English Idiom: Let’s not waste our breath

Dialogue

Sarah

: Michael is a brain. I’m sure he’s gonna get the job. I read all the applications; and he’s unquestionably the cream of the crop.

Emily: But there’s something fishy about him. I just can’t put my finger on it.

Sarah: Come on! Aren’t you judging a book by its cover?

Emily: I just can’t put up with people who are full of themselves.

Sarah: We can’t turn him down anyway. You know he’s Mary’s cousin and she’ll pull some stings to get him hired.

Emily: As long as our hands are tied, let’s not waste our breath.

Sarah: Obviously; You can hardly ever find a person who has made their own way these days. It’s all favoritism and patronage.

Vocabulary

A brain: an intelligent person.

The cream of the crop: the best among others.

Fishy: (adj) arousing feelings of doubt or suspicion.

To put one’s finger on (something): to discover the exact reason why a situation is the way it is, especially when something is wrong.

Judge a book by its cover: make judgments depending on appearances.

Put up with: to tolerate; to endure.

Full of oneself: very self-satisfied and with an exaggerated sense of self-worth.

Pull strings: secretly use influence or power.

Hands are tied: unable to act freely.

Waste one’s breath: to speak or argue without result.

Make one’s own way: to rely on one’s own abilities.