‘Having Skin in the Game’ Is Not as Painful as It Sounds

‘Having Skin in the Game’ Is Not as Painful as It Sounds

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

On this program we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give examples and notes on usage¹.

Today we talk about the largest organ of the human body –- our skin! As our protective outer layer, our skin can certainly gather many cuts and wounds.

In English, we have many skin expressions. I wrote about some of them in an earlier Words and Their Stories.

In that story, I talk about expressions like thick-skinned people – people who take criticism well. And if you are comfortable in your own skin, you are happy with who you are.

But today we talk about skin expressions that relate to having personal involvement in a certain situation.

If you have skin in the game, you are invested or involved in something directly. You have something at stake. In other words, you risk losing -- or gaining -- something. Usually, it is something financial.

To have skin in the game means you have an active interest in the success of something. If it fails, it affects you in some way. For example, workers who have stock in their company have skin in the game. So, they may work harder to make it successful.

You can also use this expression in the negative form. If you have no skin in the game, you have nothing at stake and nothing to lose. Having no skin in the game means you have no personal investment or risk in some goal, project, or situation. Again, we commonly use this expression when talking about business and finance².

But not always. For example, let's say I try to give advice to a friend about her dating situation. But she just does not want to listen to my advice. I can tell her that when it comes to her relationships, I have no skin in the game. It doesn't affect me personally. I just don't want her to see her get hurt ... again.

We have another skin expression that is close in meaning.

If something is no skin off your back, it does not affect you. It is of no interest or concern to you.

Let's hear this one used between two friends.

A: Hey, do you think I could borrow your lawn mower³ this weekend. My grass is getting really long.

B: Of course! You can pick it up anytime.

A: I promise I'll return it Sunday night. I know people are funny about loaning their tools out to others.

B: Not me. Especially my lawn mower. I have two! So, really, it's no skin off my back. Keep it as long as you need it!

A: Thanks!

You might sometimes hear this expression said this way: it's no skin off my nose. Whether the skin is on your back or nose, the expression means the same thing.

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories! Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

comfortable – adj. producing a relaxing feeling especially because of shape or materials:

(at) stake – n. in a position to be lost or won

dating – v. to make a usually romantic social arrangement to meet with : to have a date with

1 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

2 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。

3 mower   

n.割草机

参考例句：

• We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.我们需要一台草坪修剪机来割草。
• Your big lawn mower is just the job for the high grass.割高草时正需要你的大割草机。