In this mini episode, you will learn the strange idiom “to have your work cut out for you.”
Episode 460 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the strange idiom “to have your work cut out for you.” Send your questions about English and your comments and suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hello! This is Sasa, from China. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 460 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you an interesting and strange idiom. The idiom is “to have your work cut out for you.” To have your work cut out for you.
To have your work cut out for you.
What does that mean? Like many idioms, it might not sound like it means anything. It kind of just sounds like a string of words. “To have your work cut out for you.”
I think the meaning of an idiom like this is very hard to figure out. I think you just have to learn what it means all together.
So what does it mean when we say that you have your work cut out for you? First of all, I should say that the expression is not always “to have your work cut out for you.” It can also be “to have his work cut out for him,” “to have her work cut out for her,” “to have our work cut out for us,” and so on.
We use “to have your work cut out for you” to mean you are facing a very difficult task. You are facing a task that is very difficult to do and might require a lot of effort and time and special knowledge. This is a very difficult task.
Let me give you an example of a situation where you might hear this phrase.
Let's say that you have bought an old house. You have bought an old house that no one has lived in for many years. Everything about this house is broken or dirty or overgrown. Everything around the house is overgrown. The trees, the bushes, the grass, everything. If you want to move into this house and live there, you will have to do a lot of work. You will have to cut the grass and trim the trees and paint the house and clean everything and repair the roof and fix the broken windows and on and on and on. This is a very big job.
I could say to you, “Well, it looks like you have your work cut out for you.”
You have your work cut out for you. You are facing a very big and difficult job. This will take you a long time to accomplish. It might require a lot of effort or strength or money or special knowledge or all of these. You have your work cut out for you. You are facing a big task.
I think you will hear people use this phrase in all kinds of situations, not only in situations where someone is facing a physically difficult task. Not only something like fixing up an old house. It could be something that will require a lot of time and mental effort.
That is “to have your work cut out for you,” an interesting idiom that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 460 of Everybody ESL. Remember: If you have any questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Sasa recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!