Feifei: Hello. I'm Feifei and this is The
English We Speak.
Neil: And I'm... ouch... Neil.
Feifei: Oh, Neil, are you in pain?
Neil: Yeah. I cut my hand yesterday. Blood
everywhere. Look at this cut!
Feifei: Yuk! That's horrible. So tell me how
it happened.
Neil: Well, my shower has been leaking for
ages. I'm not good at fixing things so I got
this plumber in to fix it. I found his details
on the internet - D. Odgy Plumbers - "Got a
leak? We'll make you pay for it."
Feifei: Hmm. That doesn't sound like a
very reputable plumber.
Neil: Well, he wasn't. He bled me dry!
Feifei: What? You mean he attacked you
and that's how you cut your hand. Oh,
Neil, you need to tell the police.
Neil: Don't panic, Feifei. He didn't touch
me, but what he did do was a very bad job,
he made lots of mess and then charged
me lots of money for doing it - he
basically charged me a whole month's
salary - that's what I mean by 'bleeding
me dry'.
Feifei: So you gave him the money - he
didn't steal it?
Neil: Yeah - not exactly, but somehow he
managed to extract all my money from
me. Let's hear some examples, shall we?
My old car keeps breaking down. It's
bleeding me dry!
John is taking legal action against the
company. He wants to bleed them dry for
all the pain he has suffered.
This divorce has bled me dry - I can't even
afford to go on holiday now.
Feifei: This is The English We Speak from
the BBC and we're finding out about the
phrase 'to bleed someone dry', meaning
to extract or drain all of someone's
money. But Neil, why did you pay the
plumber if he did such a bad job?
Neil: Well, he was a big guy and... well, I
don't like to complain or make a fuss.
Feifei: Oh, how very English! But how did
you cut your hand?
Neil: After he left, I tried to use the shower
but I slipped over because of all the
water.
Feifei: Oh, poor you. Shall we go for lunch
and take your mind off things?
Neil: Sorry, Feifei. I can't afford it - the
plumber bled me dry, remember!
Feifei: My treat!
Neil: Oh, come on. Let's go. See ya.
Feifei: Bye.