Winning English - Mastering Idioms, Slang, and References
At the tail end • Tie up loose ends • Feel at loose ends • At the end of your rope • Beginning of the end • Don't know which end is up
We’re at the tail end of 2020, so I thought I would focus this Winning English on idioms and sayings that use the word “end”.
See, I’ve already used a common phrase - “at the tail end”. It’s what we call the final days or moments of an event or time period. Think of the tail of an animal. It’s near the animal’s end. Oddly, we never say the opposite - “at the head end”.
I hope you are not too busy these days. But it is common for people to work to tie up some loose ends before the new year begins.
After a year like this, it’s possible you feel at loose ends, too. I hope not. For my part, I’m nearly at the end of my rope!
As you can see, several idioms in English refer to rope and the ends of rope. Ropes are often made of several smaller ropes twisted together. Look at the picture above for an example. Ropes usually stay together very well. But if the smaller ropes start to come apart, they are called “loose ends” because they are no longer tightly twisted together. If “loose ends” aren’t fixed, the entire rope can unravel, or fall apart.
So, “to tie up loose ends” means to finish the final details of a project or task. If you don’t do that, the project might unravel, or fall apart.
People can also “feel at loose ends”. That means you feel tired and confused. You are starting to unravel mentally and emotionally.
To be “at the end of your rope” means that you are very stressed, and you are close to losing your emotional self-control. Picture yourself hanging on to the end of a rope over a deep hole. If you lose your grip on that end of the rope, it will be bad.
By the way, I’m doing fine. I was just using myself as an example. 😄
One good thing about this week is that it’s the beginning of the end for 2020. It’s been hard to know which end is up sometimes this year. But it’s starting to look like brighter days are ahead!
“The beginning of the end for” something is a common phrase for when a period of time or a project is nearing its conclusion. For example, you could say that the recently administered coronavirus vaccines are the “beginning of the end for” the pandemic. Thanks goodness!
Finally, the phrase “it’s hard know which end is up” is a humorous way to say that you are busy and stressed. The idea is that your life is so crazy that you don’t even know what up and down are any more.
Thanks for reading Winning English! Remember to listen to the podcast, as well, to reinforce your learning. If you like what you read or hear, please tell a friend. Talk soon!