Thousands of people catch trains at Grand Central in New York City on a daily basis. If they seem relaxed, they are probably MAKING GOOD TIME. On the other hand, if they look stressed and in a rush, they may be CUTTING IT CLOSE.
When we’re heading somewhere such as to an event or an appointment, we’re usually thinking of the time. Are we running late? Are we early? Will we get to our destination sooner than expected? The same thing happens when we’re working on a project; we think about time, as well. When will we finish the project? Are we going too slow or will we finish it ahead of schedule?
- HEAD somewhere – go somewhere
When we consider these questions, chances are we are using the idioms CUTTING IT CLOSE and MAKING GOOD TIME. We CUT IT CLOSE when we find ourselves running late because we don’t give ourselves enough time to get someplace on time or finish a project on schedule. For example, if we almost miss our flight because we left the hotel very late, we might say, “We’re CUTTING IT CLOSE. We should have left much earlier.”
- CHANCES ARE – there’s a good chance; there’s a high probability
On the other hand, MAKING GOOD TIME means we’re early or ahead of schedule. When we’re on our way to the airport to catch a flight, and it looks like we will get there very early, we might say, “We’re MAKING GOOD TIME. We’ll have plenty of time to go through security!”
Learn to say these idioms, and the next time you’re working on something on deadline, think about when you think you might finish. Similarly, when you have to be somewhere at a certain time, think about when you might get to your destination. Are you CUTTING IT CLOSE or MAKING GOOD TIME? Then say it out loud to practice.
“We’re MAKING GOOD TIME! We should get there 20 minutes early. Woohoo!” or “Oh, boy. We are really CUTTING IT CLOSE. We should have left much, much earlier!”
Any questions? Feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for checking out this post! You can use the social media buttons below to share this with family & friends.
Keep practicing! 🙂
Leave a Reply