Winning English - Mastering Idioms, Slang, and References
The lay of the land • Have a meltdown • Pissed • Same here • Take it with a grain of salt • All's well that ends well
In this post, I’m going to tell a story about a bad day at work, and it has one moderately crude word in it. But sometimes that happens at work, and you’re likely to hear it some day.
Your senior manager has called a meeting. The agenda is to give everyone the lay of the land for 2021. Everyone is hoping it will be positive because this year was so hard. But instead, the manager has a meltdown - shouting that 2020 was terrible, that everyone needs to work harder, and that bonuses will be cut.
While the phrase the “lay of the land” literally means the shape and nature of the land around you, it has come to mean the general state of things in any given situation. For example, the “lay of the land” for a business is the sum of all the risks and opportunities the company faces. (Here are a couple of examples of how it was used in some recent articles.) Note that in British English, the phrase is “lie of the land”.
To “have a meltdown” means to become very emotional and angry, usually in front of other people. For example, when a small child starts crying and yelling in a store, we say the child is “having a meltdown”. This saying seems to date from the early 20th century, but it became more common with the rise of nuclear power. The catastrophic failure of a nuclear reactor is called a “meltdown”.
After that team meeting, you talk with your colleague about what just happened.
“That was ridiculous!” you say. “I’m really pissed off! This has been a terrible year. I can’t believe our manager would talk to us that way. And now they’ll cut our bonuses!?”
“Same here,” your colleague says. “I don’t think it was right. But I’d take that comment about bonuses with a grain of salt. I’m in accounting, you know. Things aren’t as bad as our manager said.”
To be “pissed off” means that you are angry. You can also just say “pissed”, without off. Please note that “pissed off” is very crude language and should only be used in very casual settings. (That doesn’t mean you won’t hear it at work sometimes! 😅 ) Also note that to be “pissed” has a very different meaning in British English. Instead, it means to be drunk.
“Same here” is another way of saying, “I feel the same way you do.” In other words, “I agree”.
To “take” something “with a grain of salt” means that you can probably believe it is true, but there is a good chance it might not be true. In other words, you should be skeptical. This odd idiom appears to have originated in ancient Rome. The general idea appears to be that food tastes better and is easier to eat if it has a bit of salt on it. So, for example, bad news might be easier to accept if you have reason to be a little skeptical. (Here’s one example of it being used in a news article.) Note that in British English, the phrase is slightly different - “with a pinch of salt”.
Later in the day, the manager calls another employee meeting, where he apologizes to everyone for his behavior, and he announces that bonuses will not be cut. In fact, everyone will get a raise, too, for working so hard during a difficult year.
You text your colleague during the meeting. You write, “All’s well that ends well, I guess.”
“All’s well that ends well” is a common saying people use for when a bad situation that had many difficulties finishes in a good way. The phrase is actually the title of a play by English playwright William Shakespeare. (Here is an example of its use in a recent article.)
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 like the post, leave a comment, and as always, please tell a friend. Thanks, and talk soon!