This mini episode teaches you the useful expression “Let it slide.”
Episode 173 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the useful expression “Let it slide.” What does it mean, and how can you use it? Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
The expression that I am going to teach you today was suggested by one of my listeners, Katherine. Here is the expression she wanted to know more about: Let it slide. Let it slide. That’s let: l-e-t. It: i-t. Slide: s-l-i-d-e. Let it slide.
Have you ever heard this expression before? Do you know what it means?
“Let it slide” means to ignore something negative, to ignore a mistake that somebody has made.
Let me give you an example of a situation where somebody might use the expression “Let it slide.” Let's say you have a boss who is very strict. There are all kinds of rules that your boss expects all of the employees to follow. One day, you arrive at work a few minutes late. And your boss sees you walk into the office. Your boss says to you, “You're late, but I'll let it slide this time.” You're late, but I will let it slide this time.
In other words, your boss is saying, “You did something wrong, but I will ignore it this time. You broke a rule, but I will not punish you for it. I will let it slide.”
What are we really saying when we say, “Let it slide”? We are saying “Allow it—some kind of situation or some kind of mistake—to allow it to move away. To allow it to move on. Allow it to go away.”
That means when I let something slide, I'm not stopping it and saying, “Hey! Look at this! I want to talk about this.” Instead, I am allowing that mistake or that broken rule or that bad thing to just move away, to just leave my mind. I'm letting it slide away instead of stopping it and talking about it and showing it to everybody and getting angry and getting annoyed.
That is “Let it slide,” a very common and useful expression that I think you should know.