Bust a gut

Neil Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I’m Neil and joining me is Feifei.

Feifei
Hi everyone.

Neil In this programme we have an expression which means ‘to make a great effort to achieve something’.

Feifei
Neil, why are you wearing that running gear in the studio? I’m not sure that shorts and a vest are appropriate for the workplace! As for those sweatbands …

Neil
Well, Feifei, it’s because I’m desperate to get fit. You see, I’m running a marathon at the end of the month and I’ve barely started training. I’m really going to have to bust a gut to be ready on time.

Feifei
Yes, you really do need to start training but surely busting a gut is not going to help!

Neil
I’m not going to bust my gut literally! To bust a gut means ‘to make a huge effort to achieve something’. Imagine working so hard that your stomach - or gut - actually breaks!

Feifei
Urgh! Here are some examples of the expression ‘to bust a gut’:

Examples We’re going to have to bust a gut to get this report done by tomorrow. We’re only half-way through and it’s already 7pm.

The problem with today’s millionaire footballers is they’re not prepared to bust a gut for their national team.

There are train strikes and the traffic is terrible. I had to bust a gut to get here on time today.

Neil To bust a gut - to make a great effort to achieve something.

Feifei As you can see from the examples, we can use ‘to bust a gut’ to talk about non-physical activities as well.

Neil Yes so come on Feifei. We need to bust a gut to get this programme finished so I can go out for a training run.

Feifei Alright, alright, we’re done now - go and bust a gut.

Neil
I’m off - bye!