2016-09-13 Bust a gut – The English We Speak

Summary

Neil’s wearing a vest, shorts and sweatbands in the recording studio. It’s because he’s in training for a marathon – but he has less than a month to prepare. He uses an expression that means ‘to make a great effort’.

Transcript

Neil
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I’m Neil and joining me is Feifei. 

Feifei                                                 
Hi everyone.

Neil
In this programme we have an expression which means ‘to make a great effort to achieve something’.

Feifei
Neil, why are you wearing that running gear in the studio? I’m not sure that shorts and a vest are appropriate for the workplace! As for those sweatbands…

Neil
Well, Feifei, it’s because I’m desperate to get fit. You see, I’m running a marathon at the end of the month and I’ve barely started training. I’m really going to have to bust a gut to be ready on time.

Feifei
Yes, you really do need to start training but surely busting a gut is not going to help!

Neil
I’m not going to bust my gut literally! To bust a gut means ‘to make a huge effort to achieve something’. Imagine working so hard that your stomach – or gut – actually breaks!

Feifei
Urgh! Here are some examples of the expression ‘to bust a gut’:

Examples
We’re going to have to bust a gut to get this report done by tomorrow. We’re only half-way through and it’s already 7pm.

The problem with today’s millionaire footballers is they’re not prepared to bust a gut for their national team.

There are train strikes and the traffic is terrible. I had to bust a gut to get here on time today.

Neil
To bust a gut – to make a great effort to achieve something. 

Feifei
As you can see from the examples, we can use ‘to bust a gut’ to talk about non-physical activities as well.

Neil
Yes so come on Feifei. We need to bust a gut to get this programme finished so I can go out for a training run.

Feifei
Alright, alright, we’re done now – go and bust a gut. 

Neil
I’m off – bye!