Losing a job
Jimmy: I was let go last week.
Theresa: What? Why did they lay you off? You were one of their best!
Jimmy: I got my walking papers last Friday.
Theresa: So, officially, you’ve been out of work since last Friday.
Jimmy: I still can’t believe I’ve been sacked!
Theresa: Maybe it’s better for you. You were only just making a living there.
How much did you get paid an hour?
Jimmy: Guess.
Theresa: Maybe around twelve dollars?
Jimmy: That’s right. How did you guess that?
Theresa: It just popped into my head. It’s only slightly more than the minimum wage - $11.25 an hour is the minimum wage in New Zealand. And you have always complained that you would get better pay at Burger King.
Jimmy: You’re right! Well I’d better be positive and start to look for a new job. I’m sure I can rake it in at other places!
Theresa: That’s the spirit!
Glossary
1. be let go – be/get fired; be/get laid off; be/get sacked, be made redundant.
eg. They let a number of the older workers go.
- John was not working as well as we had hoped; we had to let him go.
cf. I am between jobs. = I don't have a job at the moment
2. lay off – fire someone from their job/let someone go from their job.
3. Make a living – earn enough money to live on.
E.g. “My friend is only just making a living working in that café.”
4. Rake it in – make a lot of money/
Eg. A: Is the casino business profitable?
B: Sure. They’re really raking it in.
Cf. Have money to burn - have a lot of money
Eg. “On payday I’ll have money to burn.”
5.That’s the spirit! = You’ve got the right idea/that’s the idea!
6.Everything will fall into place = Everything will work itself out.
In the long haul, it will all work out/I am confident it will work out.
7. Pop into one’s head = suddenly remember something.
Eg. A: How did you remember the password?
B: Oh. It just popped into my head.
Cf. slip one’s mind = to forget something
Eg. A: Did you pick up my suit at the dry cleaner’s?
B: No, sorry, it slipped my mind.
Cf. other expressions using "pop"
Pop in =visit
Pop out = go out for a while
Pop over = visit somewhere for a while
Pop up= suddenly appear from somewhere
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