You’re listening to British Council’s English Online and I’m Nina.
Today on Language Snacks we take a look at the expression at a loose end.
Let’s listen to the dialogue.
A: Hi! Do you want to go for lunch?
B: Sure, but I thought you had a meeting with John.
A: Oh, he had to cancel, so I'm at a loose end.
B: Great, I'll just get my coat.
Most of us lead very busy lives these days, but do you ever finish everything you have to do and find that you have a bit of spare time to fill? In these situations, when we have free time, but we don't know what to do with it, we say we are at a loose end.
This expression was originally about sailors' ropes which had become untied, or 'loose', and therefore were not being used properly.
如果你在一阵忙碌以后发现自己有那么一点空闲时间却不知道做什么好，你就可以用到”at a loose end”来形容自己的处境。
Well, I never find myself at a loose end. Things just keep coming up and I have a lot to do! So, bye now.
And that’s it for now – join us again for some more Language Snacks.
You’ve been listening to English Online – the podcast for English learners in China.
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