Alice: Have you seen Thomas? I have a meeting with him but he’s not in his office.
Jason: He’s not here yet.
Alice: He’s late to work again?
Jason: Well, he called in saying that he got a flat tire on his way to work.
Alice: His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think?
Jason: It is a bit hard to swallow.

오늘 본문은 Alice와 Jason의 대화인데요. 회사 동료인 Thomas는 지각을 많이 하나 봅니다. Alice가 “Have you seen Thomas? I have a meeting with him but he’s not in his office. 혹시 토마스 봤니? 오늘 나랑 회의가 있는데 아직 사무실에 없네.”라고 묻자, Jason이 “He’s not here yet. 아직 출근 안 했어.”라고 답합니다.

그러자 Alice가 “He’s late to work again? 또 지각이야?”라고 다시 묻는데요. Jason이 “Well, he called in saying that he got a flat tire on his way to work.글쎄, 출근하는 길에 차 바뀌가 펑크났다고 연락이 왔어.”라고 이유를 설명합니다.

그런데 Thomas는 지각이 잦아서 신용이 나빠졌나 봅니다. Alice가 “His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think? 그의 지각 이유는 좀 믿기 어렵다. 그렇지 않아?”라고 묻는데요. Jason도 “Yeah. It is a bit hard to swallow. 응, 받아들이기 힘들어.”라고 맞장구를 칩니다.

Now keep today’s expression, ‘hard to swallow’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?

Alice: Have you seen Thomas? I have a meeting with him but he’s not in his office.
Jason: He’s not here yet.
Alice: He’s late to work again?
Jason: Well, he called in saying that he got a flat tire on his way to work.
Alice: His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think?
Jason: It is a bit hard to swallow.

Today’s expression is hard to swallow. If something is hard to swallow, it’s difficult to accept or believe. Hard to swallow를 직역하면 ‘무엇을 삼키기 힘들다.’ 즉 ‘받아들이기 어렵다’ 또는 ‘믿기 어렵다’라는 의미입니다.

오늘 본문에서 Alice가 Jason에게 혹시 Thomas를 봤냐고 묻자, Jason은 Thomas가 회사 오는 길에 차 바퀴가 펑크 나서 늦게 도착한다고 알려줬습니다. 그러자 Alice는 Thomas의 이유를 변명으로 받아들이고 믿기 힘들다고 했죠.

“His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think?”라고요. 이렇게 어떤 상황 또는 남의 말에 의심이 가고, 그대로 받아들이기 어려울 때 쓰는 표현이 바로 ‘hard to swallow’입니다.

이 표현 잘 기억하시고요. 마지막으로 오늘의 대화를 다시 한 번 들어보겠습니다. Now that you know what today’s expression means, let’s listen to the conversation for the last time.

Alice: Have you seen Thomas? I have a meeting with him but he’s not in his office.
Jason: He’s not here yet.
Alice: He’s late to work again?
Jason: Well, he called in saying that he got a flat tire on his way to work.
Alice: His excuse for coming in late to work is a bit hard to swallow, don’t you think?
Jason: It is a bit hard to swallow.

Let’s review. If something is hard to swallow, it’s difficult to accept or believe. HARD TO SWALLOW.