你有没有过想做一件事，结果因为太晚了，所以没法完成呢？比如去超市购物，结果因为取得比较晚，你想买的东西已经售罄了，平时大家都会用比较简单的“It’s too late.”，那看看今天的习语是怎样更地道地表达的!

C: Hi guys. I’m Chris.

J: And I’m Joy. Today we are gonna talk about the idiom: a day late and a dollar short. It means something is too late and too little. Usually it’s because you have waited too long to do something and you are not fully prepared. You can use it like this:
I am a day late and a dollar short. / They have always been a day late and a dollar short. / It came a day late and a dollar short.

C: Usually, we can say that apologies can come a day late and a dollar short. A day late means the apology came too late. And a dollar short means that you don’t have enough. So because the apology came so late, it is not enough effort to fix the problem. Let’s say, your team member made a huge mistake on a presentation. Your company lost the client because of that. Maybe he still wants to fix it but it’s already a day late and a dollar short. Another idiom that has the same meaning is: too little too late. For example: I wish we could have had this information yesterday but now it’s too little too late. Now let’s see how we can use it in a conversation:

J: Hey Mark. Does your company still give you free coffee and breakfast donuts everyday?

C: Yeah, they do. I tried to wake up early so I could get some before they are all gone but I was still a day late and a dollar short.

J: Actually, I was just a day late and a dollar short yesterday at the store. The cheese I liked was all sold out.

C: Oh you better go there early next time! Well guys, if you need our private English classes, feel free to contact us. Talk to you next time! Bye!

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