ESL Podcast 641 - Sharing With Others
to share - to let someone else use or have part of what one has
I accidentally left my lunch at home today. Would you please share your lunch with me?
to divvy up - to divide items into two or more groups; to decide how something will be shared or distributed among two or more people
After their parents died, the adult children spent a lot of time arguing about how they should divvy up the house, cars, and paintings.
hold your horses - an informal phrase used to ask someone to wait or be more patient
Hold your horses! There's plenty of time to answer your questions, but I can answer only one at a time.
to get (one's) fair share - to receive the full amount that one should receive; to receive the right portion
If you're a 50% owner of the company, you should get 50% of the profits when it is sold. You need to make sure you get your fair share.
to call dibs - to be the first person to claim something, so that one has the right to do or use it and the other person cannot, or has to wait until one has finished
Emmy called dibs on the window office before anyone else had even seen it.
you snooze, you lose - an informal phrase meaning that one waited too long to do or say something, so it is no longer available, usually because another person has done or said it first
I was going to eat that piece of cheesecake for dessert!
You snooze, you lose. I saw it in the fridge, so I decided to eat it.
fair - right, just, and reasonable; treating people equally or in the same way, without giving preference to anyone
The students are complaining that their teacher isn't fair when he grades their tests.
bummer - an informal word used to show disappointment; too bad
I spilled coffee all over my new white blouse. What a bummer!
pile - a stack; a group of things that are put on top of each other without very much order or care
Pick up that pile of dirty laundry and put it in the washing machine!
equal - with the same size or amount
Four quarters are equal to 10 dimes.
lion's share - the larger part of something; the majority; more than 50%
Even though many factors contributed to the problem, the marketing department received the lion's share of the blame.
to tell - to let someone know about something bad that another person has done, especially when children are talking to adults
I saw you eat all those cookies, and I'm going to tell!
to call shotgun - to be the first one to say that one will ride in the front passenger seat of a car, because most people prefer to sit in the front rather than in the back seats
Jung always calls shotgun, because he gets carsick if he sits in the back.
to cross (one's) heart and hope to die - to promise; an informal phrase often used by children to show that they are sincere and really mean what they are saying
Do you promise to go to my baseball game on Thursday?
Yes, of course! Cross my heart and hope to die.
to even out - to make something equal in size or amount
My hair seems longer on the right side than on the left. Could you please cut it and even it out for me?
to push (one's) luck - to ask for too much; to ask for too many things
Oscar wants to ask his boss for a higher salary, but he thinks that after getting a raise six months ago, that might be pushing his luck.