The phrase of the day for today is get
the lead out.
'Get the lead out' is a colloquial expression meaning ;
'hurry up', 'you're going too slow', 'we have work to do'. It's
a fun expression because it makes us think of someone with a big
piece of heavy lead down their pants. Since lead is one of the
heaviest metals we imagine that the lead is making that person
move very slowly. The basic idea is that if they take the lead
out from their pants, then they will feel better and will able
to work much faster.
Look at the dialogue below to get an idea of how to use this colorful
expression.
A: Hey Bob. What's wrong with you?
B: Whaddya mean?
A: I mean that we have to get this assignment finished by tomorrow
and you're just sitting there. If we don't get the lead out right
now, we'll never finish on time.
B: Don't worry! We have all night to do it. It's no big deal.
A: No big deal! It's worth 10% of our grade. Now, you, get
the lead out!!
B: Alright. What do you want to me to do?
A: That's the spirit.
There are many other phrases with similar meanings to get the
lead out. There is a list of them below.
Hurry up.
Let's get going.
It's time to work.
Don't be so lazy.
Do something fast.
Swing it.
Let's get cracking.
As you can see, all these expressions are very useful if you need
to tell someone that they are being lazy and need to work harder.
Have fun trying to use this phrase in real life situations. |