: Every September when the school year starts, pens and paper disappear from our company's supply room. We can no longer turn a blind eye to this.
  • Shape up or ship out!
    improve your behavior or leave; if you don't improve your performance, you're going to get fired
    EXAMPLE: Martin finally had enough of Todd's negative attitude. "Shape up or ship out!" he told Todd.

    ORIGIN: This expression was first used in the U.S. military during World War Two, meaning: you'd better follow regulations and behave yourself ("shape up"), or you're going to be sent overseas to a war zone ("ship out").

  • on the dot
    sharp; at an exact time
    EXAMPLE: The videoconference with our Tokyo office will start at 10 a.m. on the dot.
  • (to be) running behind
    to be late; to be delayed
    EXAMPLE: I'm calling to say I'm running behind. I'll be at your office in 15 minutes.

    SYNONYM: running late

  • don't waste your breath
    don't bother; don't bother trying to defend yourself; I don't want to hear your excuses
    EXAMPLE: Don't waste your breath trying to talk me into buying an advertisement in your magazine. I've already spent my advertising budget for the year.
  • (the) last straw
    the final offense or annoyance that pushes one to take action
    EXAMPLE:  First you tell me 1 can't have an office and now you're cutting my salary. This is the last straw. I quit!

    ORIGIN: This saying comes from another expression that you may also hear: the straw that broke the camel's back. When you load up a camel straw by straw, each individual straw doesn't weigh much. However, eventually, the load will get so heavy that one extra straw will break the camel's back. In the same way, people can tolerate small annoyances. But when there get to be too many, people finally get fed up and take action.

  • slave driver
    a very demanding and often cruel boss or supervisor
    EXAMPLE: You're going to be working late hours as an assistant brand manager in Linda's group. She's a real slave driver!

    ORIGIN: In the days of slavery, the slave driver was the person who oversaw the slaves as they worked.

  • (to) burn one's bridges
    to do something which makes it impossible to go back; to damage a relationship to such an extent that one can never go back to that person again
    EXAMPLE: When he was fired, Chad really felt like telling Lisa that she was a terrible manager, but he didn't want to burn his bridges.

    ORIGIN: This expression comes from the military. Soldiers dating back to the days of the Roman Empire used to burn the bridges behind them. This meant the Roman troops couldn't retreat; they had to keep moving forward. It also made it more difficult for the enemy to follow them.

Practice The Idioms

Fill in the blanks, using the following idioms:

  • slave driver
  • shape up or ship out
  • turn a blind eye
  • cut me some slack
  • sick and tired
  • the last straw
  • run a tight ship
  • What's the deal?
  • pulling his weight
  • spare me the sob story

Jill is a manager of the automotive department at Sears. One of her salespeople, Len, isn't (1)___________ Jill is (2)___________ of the fact that Len shows up late every day and is constantly flirting with Tatiana, the saleswoman in the electronics department. Yesterday, Jill watched as Len was rude to a customer. "Go get your tires somewhere else!" Len yelled at the customer. That was (3)___________ . She pulled him aside and said to him, "Len, (4)___________ !" Len was surprised. " (5)___________ " he asked. "I thought you and I were friends, and now suddenly you're turning into a (6)___________ ." Jill replied, "Len, I do like you, but I'm trying to (7)___________ here. I can no longer (8)___________ to the fact that you're not taking this job very seriously." Len turned red and frowned. "Hey, (9)___________ . I've been under a lot of stress lately at home." Jill didn't want to hear any excuses. " (10)___________ ," she replied.

Answer Key
Practice The Idioms
  1. pulling his weight
  2. sick and tired
  3. the last straw
  4. shape up or ship out
  5. What's the deal?
  6. slave driver
  7. run a tight ship
  8. turn a blind eye
  9. cut me some slack
  10. spare me the sob story
Answer Key
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