Three of the Most Popular Origins of the Idiom ‘Make Ends Meet’
To make ends meet means —
- to earn enough money to survive;
- to manage your earnings so that your resources are sufficient for your needs.
There are several proposed origins for this phrase.
The first one suggests that this phrase originated from ships with lots of sails.
The sails were fastened using ropes. When a rope broke, the men were directed to splice the ropes, pull them together and join at the ends.
Thus, to make ends meet meant having sufficient rope to make do.
The second story attributes its origin to bookkeeping and accountancy. If a person was keeping a tally of his expenses and incomes, and their total at the end was equal, that means that both the ends of the equation are equal, which means the income is equal to the expenditure.
A third story suggests that this phrase refers to the ends of a belt. If a person is earning a trifling or paltry amount, he will have to budget tightly. He will probably eat less so that he can make the ends of his belt meet.
This story is, however, least likely, in my opinion.
No matter which story you choose to believe, the meaning must be clear to you by now.
Let’s see an example —
“Ever since I lost my job, I am finding it difficult to make both ends meet.”
It means that I am finding it difficult to cover my expenses; I am barely surviving.
I hope you found this story interesting. If you did, buy my full course on Udemy or watch it for free on Skillshare by signing up here. This course covers nearly 380 idioms with their origins and backstories.
Hi, I am Gauri Shanker, a Vocab teacher and enthusiast. I teach vocabulary in a fun and engaging way. You can check out my courses here.
