This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2664.
Are you just getting by?
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We all go through years when money is tight.
Today find out how to articulate this when you're struggling in English.
Hey, Michelle, how are you doing today?
How's everything?
Hey, Lindsay.
I'm good.
Lindsay, was there ever a time in your life when you felt you were just scraping by?
Yeah, for sure.
For sure.
I think the first time I lived in New York, I mean, this is relative for everyone, right?
My family was there.
If I needed them, they would have been there for me.
But
I think for me, I felt like I was scraping by a little bit at times living in New York.
The first time I lived there and the second time after I came back from South America.
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
What about you?
New York is definitely a place where you can feel like you're just scraping by, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, sure.
Like, I've definitely had moments where I felt that I was, you know, struggling a bit or.
Yeah.
Also, I would say when I first moved to New York, I mean, I was looking for a job if I didn't get one after the summer.
Yeah.
When I when I moved there, I had basically a summer job.
Housing situation that i had saved up for by temping and then if i didn't get a job past the summer i was going to move home
Oh man what a buzz kill
Yeah no so i mean of course i'm
I was also fortunate and if my if i really needed my family would have helped me but i you know um
I did feel in the beginning like I was just scraping by and then I did get a job, so that was good.
But today we're gonna talk about ways to describe when we're just barely managing
Right.
We're struggling to have just enough to to survive.
Sounds a little bit dramatic, but it could be true.
Lindsay, what is this usually about?
Yeah, this is usually financial, right?
Most of these phrases you're going to learn today, what we're going to talk about this theme is financial.
It could relate to other aspects of life, I guess, but generally about money.
Do you have enough money to survive?
Yeah, exactly.
And, you know, this is really important for connection.
This is super relatable, because we can all probably think of a time when we were struggling with something.
And yeah, I mean, gosh, when you think about the world and finances and all the things that people go through, I mean...
You know, there are generally times when people are just scraping by.
So these phrases sum up that experience quickly.
And when you use them, people know exactly what you mean.
Right, Lindsay?
Well, yeah.
And I think these are also really important for like market events.
Where it's not just you, right?
It's everyone.
The first time I lived in New York, it was – no, the second time when I came back after a year in South America, it was 2008.
I came back in August of 2008 and the world crashed down in September of 2008, right?
I mean, that was the housing bubble, the housing crash.
Yeah.
And everyone was just scraping by.
People were losing their jobs left and right, right?
So it's not just about you.
It's about, there could be market events.
There could be larger events, right?
Year right right
And again it could also be um like maybe at work your company is just scraping by um so it doesn't have to be an individual thing like kind of like what lindsey said
So we're going to be talking about this more in just a second but before we get into it we want to remind everyone
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Yeah, guys, our theme, our whole reason for publishing is connection, not perfection.
We want to show you how to connect around English, using English at any moment, right?
Regardless of mistakes, we're going to show you how to do it, how to connect.
That's right.
Yes.
All right.
So the first phrase is to scrape by, which was what we've been mentioning.
So to barely have enough money or resources to live.
So it sounds casual to scrape by, right?
The word sounds casual, but it signals these stressful circumstances.
Yes.
Oh, yeah.
So, for example, when I first moved to New York, I was just scraping by.
That's kind of both of us to some extent.
Or we're barely scraping by on one salary.
So, yeah, with your partner, you might have to make some tough decisions about money.
Right.
Or during college, I was scraping by with two part-time jobs.
A lot of people in this country work two or three jobs.
You know, that's just what they do, right?
And they're still just scraping by.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So common situations when we'd use this phrase.
Yeah.
Being a student, certainly, you know, I'm working at the dining hall.
I'm working, you know, they have a job while in school or starting a business.
I mean, that's...
I mean, I can certainly identify with that one.
My husband and I recently started a business and it's hard, man.
It's hard at first.
No, it's not the easy way.
No.
For sure.
But what is the easy way?
I mean...
You know, it's rewarding too at the same time.
So yeah, there's a lot of risk there starting a business.
Living in an expensive city.
I mean, man, I just saw something on Instagram that was ranking cities in terms of like...
Like how easy it is to save there.
And the worst one is San Francisco, of course.
The hardest one to save money is San Francisco.
It's just so much of your money goes to your rent, you know, and taxes in California.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah.
Oh, taxes.
Yes.
So or, or, you know, just if you have a job that doesn't pay well, you know, you're just going to be scraping by.
So again, like Lindsay said, some people might need to have another job or other jobs.
So yes.
But yeah, that's to scrape by.
And then there's another similar expression.
Lindsay, what is this one?
Yeah, a little phrasal verb here to get by, right?
To manage with the minimum amount of something needed.
I can get by with X, right?
So it's sort of casual, neutral, kind of modest maybe.
We're managing but not comfortably.
We're surviving.
Right.
It's not quite as dramatic as to scrape by, I think.
Yeah.
But it's often used about things like money also.
So we're getting by, but things are tight.
So if I said we're scraping by, it makes the situation sound a little bit more dire, don't you think?
Yes, I do.
I agree.
Yeah.
Getting by or with skills, it could apply to your skills.
My Spanish isn't great, but I can get by.
So it's not always about money, right?
It's about like abilities, whether that's ability to provide with money, ability to communicate.
Yeah.
Yeah, I would say that's kind of a key difference.
I mean, again, to scrape by, you can use it with other contexts, but I do think it's mostly for money.
