And this expression, "being on the tightrope", is inspired by the tightrope walkers of the 17th century. Tightrope walkers were those who balanced themselves on very thin ropes. In balance, they walked on a tightrope, without a net. So it was a very dangerous situation. Today, there are nets underneath. If the tightrope walker falls, well, he is caught. But at the time, there were no nets. So being on the tightrope, for them, was a super dangerous situation. It required a lot of attention and skill. The tightrope walkers' abilities allowed them to get out of it. They were on the tightrope.
And today, in common parlance, when we say that someone is on a tightrope, well we say that he is in a difficult situation, he is in a situation likely to end badly. It is a risky situation, a dangerous situation.
it will be clearer. The first one is someone who says: "The meeting didn't go very well. I feel like he's on a tightrope." So that means that the person we're talking about is in a difficult situation, he's in a situation that could end badly. The situation is very dangerous for this person. Maybe this person risks losing his job. He's on a tightrope.
Another example: "His company had a very bad time during the last crisis. They are on a tightrope." Here, we are talking about a company in the sense of a business and the business has philippines whatsapp number data come through the crisis but has had a lot of difficulties. So now, the situation is difficult for them. It could end badly. The business could disappear. We say that they are on a tightrope.
Last example: "I'm not on the tightrope yet, but I'm probably going to have to pull myself together a little bit." So this person understands that they are in trouble and that the situation is starting to be dangerous for them, it could end badly. We're talking about a student who is not doing very well and who feels that the situation is not very very good. He says: "I'm not on the tightrope yet," that means the situation is not yet dangerous. I think I still have a chance to get out of it, but I'm going to have to be careful. That's what it means to be on the tightrope.
And what I propose to you now so that the expression is perfectly integrated is that you repeat after me. I'm going to change the subjects, the tenses, and that will help you on the one hand to... if you repeat well when I give you time, it will help you improve your pronunciation and at the same time you will assimilate the expression better and you will learn conjugation and grammar. We kill three birds with one stone, four birds with one stone in this episode. So here we go. You repeat after me.