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Welcome to English in a Minute!
“Slack” describe the part of a rope that’s not tight and hangs loosely. But why would someone need to pick up the slack?
Pick Up the Slack
Speaker A: Okay, how many scripts do we have for the new program?
Speaker B: Let’s see. I count… two!
Speaker A: Two? But Martha promised she would write ten.
Speaker B: Oh, well, we’re going to have to pick up the slack because she’s only written two.
Speaker A: Martha!
To pick up the slack means to do something that someone else should be doing but isn’t. If you have ever been on a team or worked in an office, you know that one person not doing their part can have a bad effect on others.
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.
English 
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