This company will run me ragged

The work will be very demanding, and tedious. As a result, you will feel exhausted most of the time

“I hear that you’re seriously thinking of quitting your job. Is it true?”

“Yes, I’m planning to join Surana and Sons. The salary is better. I’ll be making five thousand more than what I’m doing now. The benefits are also…”

“You might make more money, but I don’t think you’ll have the time to spend it. Surana and Sons has the reputation of running their employees ragged.” “Running their employees what?” “R…a…g…g…e…d. The first syllable is pronounced like the word ‘rag’ and the following ‘id’ sounds like the ‘id’ in ‘hid’, ‘bid’ and ‘mid’. The word is pronounced ‘RAGid’ with the stress on the first syllable.”

“I see. But what does the word mean?” “It has several different meanings. But in this context, it means exhausted.”

“I see. When you say that the company will run me ragged, what you’re suggesting is that they will be giving me a lot of work, and it…”

“The work will be very demanding, and very tedious. As a result, you will feel exhausted most of the time. Here’s an example. My cousin’s kids have been with us for nearly three days. They’ve been running us ragged.”

“I don’t mind being run ragged as long as the work I’m doing is interesting.”

“That’s a good example. Sujatha’s mother arrives next week. So, Sujatha is running ragged trying to get the house in order.”

“Wasn’t her visit supposed to have been a surprise?”

“No one here told Sujatha about her mother’s visit. I think it was her dad who gave her a heads up.”

“A heads up?”

“The expression ‘heads up’ is frequently used in informal contexts. When you give someone a ‘heads up’, what you’re doing is giving them an advance notice or warning that something is about to happen.”

“So, by giving a heads up to Sujatha, the father was giving her time to prepare for her mother’s visit.”

“That’s right!”

“An hour before I was scheduled to leave for the airport, I got a heads up from the airlines saying the flight had been delayed.”

“That’s a very good example. Here’s another. This note is to give you a heads up that tomorrow’s staff meeting is likely to go beyond 5:00.”

“I wonder why we have so many meetings!”

“It’s probably because our boss is definitely losing his marbles.”

“Losing his marbles? Does it mean to go crazy?”

“Very good! When you say that someone has lost his marbles, what you’re suggesting is that the individual is unable to think clearly.”

“He probably behaves strangely and has very strange ideas.”

“That’s right! The old man’s behaviour at the party made it obvious that he was losing his marbles.”

“When Raj started shouting at me, I knew he’d lost his marbles.”

“My grandmother is 92, but she still has all her marbles.”

“Meaning she behaves normally.” “That’s right!”