make ends meet

【英文解釋】live within one's income

【中文解釋】收支相抵，量入為出

【短語來源】This was originally 'make both ends meet', the two ends being the extremities of the year, i.e, the beginning and the end. Meet has its old sense of agree or tally. The whole phrase therefore means 'keep one's finances, income and expenditure, in balance throughout the year'.

這個短語原為“make both ends meet”，這里的end指的就是一年的兩端，也就是年初和年尾。meet有一種不太常見的意思是“使一致”。所以整個短語的意思就是“使某人的財政、收支、開支等在一整年保持平衡”。

【有例有句】Making ends meet is a big issue in this year.

維持收支平衡是今年的大問題。