Catch Word
English expressions used in everyday conversation – Trying to make ends meet
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Some people have a lot of money and some people have only a little bit. This episode focuses on expressions that people use when they are talking about trying not to spend money, often because they don’t have very much. There are people who pinch pennies all the time, and others who only tighten their belts when they have to. Listen to this episode to learn about making ends meet.

| Maura: | This expression is usually used when someone doesn’t have very much money. So if we continue with the example that you gave, Harp, if someone makes $500 a week, and it’s just enough money for them to be able to survive, to be able to pay their bills, like their rent of their food. |
| Harp: | Yeah. They’re not buying a lot of fancy clothes or going on any trips. They’re just making enough money to meet their basic needs. |
| Maura: | That’s right. So, the expression itself isn’t actually negative, but it’s often used in a situation where someone doesn’t have very much money or they’re trying to make ends meet. They’re trying to find a way to make enough money that they’re able to pay their bills. |
| Harp: | Yeah. It’s used when people are having trouble making ends meet, usually. |
| Maura: | That’s right. This expression, too, has a few interesting origins. And if you’re interested in those, we’ll tell you about them in our Learning Materials, which comes when you become a member. |
Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:
| To feel down | To make ends meet |
| Instant noodles | A shower |
| To start someone off | To get by |
| As long as | Minimum wage |
| To get back on your feet | To pinch pennies |
| To tighten your belt | Broke |
| To cut costs |
Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Rap Genius
The numbers are skyrocketing
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What goes up must come down! Things are always changing in today’s world, and that’s why we decided to make an episode about things going up and going down. Especially in the news, we often hear about increases and decreases, and they use lots of different expressions to talk about this. This time, we’re talking about numbers, such as prices, statistics, and other amounts. Listen to this episode and we’ll see if our numbers start to soar!

| Maura: | These expressions are often used in business, especially talking about money or amounts of things. To be honest, when I got the idea for this episode, Harp, I was listening to the news. I heard a bunch of these expressions used on the news, and that’s what inspired this episode. |
| Harp: | Oh, I like it. Yeah, you’re right. They use these expression a lot in the news to talk about things like the price of stocks going up or going down. |
| Maura: | Right. They might use these expression to talk about statistics, too, like “35% of people believe this.” So that’s the kind of stuff that you hear on the news. |
| Harp: | Yeah. These expressions are always about an amount. |
| Maura: | All right. Let’s get to the first expression. The first expression is to skyrocket. |
Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:
| A cottage | The great outdoors |
| To skyrocket | To soar |
| A homonym | To be liking – Is this correct? |
| What does up must come down | To nosedive |
| Back to the subject | At any rate |
| To hold off | To jump at the chance |
| To sink | A start-up |
| Other expressions to talk about decreasing and increasing |
Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips



