Welcome to English in a Minute from Home!
Nuts grow in a hard, protective shell. But what does it mean if someone says “in a nutshell?”
Speaker A: Jonathan, how are those home improvement projects going?
Speaker B: Horribly. In a nutshell, I currently have many holes in my walls and I have no running water!
Speaker A: Oh, geez. Can I do anything to help?
Speaker B: Not unless you’re a plumber.
“In a nutshell” means to explain something briefly, without providing details. You are giving people a quick summary of a complex situation or story. In fact, you could say every EIM (English In a Minute) is an idiom in a nutshell!
And that’s English in a Minute!
*This article has been edited and reprinted from VOA Learning English with permission from Voice of America (VOA) for use in English language materials.