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All I did was to take up a job at a fast food joint during my college vacations without telling my parents first and now it seems I’ll never hear the end of it. My folks went off the deep end when they found out. Jeez, I wish colleges wouldn’t close for winters! I have been at a loose end ever since the vacations started. And with me at home the whole day, just getting under her feet, my mother, too, was at the end of her tether. I was generally at the receiving end of her lectures on how important it was to do something useful with oneself. I was usually on the wrong end of my father’s penchant for discipline and there was no end of his unflattering comparisons of my couch-potato lifestyle with that of Mr Sharma’s "such lovely children". By the end of the first week I was at my wits’ end trying to have a halfway decent conversation with either of them. Then one day I made the cardinal mistake of asking them how they expected me to make ends meet on the Rs 100 per week pocket money I got. That day, I think, marked the end of the line for the uneasy truce that had thus far prevailed at home. For days on end they lectured me on how important it was that I learn "the value of money" and told me I was such a spoilt brat I could not see beyond the end of my nose. I tried to keep my end up but in the end I decided I had to do something about it. A part-time job in a fast food joint that my friend told me about was like a light at the end of the tunnel. I did not tell my parents I was taking it up because I wanted it to be a surprise but, as usual, my parents got hold of the wrong end of the stick. I tried to explain but to no end. I feel bad about what has happened but at the end of the day, I guess the end justifies the means, and I did add a princely Rs 2000 to my paltry Rs 100! Key to idioms used Meet a sticky end: (humorous) to die in an unpleasant way Never hear the end of it: hear a matter talked about again and again Go off the deep end: to suddenly become very angry and upset and start shouting at someone At a loose end: having nothing to do, having time to waste Be under your feet: if someone is under your feet, they annoy you because they are always near you in a way that makes it difficult for you to do something At the end of one’s tether: in a position where one has no more patience, hope etc, left Be at/on the receiving end: if you are on the receiving end of something unpleasant that someone does, you suffer because of it Be on the wrong end of something: to suffer the bad effects of something No end of something: a lot of something Be at your wits’ end: to be very worried or upset because you have tried every possible way to solve a problem but cannot do it Make ends meet: manage with the money one has or earns The end of the line/road: the point at which some activity or situation must stop because no further progress is possible or because it has no future On end: continuously Can’t see beyond the end of your nose: to think so much about yourself and what affects you that you do not see what is really important Keep one’s end up: continue to be in good spirits even when one is sad, disappointed etc In the end: finally, at last, after other things have happened Light at the end of the tunnel: promise of better things after a long time of difficulty, hardship etc Get hold of the wrong end of the stick: misunderstand the meaning, intention, situation totally To no end: in vain, for nothing At the end of the day: when one has considered everything The end justifies the means: used to say that if the aim is good, it may be achieved by any method, fair or unfair (Reference: English Idioms by
Jennifer Seidi and W. McMordie) |
