🗓️ Idiom: Slacking Off (phrasal verb)
💬 Meaning
- Not working as hard as usual or avoiding work.
- Becoming lazy or less productive during working hours.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The manager noticed that some team members were slacking off after lunch.
- If we keep slacking off, we’ll never meet the project deadline.
- She stopped slacking off once she realized her performance review was coming up.
🏛️ Origin
The phrase “slack off” comes from the Old English word slæc, meaning “loose” or “lazy.” It became popular in workplaces in the 1800s to describe people who were relaxing too much or not pulling their weight.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
Some employees were ___________ instead of finishing their reports.
Answer
slacking off
2. Choose the correct option:
When someone is “slacking off,” they are:
a) Working very hard
b) Avoiding work
c) Asking for a promotion
Answer
b) Avoiding work
3. Change the sentence using “slacking off”:
“The team is not putting in enough effort this week.”
Answer
The team is slacking off this week.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
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👉 Productivity in the Workplace Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
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Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
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