Nelly Min

Reader's question:

We've all heard or read about the decline of newspapers in print. Newspaper owners are cutting workers and printing skimpier newspapers. As newspapers cut back on its coverage of the news, one thing is picking up the slack: the local neighborhood news blog.

Could you explain “pick up the slack”?

My comments:

"Pick up the slack," or "take up the slack," is an American expression meaning "to do the work that someone else has stopped doing, but which still needs to be done."

Examples:

When Sue starts going to work, Bob and the kids will have to pick up the slack and help more at home.

With our best player injured, other players picked up the slack.

** One of the definitions of "slack":

A spell of inactivity or laziness

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length and breadth of

get up to speed on something

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For all intents and purposes

Kick sth.when it's down

Opening credits

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That's saying a lot

Come hell or high water

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本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily website.