Catch Word #290 – Make short work of it

Culips Everyday English Podcast

Culips English Podcast

Courses, Education, Language Learning, Self-improvement

4.8 • 968 Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2026

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Catch Word, you will learn two common English idioms used to talk about speed and fast results. Andrew and Indiana explain what it means “to make short work of something” and to do something “in short order”, showing you how native speakers use these expressions in workplace and service industry situations. Your hosts will share clear examples from jobs, chores, food, hotels, and office settings so you can understand how these phrases are used naturally.

What you’ll learn with this episode:

How to use the expression “make short work of something” to talk about finishing tasks very quickly
How to use “in short order” to sound polite and professional when talking about quick results
How these expressions sound in real conversations at work and in service situations

This episode is perfect for you if:

You’re trying to build practical vocabulary for everyday and professional English
You want to learn alternative options to common expressions like “quickly” or “right away”
You’re looking for realistic example dialogues that will help you remember and use new vocabulary

The Best Way to Learn with This Episode:

Culips members get an interactive transcript, helpful study guide, and ad-free audio for this episode. Take your English to the next level by becoming a Culips member. Become a Culips member now: Click here.
Members can access the ad-free version: Click here.
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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, everybody. How's it going? Welcome back to Catchword, the Culep's vocabulary series for intermediate and advanced English learners that teaches you idioms, phrasal verbs, and more.
0:13.4	Our goal with this series is to make your speaking sound more natural and help you understand the English you hear the next time you're watching a TV series or
0:22.7	having a chat with a native speaker. In today's episode, I'll be joined by my co-host, Indiana,
0:28.8	and we're going to teach you two expressions related to speed. But before we do that, I want to let you know
0:37.1	that if you're serious about improving your English fluency,
0:40.9	becoming a Culeps member is the best way to do it.
0:44.4	You'll get our helpful study guides and interactive transcripts,
0:48.1	plus access to our weekly speaking classes where you can practice with our expert teachers.
0:53.7	To sign up and start improving today, just visit culeps.com.
0:58.7	And of course, a huge thank you to all the members out there.
1:02.4	Without your support, Culeps wouldn't exist, so we really do appreciate it.
1:07.5	Okay, and now let's welcome Indiana and get started with this episode. Here we go. Enjoy.
1:16.8	And joining me now to help teach this lesson to everyone is my co-host, Indiana. Hey there, Indiana.
1:23.9	How's it going? It's going well. I've been very productive this week and I've got a lot done.
1:29.7	So I'm feeling good about that.
1:31.1	How are you doing, Andrew?
1:32.4	I'm doing great.
1:33.5	And I'm excited for this episode today, Indiana.
1:37.0	We are going to teach everyone two expressions that we can use when we want to talk about speedy and quick results and doing something fast.
1:48.9	The key theme for this episode, everyone, I think is this word speed.
1:54.3	So, Indiana, you said you were very efficient and you did a lot of things this week, got a lot of work done.
1:59.8	Maybe you did some speedy work.
	...

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