Feifei Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I’m Feifei.
**Phil
**And I’m Phil. Ow!
FeifeiYou look like you’re in pain, Phil. Are you OK?
**Phil
**I’ll be OK. I hurt myself playing football, but I’m sure I can tough it out.
FeifeiTough it out? Are you sure you can, Phil? Anyway, that’s a great phrase to learn. What does ’tough it out’ mean?
**Phil
**If you tough it out, then you work through a painful or difficult situation. You stay strong, and don’t change your plans.
FeifeiAnd it’s not just for physical pains like yours. We can use it for difficult situations. For example, you might be working for a company that can’t afford to employ enough people and you just have to tough it out until they’ve got some more money.
**Phil
**Let’s hear some other people using this phrase.
ExamplesI am so hungry. I didn’t have any time to eat breakfast but I’m going to have to tough it out till my lunch break.
Oh no! There’s no hot water and I really need a shower. I’m going to have to tough it out.
Oh, there’s no air conditioning in this building. I’m absolutely boiling! I guess I’ll just have to tough it out.
FeifeiWe’ve been learning the phrase ’tough it out’ to mean work through a difficult situation and not let it stop you.
**Phil
**As a phrase, we always put ‘it’ in the middle, between ’tough’ and ‘out’. Now, it originally comes from the phrasal verb ’tough something out’ – and you can tough something out or tough out something.
FeifeiYes. It can be hard to learn phrasal verbs, but if you tough it out, you’ll get there.
**Phil
**And make sure you come back for the next programme. We’ll see you then!
FeifeiBye-bye!
**Phil
**Bye!