Expression: Eat away at

0:00On today's episode, you'll learn the English expression, eat away at. Hi there, it's Jeff and this is Plain English episode number 896 on Thursday, September 3, 2026. On Thursdays, you learn an important English expression or phrasal verb. And today, I've chosen, eat away at. We used this expression in an episode about a shipwreck. It was called the endurance and it sank in a frigid part of the ocean. When explorers found it recently, the ship was well preserved. In other parts of the ocean, I said, worms would have eaten away at the wooden ship. But in these really cold waters, there were no worms to eat away at the ship.

1:01So it was well preserved. That's how I used this expression in a previous episode. So now you're ready to learn how to use eat away at. Before we start today's story, I'd just like to remind you that the podcast is just one part of how we can help you upgrade your English skills. At PlainEnglish.com, you can make faster progress with active learning strategies. You can take quizzes, do activities, listen to the fast version of the audio, watch video workshops, practice what you learn, and even join a live call with JR and me. It's all about helping you build your skills to become a better, more confident English speaker. Sound good? Go to PlainEnglish.com to start your free 14-day trial today. Now let's jump into today's story.

2:10Today's English expression is to eat away at something. Believe it or not, this phrasal verb has two very different meanings. In the way I used it today, it means to gradually consume or destroy something. When we use eat away at, we can sometimes actually mean eating, and that's how you heard it in today's lesson. I was talking about how the shipwreck endurance is very well preserved on the floor near Antarctica. Ant has been there for 107 years. Now if you drop a wooden ship to the bottom of the ocean in most parts of the world, and

3:18if you leave it there and come back a hundred years later, you'll find that the ship is mostly broken down, destroyed, collapsed, deteriorated. That's because in many parts of the ocean, there are wood-eating worms that eat away at wooden shipwrecks. They're called shipworms. In this case, the shipworms are eating the wood. They eat away at any wooden structure. It might take them a couple of years, but they will eventually destroy any wooden structure that you drop down in the ocean. In fact, a pier in San Francisco once collapsed into the bay because shipworms had eaten

4:25away at the footings of the pier. So to eat away at is to gradually consume or destroy something, and in this case, the shipworms do it by literally eating. It's not just in the water. This can happen on land too. Mice can eat away at the wiring in your house. Termites can eat away at the wooden beams in your house. Moths can eat away at clothing or furniture. Mold can eat away at your drywall. In all of these cases, small little things are eating something huge and eventually making

5:26that big thing smaller or weaker. With all of these things that can eat away at our homes, it's a wonder that any of our houses are still standing. Now with this imagery in mind, let's transition away from the physical world. Bank fees can eat away at your savings. I don't know about where you live, but banks here sometimes charge monthly fees just to have an account open. I don't have an account like that because it's not worth it. But some people pay $5, $10 or even $20 per month just to have an account open.

6:29So banks also charge fees if you accidentally spend more money than you have in your account. That can be $35 each time. Now if you don't have a lot saved up and if you're not careful, bank fees can really eat into your savings. That means these bank fees can gradually make your savings smaller. They're like little shipworms in your bank account consuming money that should be yours. How much did you work on your last vacation? I suspect more than a few of you did a little bit of work. And look, this is 2022.

7:29That's bound to happen. But if you're not careful, all these little calls and emails can eat into your vacation. Work can gradually consume and destroy your vacation. You answer one email, guess what happens? They email you back. If you don't turn off notifications, it might be tempting to respond to a group chat. Then someone realizes you're working and they call you. Now if you're not careful, all this can eat away at your vacation. It can gradually destroy and deteriorate your vacation. Have you ever been invited to speak at a meeting or on a webcast for just five minutes?

8:33Now would you rather be at the beginning of the webcast or at the end? I'd rather be at the beginning. If I'm scheduled to speak last, guess what happens? Other people take more than their scheduled time and that eats away at the time available for me to do my presentation. I'm too nice to call them shipworms, but little by little they consume and destroy the time available for me to talk, at least if I'm scheduled to go last. And that's it for Plain English Today. Good job as always. We'll be back on Monday with a new story. See you then. Listen up.

9:36If you speak Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish or Turkish, one of the most frustrating things about listening and reading in a second language is being confused by unfamiliar words or phrases. When you listen to Plain English or when you read the transcript, you probably encounter some words you don't know. When that happens, you have a few options. You can stop the audio, go look up the definition, then return to the episode, find your place, and press play again, but that's exhausting. Or you can just skip it and be confused. That's no fun either. But what if you could see the translation of the word into your language instantly without

10:39having to stop the audio, without having to look anything up? Well you can at PlainEnglish.com. For each episode, we translate about 100 words and phrases from English to 9 languages. Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish and Turkish. And we highlight those words in blue. All you have to do is hover your mouse over the highlighted word and you will see the translation instantly. It works great on mobile too. It really makes listening a lot more satisfying and it's a great way to expand your vocabulary in English. The best way to see these translations is to sign up for a free 14-day trial at PlainEnglish.com.

11:45During your trial, you can read as many transcripts as you like, all with the translations into your language. So sign up for your free trial today at PlainEnglish.com.