Colloquial English 01-06
Better late than never
Alex: Hey, sorry I’m late to the meeting.
Jordan: No worries, better late than never! Let’s get started.
better to be late than not at all
Alex arrives late to a meeting — maybe he was caught in traffic or just running behind schedule. He apologizes for not being on time, but Jordan isn’t upset. He says, “Better late than never,” meaning it’s still good that Alex showed up. Being late is not ideal, but it’s definitely better than not coming at all.
Bite off more than you can chew
Tom: I agreed to help with three projects at once this week.
Sarah: Wow, you might be biting off more than you can chew. I am sure you cannot handle all that.
Tom: You wanna bet?
take on too much
Tom agreed to help with three projects at once — all in the same week. Sarah thinks that’s too much and warns him he might be biting off more than he can chew — taking on more work than he can realistically handle. She clearly doubts him — she doesn’t believe he can manage everything at the same time — but Tom sounds confident and even challenges her: “You wanna bet?” (Do you want to put money on it?)