Jen: Hey, what’s wrong with your car? The engine is not starting.
Jason: The explanation is long and complicated, but let me put it in a nutshell for you. My car overheated which caused the engine to die.
Jen: Oh my!

본문에서 제가 Jason에게 “Hey, what’s the matter with you car? 야, 네 차에 무슨 문제 있니? The engine is not starting. 시동이 안 걸려.”라고 묻자, Jason은 “The explanation is long and complicated, but let me put it in a nutshell for you. My car overheated which caused the engine to die. 다 설명하자면 길고 복잡한데, 간단하게 말하면 차가 과열돼서 엔진이 꺼졌어.”라고 합니다. 저는 “Oh my! 아이고, 어쩌니!”라고 안타까워합니다.

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

Jen: Hey, what’s wrong with your car? The engine is not starting.
Jason: The explanation is long and complicated, but let me put it in a nutshell for you. My car overheated which caused the engine to die.
Jen: Oh my!

Today’s expression is in a nutshell. You can use this expression if you’re about to describe something as briefly as possible, or you’re going to sum something up. If you state something very concisely, it’s easy and quick to understand the point.

Nutshell은 명사로 쓰일 때는 견과의 껍질을 뜻하지만, 동사로 쓰이면 ‘요약하다’라는 의미가 됩니다. 그래서 ‘in a nutshell’는 ‘아주 간결하게 표현하다’, ‘아주 분명히 말하다’라는 뜻이 됩니다.

오늘 본문에서 Jason의 차에 뭔가 복잡한 문제가 생겼나 봅니다. 제게 다 설명하자니 너무 길어서, 간단하게 차의 문제를 말합니다. “The explanation is long and complicated, but let me put it in a nutshell for you. My car overheated which caused the engine to die.”라고요. 이렇게 무엇을 아주 간단하게 말할 때 사용하는 표현이 바로 ‘in a nutshell’입니다.

그럼 예문을 통해 오늘 표현을 더 자세히 알아보겠습니다. “In a nutshell, I had a very rough day.” 라는 문장이 있습니다. 해석하면 “간단히 말하자면, 난 오늘 무척 힘든 하루를 보냈어.” 라는 뜻입니다.

Here is another example. “Tell us, in a nutshell, what you’d like to do.” 라는 문장은, “당신이 무엇을 원하는 지 간결하게 말해보세요.” 라는 뜻이 되겠죠. Now that you know what today’s expression means, let’s listen to the conversation for the last time.

Jen: Hey, what’s wrong with your car? The engine is not starting.
Jason: The explanation is long and complicated, but let me put it in a nutshell for you. My car overheated which caused the engine to die.
Jen: Oh my!

Let’s review what we have learned today. In a nutshell means to state something very concisely. IN A NUTHSELL. Now try using this phrase on your own.