Yeah, I think you're right.
So whereas get by, it's a little bit more versatile or I mean, or with get by life in general.
I mean, yeah.
Somehow we got by during those tough years.
So this could mean anything.
You know, maybe it is about money, but maybe there were struggles in a relationship.
Maybe someone was ill. You know, there's just some hardship.
Yeah.
It's a little more mixed.
It's a little less clear whether we're talking about money alone or just difficulties, challenges that came up.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Make ends meet.
This is one I always thought was interesting.
Are we talking about make ends meet like the meat, like beef jerky?
No.
Nope.
M-E-E-T, right?
Okay.
So this one is to have just enough money to pay some basic expenses, right?
So you're not saving, you're not doing much else, you're just making ends meet.
And this is almost always, I would say, about money, don't you think?
Yeah, I think so.
I think so.
It's common, it's practical, and it's a bit serious, right, when we say it.
For example, it's hard to make ends meet in this city.
Yeah.
Or they work two jobs just to make ends meet.
Or when I was younger, I struggled to make ends meet.
Yes yes and then get through Michelle get through would be all of these phrases indicate a challenge a struggle
Yes right yep yep so this is to survive or finish a difficult situation so this one is also a little bit more general
Um
And this one refers to situations or experiences.
So you could use it to talk about something like an emotional situation.
So for example, talking to friends helped me get through my breakup.
Or stressful periods of your life.
I don't know how we got through that stressful year.
Or even something as simple as a busy workday.
So coffee helps me get through the workday.
Or even something, I have a friend who's about to run a marathon in a few weeks and that can be hard too.
That's another challenge.
So it was a tough marathon, but I got through it.
This one you're going to hear a lot.
Um, for sure.
How did you get through it?
How did you, you know, people, people use this.
Yeah.
It's very versatile.
Um, so I really like this one.
Um, so should we do a role play?
Yeah, Michelle, let's do it.
So I just got a new job and it's my first job out of college.
I'm not being paid much and you were asking me how it's going.
All right.
So how's the new job going?
Honestly, I like the work, but I'm barely scraping by right now.
Yeah, that first year can be tough.
I'm working overtime just to make ends meet.
I remember that stage.
I was barely getting by when I first started out.
Hopefully things improve soon.
They will.
And if you can get through this part, you should definitely ask for a pay raise.
Nice.
Yeah.
So common conversation you might have with someone, maybe like a little older mentor and aunt or uncle or something.
Right.
Who's already been through those kinds of things.
But everyone sort of pays their dues in the beginning.
Kind of.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Mm hmm.
Yes.
So the first thing you said, you said, honestly, I like the work, but I'm barely scraping by right now.
So this means you're not able to pay for much.
Your financial situation isn't ideal.
Exactly.
And then you said, yeah, the first year can be tough.
And I said, I'm working overtime just to make ends meet.
Yes.
I wonder where that comes from, that expression.
I don't know the etymology of that phrase, but I'm sure it goes way back.
You guys, you could look it up and see where it comes from.
Yeah, it'd be interesting to find out.
And then I said, I remember that stage.
I was barely getting by when I first started out.
Mm-hmm.
And then I said, I hope things improve soon.
And you said they will.
And if you can get through this part, you should definitely ask for a pay raise.
And there's that get through, which, again, could apply to more than just money situations.
You're not just talking about money here, I guess.
I guess you kind of are.
But you're talking about your overall life being a little hard right now, right?
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely when you graduate, it's tough.
It's tough out there.
But like you said, pay your dues.
That's what happens.
It also depends on what kind of economy you graduate into.
Michelle, what year did you graduate from college?
College?
2009.
2009.
Oh, yeah.
So not great.
Sorry for that.
Yeah, that was Yeah, I mean, you had the worst economy in decades, right?
Yes.
That's hard.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Exactly.
So not ideal.
But I got through it and now it's been many, many years since.
Yes.
You got through it.
Love it.
Guys, go check out 2579.
Don't fall into these conversation traps.
Tricks and traps don't fall into them.
Aubrey and I recorded that episode.
That was a really fun one, kind of a what not to do episode, which we don't do very much.
So that's why you should definitely check it out.
Michelle, what's our takeaway today?
Takeaway for today is just, you know, people, I think this is just a very universal feeling.
I don't, I mean, unless somebody was just totally born into wealth and they never had to, you know, have a hard moment, then I think most people can relate to this of this.
Kind of feeling of struggling to get by, whether it's financially or for some other reason.
But sharing these stories can be very raw and, you know, you can connect with people about them or give someone advice or try and be helpful.
So there's really a lot here.
Yeah.
And the other piece is important to emphasize.
I love that you said it's universal.
It is universal.
And this topic gets a pat.
We talk about the norms that you things you shouldn't talk about money, sex, religion.
This is about money, but it's actually about struggle.
Which is a very human thing, a universal human thing.
So it gets a pass.
It is a frame into money that you can talk about.
Okay.
So we've talked about, don't share how much money you have.
Don't share what's in your bank account.
Don't share necessarily how much you make, but you could, and people are doing it more and more, which is a good thing.
But there are certain, you know, what do you call them?
Sort of
No-goes when it comes to money, certain angles on it that we don't do, right?
Yeah.
And so this one, it gets a pass.
Yeah.
All right, Lindsay.
Well, have a great day and I will talk to you soon.
Bye, guys.
All right.
Bye, Michelle.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
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