Keep Someone At Arm's Length

Keep Someone At Arm’s Length

Welcome to English in a minute!

We all know it’s important to have good friend for your life.

But this phrase doesn’t seem to encourage friendship:

Have you met the new guy, Crisp?

I have. And I am gonna keep him at arm’s length.

What? Why?

I mean what do you have against Crisp?

Jonathan, it’s for my own protection.

I’ve known a lot of Crisps.

And they’ve all broken my heart.

You’ve met other Crisps?

If you “keep someone at arm’s length,” you keep a distance between you and that person…

Like the length of an arm!

You can keep an actual physical distance, Or an emotional distance…

like Anna does with guys named Crisp.

And that’s English in a minute!