Welcome to ENGLISH WITH YOO! 안녕하세요 English with Yoo!의 Jennifer Yoo입니다.
오늘 배워볼 영어 표현은 The last straw입니다.
Before we find out what today’s expression means, let’s listen to a conversation I had with Jason. 그럼 오늘의 대화를 들어보면서 ‘the last straw’가 무슨 뜻인지 알아 보겠습니다. 잘 들어보세요. Listen carefully.
The last straw
Jen: I heard Jack is no longer with our company.
Jason: Yeah. It’s because he got fired last week.
Jen: Oh no! Why?
Jason: Well, he didn’t show up to mandatory meetings for the third time and the boss told him that was the last straw and he was fired.
본문에서 제가 “I heard Jack is no longer with our company. Jack 이 회사에 더 안 다닌다고 들었어.”라고 하자 Jason이 “Yeah. It’s because he got fired last week. 응, 지난주에 해고당했어.”라고 하네요. 제가 “Oh no! Why? 어휴, 왜 해고당했는데?”라고 묻자 Jason이 “Well, he didn’t show up to mandatory meetings for the third time and the boss told him that was the last straw and he was fired. 꼭 참석해야 할 회사 회의에 세 번이나 빠져서 그래. 사장이 이제는 한계라며 Jack 을 해고했어.”라고 하더라고요. Now keep today’s expression ‘the last straw’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?
The last straw
Jen: I heard Jack is no longer with our company.
Jason: Yeah. It’s because he got fired last week.
Jen: Oh no! Why?
Jason: Well, he didn’t show up to mandatory meetings for the third time and the boss told him that was the last straw and he was fired.
오늘의 표현은 the last straw입니다. The last straw means the last in a series of unpleasant events, which finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation. It simply means that it’s the last little burden or problem that causes everything to collapse. The last straw 오늘 표현은 속담에서 나왔습니다. 바로 ‘It is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.’ 이라는 속담인데요. 여기서 straw는 짚이죠. 이 속담을 번역하면 마지막 한 오라기 짚 때문에 낙타의 등뼈가 부러질 수 있다는 뜻입니다. 워낙 짐을 많이 지고 가는 낙타에게는 짚 한 오라기도 큰 타격을 줄 수 있는 거라는 거죠. 사소한 거지만 얹어 놓으면 더는 견뎌낼 수 없는 상황, 파국으로 치닫는 상태를 가리키는 겁니다. 특히 계속 좋지 않은 일이 일어날 때 더 이상 받아들이기 힘들 정도로까지 가게하는 마지막 결정타를 말하는 거죠. 결국, ‘더는 견딜 수 없는 한계’ 를 뜻하는 겁니다. 오늘 본문에서 Jason이 Jack 이 회사 회의에 세 번이나 참석하지 않아서 사장이 이제는 한계라며 Jack 을 해고했다고 했죠. Well, he didn’t show up to mandatory meetings for the third time and the boss told him that was the last straw and he was fired. 라고요. 그럼 예문을 통해 오늘 표현에 대해 더 자세히 알아보겠습니다. “You borrowed my clothes without asking me again? That’s the last straw!”라고 하면 ‘너 또 허락도 없이 내 옷 입은 거야? 이젠 더 못 참아!” 라는 뜻이 됩니다. Here is another example sentence. “That was the last straw! I can’t stand it anymore.” 라고 하면 “이젠 인내도 한계에 이른 것 같다. 더는 못 참겠다. ”라는 뜻이 됩니다. 이 재미있는 표현 잘 기억하시고요. 오늘의 대화를 마지막으로 들어보겠습니다. Now that you know what today’s expression means, let’s listen to the conversation for the last time.
The last straw
Jen: I heard Jack is no longer with our company.
Jason: Yeah. It’s because he got fired last week.
Jen: Oh no! Why?
Jason: Well, he didn’t show up to mandatory meetings for the third time and the boss told him that was the last straw and he was fired.
Let’s review what we have learned today. The last straw means the last in a series of unpleasant events, which finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation. It simply means that it’s the last little burden or problem that causes everything to collapse. THE LAST STRAW. Now try using this expression on your own. 지금까지 ENGLISH WITH YOO에 Jennifer Yoo입니다. Until next time, bye bye!
