Hello,

we speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers,

so you can use them too.

I'm Fay Faye and I'm here with Neil.

Hello Faye, how are you?

I'm a bit tired at the moment, actually.

Most of the team are either on holiday or off six,

so I feel like I'm doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Oh no that sounds hard. You use the

expression heavy lifting and that is what we're going to look at today what it

means and how to use it. So Faye Faye you said you're doing a lot of the

heavy lifting at work but you're not actually lifting weights in the office are you your job doesn't require you to

build up your physical fitness no I wasn't actually lifting weights the phrase does

have a literal meaning and some jobs do require actual heavy lifting for example

jobs in construction if you're a builder maybe and sometimes as delivery drivers but the way I used it just means that I'm doing most of the

work at the moment. Well I hope you're remembering to look after yourself

Fay Faye Faye that's important. So you're not carrying a physical load, but maybe we can say you're

carrying a mental load. That's right. Heavy lifting can also mean you're doing the toughest or the most difficult part of the job.

So Nia, when was the last time you felt you were doing all the heavy lifting?

So my wife has a business and she's very, very busy at the moment.

So I'm doing the heavy lifting at home, so I'm doing most of the cooking and cleaning and shopping and that kind of thing.

Oh I can imagine there must be so much to do.

Well here are some more examples of people using heavy lifting.

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