OK everyone, for the first lesson of the month I'd like to apologize for slacking off. This means that I have not been working as hard as I should.
It comes from sailing when a rope is taut or tight it is being held in place right but if it is slack or loose the sailor is not pulling his weight and is literally slacking off~!
To pull your weight means to do your fair share, you are doing the same amount of work as the other people on your team. Someone who doesn't work hard while the rest of his team does isn't pulling his weight. He is a slacker (noun).
I mentioned it in a previous blog post:
彼は油を売っている。
He's goofing/slacking off.
Today, I want to go over the slight difference between slacking off (not working hard) and goofing off (not working hard because you are having fun playing games & making jokes).
A goof or goofball is someone who is really silly, not serious and always making jokes. So to goof off is to not take work seriously and instead play.
A similar idiom is goof around or horse around. This has an even stronger feeling of playing and not working. Parents often tell their kids (usually boys) who are fighting or playing too much:
Stop horsing around!
or
Stop goofing around!
If the kids are just not working so hard a teacher might say:
Stop slacking off!
or
Stop goofing off! Get to work!
At work if I am feeling tired I might slack off a bit but I am getting older and more serious so I rarely goof around anymore!
Have a nice week,
Phil
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