For a variety of reasons, people are sometimes asked to leave their jobs. This episode is all about expressions used to talk about people getting fired. Be careful using these with people who have been fired, because it can be a sensitive subject, but you’re sure to hear these expressions in movies and television shows. So give this episode a listen, but not while you’re supposed to be working!

Andrew:

In this episode, we’re just going to describe three expressions and, yeah, just give you the rundown about them. So our first expression is to can.

Maura:

That’s right. Which is funny, ’cause most people probably think of the word can and don’t think of it as a verb used in this way, but to can can mean to fire.

Andrew:

That’s right. So if you’re dismissing somebody from their job or you’re firing somebody from their job, you are canning them.

Maura:

Right. And in the same way, if you are the person who was fired or was dismissed, you can say that you got canned or you were canned.

Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials:

A tour

To fire someone

A rundown

To chill

Man

A grey area

Red Tape

Out of the blue

To have someone’s back

To toss around an idea

To screw up

A rookie mistake

To let someone go

Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image Culips