Nip it in the Bud

Nip it in the Bud

Welcome to English in a Minute!

A bud is a young flower that has not yet opened.

So what do you think this American idiom means?

NIP IT IN THE BUD

Listen to these friends talking :

My new neighbor is driving me crazy!

She keeps coming over to my apartment uninvited.

And then she will not leave!

Oh, you need to nip that in the bud.

Just tell her to call before coming over.

Or just don’t answer the door!

If you nip it in the bud, you stop something from becoming a bigger problem.

Nip means to cut.

So if you cut a flower while it is still a bud, it cannot grow any bigger.

When you nip something in the bud, you stop it from growing.

And that’s English in a Minute!