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Over the top

Garth: We’re very careful with our money now, as we have quite a few debts to repay.

Kim: We paid off my student loan before going on our big OE but the travel bills are a major pressure now. How on earth did we spend so much money? I don’t think we bought anything special.

Garth: Don’t you remember our credit card was maxed out for most of last year as we moved around Europe and parts of the Middle East. The Egyptian part of the trip wasn’t so expensive but once we hit northern Europe we found things much dearer than we anticipated.

Kim: Yes, I remember now. The German stages were a bit over the top I suppose, but I’m very glad we went there while we had the chance. We’ll be having a baby soon and settling down here, so may not get another chance to see Europe - not while we’re young enough to do things, anyway.

Garth: We still have a social life and don’t live like monks. We enjoy life, but we just have to be a bit careful with the monthly budget.

Glossary

1. OE - Overseas Experience

Eg. I have been on a big OE for the last two years.

Eg. I went to Africa on my OE.

Big OE= Staying overseas for a long time.

 2. Hit = reach

Once we hit Europe things were more expensive than we expected = Once we reached Europe things were more expensive than we expected.

Cf: “ hit the road” = to leave.

Eg) A: What time would you like to take off?

B: I‘d like to hit the road by dawn.

OTHER EXPRESSIONS USING "HIT"

Hit the roof = Get angry

Eg. My wife hit the roof when I shouted at her last night.

Hit the sack = to go to bed.

Eg. I’m really tired. I think I might hit the sack.

Hit rock bottom = to get worse

Eg. Her father’s business hit rock bottom this year. It’s about to go bankrupt.

Hit the bottle = drink a lot of alcohol

Eg. She hit the bottle on her payday and had a terrible hangover the next day.

3. On earth = In the world

eg. Why on earth?

Eg. A: Why on earth does he want to buy a motorcycle?

B: I suppose he likes dangerous things.

What in the world…?

Eg. What in the world is going on here?

I don’t know what in the world I was thinking.

 4. Maxed out – If your credit card is maxed out it means you have reached your credit limit – you can’t get any more credit on it until you pay some of it off.

5. Dear - expensive. Another way of saying this is to say that something costs “an arm and a leg”.

Eg. A: How much does it cost for an air ticket to America?

B: “It’s very dear” or “It’ll cost you an arm and a leg”.

6. Have a social life – Go out with friends, to go to parties etc. in your free time.