Mike: Ugh! There is no elbow room in here at all. It’s so crammed and I can hardly even breathe.
Jason: You’re right. There is barely any space to move around. Let’s go to another restaurant.
Mike: Yes, let’s do that.

본문에서 Mike가 Jason에게 “Ugh! There is no elbow room at all in here. It’s so crammed and I can hardly breathe. 어휴, 여기는 꼼짝할 공간도 없네. 숨이 막힐 정도로 붐벼.”라고 하자 Jason이 “You’re right. 맞아. There is barely any space to move around. 발 디딜 틈도 없어. Let’s go to another restaurant. 다른 데로 가자.”라고 하네요.

이어 Mike가 “Yes, let’s do that. 그래, 그러자.”라고 하더라고요. Now keep today’s expression ‘elbow room’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?

Mike: Ugh! There is no elbow room in here at all. It’s so crammed and I can hardly even breathe.
Jason: You’re right. There is barely any space to move around. Let’s go to another restaurant.
Mike: Yes, let’s do that.

Today’s expression is elbow room. If there is elbow room, there is enough space to move, live or work freely. If you don’t have elbow room it’s the complete opposite. It means that you don’t have enough space or freedom to move about.

단어 ‘elbow’ 는 ‘팔꿈치’라는 뜻이고 ‘room’ 은 ‘방, 공간’이라는 의미입니다. 팔꿈치를 움직일 만한 공간이 있다는 건 ‘몸을 움직일 수 있을 만한 충분한 공간이 있다’라는 말이니까 elbow room은 몸을 자유롭게 움직일 수 있는 공간, 활동할 수 있는 여지, 편히 일하거나 살 수 있는 여유를 뜻합니다.

When you are physically doing something, it’s important to have space and be able to move around without getting in the way of another person. 일 할 때 남에게 방해 되지 않고 몸을 움직일 수 있을 만큼 충분한 공간이 있어야겠죠. 그래야 행동에 구속을 안 받고 자유롭게 일할 수 있으니까 말이죠.

오늘 본문에서 Mike가 Jason과 어느 식당에 들어갔는데 손님이 무척 많다며 움직일 틈이 없다고 했죠. “Ugh! There is no elbow room at all in here.”라고요. 이제 예문을 통해 오늘 표현에 대해 더 자세히 알아보죠.

“Once our new baby is born, we will need to move to a bigger house. We will really need the elbow room.” 라고 하면 “아기가 태어나기 전에 더 큰 집으로 이사해야 해. 여유 공간이 필요하니까 말이야.” 라는 뜻입니다. Now you know what today’s expression means right? Then we will listen to the conversation for the last time.

Mike: Ugh! There is no elbow room in here at all. It’s so crammed and I can hardly even breathe.
Jason: You’re right. There is barely any space to move around. Let’s go to another restaurant.
Mike: Yes, let’s do that.

Let’s review. If there is elbow room, there is enough space to move, live or work freely. If you DON’T have elbow room it’s the complete opposite. ELBOW ROOM. Now try using this expression on your own.