时间：2022-07-08 06:02:03
你每天的生活都很忙碌？还是无所事事？大多数人可能会有这样一种想法：在忙碌的工作或学习中（run off one’s feet），就会一直期盼着假期的来临；可是当假期到来时，又不知道如何安排（at a loose end），只好任难得的假日时光悄悄流逝；那么，不如约上三五好友，喝喝茶、闲话家常（have a chinwag）吧！
1. Run Offoff Your Feet
Let’s listen to the dialogue.
A: Do you fancy a coffee this morning?
B: I’d love to, but I’m gonnaing to be too busy I’m afraid. I’ve got to take the children to school, go to the supermarket and do some things at the bank. I’m gonnaing to be run off my feet!
A: Oh, poor you, I didn’t realise you were so busy. How about another time then?
B: Definitely! I’ll be free tomorrow, if you want to get together then?
A: Great, tomorrow it is. See you then.
Christmas and New Year are always busy times for me. There are presents to buy, decorations to put up, special food to prepare. There’s so much to do and so little time! When you’re really busy like this, with a lotlots of things to do, you can say that you are run off your feet. I don’t know where this phrase comes from, but it always makes me smile because it sounds like you’ve been working so hard that your feet have fallen off!
It’s important to notice that this expression is used like an adjective, not a verb. So make sure you say “‘I’m run off my feet”’ and not “I run off my feet”!
2. At aA Loose End
Let’s listen to the dialogue.
A: Hi! Do you want to have lunch?
B: Sure, but I thought you had a meeting with John.
A: Oh, he had to cancel, so I’m at a loose end.
B: Great, I’ll just get my coat.
Most of us lead very busy lives these days, but do you ever finish everything you have to do and find that you have a bit of spare time to fill? In these situations, when we have free time, but we don’t know what to do with it, we say we are at a loose end.
This expression was originally about sailors’ ropes which had become untied, or “loose”, and therefore were not being used properly.
3. 3. Have aA Chinwag
Let’s listen to the dialogue.
A: Hey Dan. Not seen you for a while.
B: I’m meeting Claire in 5five minutes, but are you busy next week? Let’s have lunch.
B: Sure, we can have a bit of a chinwag. Tuesday?
A: Works for me.
B: See you Tuesday then.
Well, “have a chinwag” is a real British slang,. Cancan you guess what it means from the dialogue? Maybe you are more familiar with the expression “have a chat”. If we break down the expression we have two words: “chin” and “wag”. “Chin” is your lower jaw and “wag” means to move from side to side, so I suppose “chinwag” describes the action of talking or chatting.
词组“run off one’s feet”非常形象地形容了这样的状态――跑来跑去，连两只脚都好像不是自己的了。因此，“run off one’s feet”是指“有很多的事情要做，忙得不可开交”。需要特别注意的是，这个短语是作形容词而不是动词用的。例如：
(1) There’s only one secretary working for the whole accounts department and the poor woman is run off her feet.
(2) Are you run off your feet? Get someone else to do stuff for you.
当你忙完所有的事情后，空闲下来，却又不知道如何打发时间，这时候我们可使用短语“at a loose end”，它的产生可以追溯到十九世纪中期，原意是指绳索一端未系住的船随波漂流，不知方向，现在用来比喻人，是“闲来无事”的意思，也可以用作“at loose ends”。例如：
(1) He was at a loose end when their long-term relationship broke up.
(2) I’ve left my business hung up at loose ends between two oceans, and it’s time to connect again.
英国俚语“have a chinwag”，相当于美国英语中的“have a chat”，就是“聊聊天”的意思。“chinwag”一词可以看作是“chin”和“wag”的结合，就像是嘴巴一张一合在说话。事实上，“chinwag”的意思是“a chat or gossip conversation”，而短语“have a chinwag”通常是指与自己非常熟悉的朋友随意地聊天，甚至是说说八卦。例如：
(1) Shall we sit down at the table and have a chinwag?
(2) I like to meet my friends for dinner, and have a chinwag.