54 Using English at Work

Lesson 7 - Scheduling a Meeting

"late in the week" usually means Thursday or Friday. The "middle of the week" or "mid-week" usually means Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. So, someone may call you and say, "Let's meet late next week," they mean Thursday or Friday. Or, "Let's meet next week in the middle of the week," Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday

Before responding to her question, I check my calendar. A "calendar" is a schedule of the days and months of the year. It's also a person's personal schedule or list of when you are available to meet with someone and when you are busy - when you have other things going on or happening. I check my calendar to see whether I am available to meet early in the week next week and I tell Andrea that I'm tied up Monday and Tuesday. To be "tied up," here, means to be busy or occupied and therefore unable to meet at a certain time. In other words, I'm tied up on Monday and Tuesday because I have other appointments those days, so I cannot meet with her then. If your friend asks you if you want to play basketball on Saturday and you're working that day, you would say, "I'm sorry. I'm tied up on Saturday, I can't join you." But if I tell my friend that I'm free on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday afternoon, then you're saying that you have time to meet during those particular days. So "free" is the opposite of being "tied up." If you're free, you have time; if you're tied up, you have something else on your schedule.

Andrea says that Wednesday afternoon suits her (I tell her that I am free on Wednesday afternoon). "To suit someone" means to be convenient for someone, or not to create problems for someone. When Andrea says that Wednesday afternoon suits her, she means that she is available to meet with me on Wednesday afternoon. "To suit someone" can also be used more generally to mean that it's okay or it's acceptable to someone. For example, if your husband or wife asks you if you want to go on vacation to beautiful Los Angeles, California, you might say, "That suits me!" meaning that you like the idea, it is acceptable to you.

Then Andrea asks me what time would be good for me. This is her way of asking me what time I would like to meet. I tell her the earlier the better. The phrase "the earlier the better" means the sooner the better or as early as possible. I want to meet in the afternoon, not in the late afternoon. The late afternoon would be after 3 or 4:00; I'm asking to meet in the early afternoon, in fact, the earlier the better. I explain that the reason meeting earlier is better for me is that I'll be entertaining clients that night and I need to leave work a little early that day. "To entertain clients" means to take important customers for your business to dinner or perhaps to a play or some entertainment. This is supposed to improve their relationship with your company, or your relationship with them.

55