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Losing a job

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