To be in a bind
Today’s expression is “to be in a bind.” What does it mean to be in a bind? When you are in a bind, you are in a difficult situation. Brazil’s Worker’s Party, you heard earlier, is in a bind because they chose Lula as their candidate last month—and now he’s not allowed to be a candidate. So, they have to choose another candidate within ten days. And the problem for them is that the election is in about five weeks. It always seemed likely that Lula would be barred from running, so you might even say that the Workers’ Party put itself in this bind. They could have nominated another candidate from the beginning. They put themselves in this difficult situation.
It’s common to say you’re in a bind if you’re in a difficult social or business situation. For example, I’m in a bind because I have a meeting in Chicago this Thursday night, but I also have to be in Houston during the day for meetings for work. So, I either have to fly home early or miss the meeting back here. I’m a bind, or I’m in a difficult situation, because the meeting in Chicago was scheduled a long time ago and I said I would be there. It’s a bit of a bind, but I think I’ll try to attend the meeting by phone from the Houston airport.
A bind is a difficult situation, but not a terrible or tragic one. It’s usually something that’s kind of bad, and which would cause either inconvenience or embarrassment. If your house burns down and you lose all your possessions, you would not say you’re in a bind, for example. But if your rent is due on the first of the month but you’re not getting paid until the fifth of the month, then you could say you’re in a bind. You’ll have to either pay your rent late or borrow money from friends.
If your car breaks down in Chicago, you can always take the bus. But if you’re in Houston, then you’d be in a bind, since they don’t have a bus and train system like we have in Chicago. You’ll have to find some other way to get around.
That’s it for today. Thanks so much for listening, for being a part of Plain English. JR and I are very appreciative of your kind words and we love hearing from you. You can connect with us on Facebook or Twitter at PlainEnglishPod. And of course send us a note. I’m [email protected] and JR is [email protected].
The next episode will come out on Thursday. The topic on Thursday’s episode will be daylight saving time—and how a majority of Europeans are in favor of abolishing it.
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