to pull one's own weight

to pull one's own weight; used as a verb

Example 1: Mario has been looking for a new job for about a month. He doesn't like his current job because he has to do all the work. The other people in his work do not pull their own weight, so he is really stressed out all the time. He would rather work at a job where each person pulls his own weight and does their assigned duties.

Meaning: to pull one's own weight means to do the work you are responsible for. In the first example, Mario doesn't like his work very much because other people at his work do not pull their own weight, meaning they do not do their share of the work.

Example 2: Tom, Bill and Fred decided to rent a house together a couple of months ago. However, Bill and Fred have asked Tom to move out because Tom just doesn't pull his own weight around the house. Bill and Fred have to do all the housework and Tom just sits around watching TV.

Meaning: In example 2, Tom is not doing his share of the housework, so he is not pulling his own weight around the house. His roommates are doing all the work, so they want Tom to move out.

This idiom is from LSI's book "Speaking Savvy," which is used in the Level 5 Listening/Speaking classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com