'Having Skin in the Game' Is Not as Painful as It Sounds
2022-12-04
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On this program we explore words and expressions in the English language.
3We give examples and notes on usage.
4Today we talk about the largest organ of the human body --
5our skin! As our protective outer layer, our skin can certainly gather many cuts and wounds.
6In English, we have many skin expressions.
7I wrote about some of them in an earlier Words and Their Stories.
8In that story, I talk about expressions like thick-skinned people - people who take criticism well.
9And if you are comfortable in your own skin, you are happy with who you are.
10But today we talk about skin expressions that relate to having personal involvement in a certain situation.
11If you have skin in the game, you are invested or involved in something directly. You have something at stake.
12In other words, you risk losing -- or gaining -- something.
13Usually, it is something financial.
14To have skin in the game means you have an active interest in the success of something.
15If it fails, it affects you in some way.
16For example, workers who have stock in their company have skin in the game.
17 So, they may work harder to make it successful.
18You can also use this expression in the negative form. If you have no skin in the game, you have nothing at stake and nothing to lose.
19Having no skin in the game means you have no personal investment or risk in some goal, project, or situation.
20Again, we commonly use this expression when talking about business and finance.
21But not always. For example, let's say I try to give advice to a friend about her dating situation.
22But she just does not want to listen to my advice. I can tell her that when it comes to her relationships, I have no skin in the game.
23It doesn't affect me personally.
24I just don't want her to see her get hurt ... again.
25We have another skin expression that is close in meaning.
26If something is no skin off your back, it does not affect you.
27It is of no interest or concern to you.
28Let's hear this one used between two friends.
29A: Hey, do you think I could borrow your lawn mower this weekend. My grass is getting really long.
30B: Of course! You can pick it up anytime.
31A: I promise I'll return it Sunday night. I know people are funny about loaning their tools out to others.
32B: Not me. Especially my lawn mower. I have two! So, really, it's no skin off my back. Keep it as long as you need it!
33A: Thanks!
34You might sometimes hear this expression said this way: it's no skin off my nose.
35Whether the skin is on your back or nose, the expression means the same thing.
36And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories! Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On this program we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give examples and notes on usage. 3Today we talk about the largest organ of the human body -- our skin! As our protective outer layer, our skin can certainly gather many cuts and wounds. 4In English, we have many skin expressions. I wrote about some of them in an earlier Words and Their Stories. 5In that story, I talk about expressions like thick-skinned people - people who take criticism well. And if you are comfortable in your own skin, you are happy with who you are. 6But today we talk about skin expressions that relate to having personal involvement in a certain situation. 7If you have skin in the game, you are invested or involved in something directly. You have something at stake. In other words, you risk losing -- or gaining -- something. Usually, it is something financial. 8To have skin in the game means you have an active interest in the success of something. If it fails, it affects you in some way. For example, workers who have stock in their company have skin in the game. So, they may work harder to make it successful. 9You can also use this expression in the negative form. If you have no skin in the game, you have nothing at stake and nothing to lose. Having no skin in the game means you have no personal investment or risk in some goal, project, or situation. Again, we commonly use this expression when talking about business and finance. 10But not always. For example, let's say I try to give advice to a friend about her dating situation. But she just does not want to listen to my advice. I can tell her that when it comes to her relationships, I have no skin in the game. It doesn't affect me personally. I just don't want her to see her get hurt ... again. 11We have another skin expression that is close in meaning. 12If something is no skin off your back, it does not affect you. It is of no interest or concern to you. 13Let's hear this one used between two friends. 14A: Hey, do you think I could borrow your lawn mower this weekend. My grass is getting really long. 15B: Of course! You can pick it up anytime. 16A: I promise I'll return it Sunday night. I know people are funny about loaning their tools out to others. 17B: Not me. Especially my lawn mower. I have two! So, really, it's no skin off my back. Keep it as long as you need it! 18A: Thanks! 19You might sometimes hear this expression said this way: it's no skin off my nose. Whether the skin is on your back or nose, the expression means the same thing. 20And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories! Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo. 21Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 22_________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24comfortable - adj. producing a relaxing feeling especially because of shape or materials: 25(at) stake - n. in a position to be lost or won 26dating - v. to make a usually romantic social arrangement to meet with : to have a date with 27_________________________________________________________________ 28We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 29We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 30Write your comment in the box. 31Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, and Google. 32Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 33Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.