Also: Don’t quit your day job.
Meaning
The idiom ‘Don’t give up your day job’ is used in a humorous way to tell someone you do not think they are very good at something.
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Examples of Use
Although this expression is supposed to be funny, when you say it to a person, don’t expect them to laugh.
“I’ve only been playing guitar for a few days! What do you think? asked Larry. “Don’t give up your day job,” replied Russell.
“Check out this vase I made in pottery class!” said Alice. “That’s swell,” said Dean, but if I were you I wouldn’t give up my day job.”
Origin
To understand the origin of “don’t give up your day job” we have to understand the term day job. Of course, most of us have jobs that are carried out during the day, so why the term day job?
Day job refers to a job that someone does to make money so they can do something else that they love to do but which they do not make much money doing. For example, many aspiring actors have ‘day jobs.’ Now, we can understand the origin of the idiom, as when someone is doing something, such as singing, acting, writing, or anything they love doing but are not being paid for, and they are not very good at it. This phrase is not usually used when someone actually wishes to become a professional at something other than their day job, as the idiom is meant to be humorous and to dash someone’s dreams is not considered very funny.
More Idioms Starting with D
- Days Of Yore
- Hot Potato
- Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t
- Dot Your i’s and Cross Your t’s
- Don’t Believe Everything You Read
More Day Idioms
- Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day
- Happy as the Day is Long
- Broad Daylight, in
- Back in the Day
- Red Letter Day
More Don’t Idioms
- Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t
- Don’t Believe Everything You Read
- Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
- Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk
- Don’t You Dare
More Give Idioms
- Give Someone the Cold Shoulder
- Give Me a Second/Minute
- Give Me Some Sugar
- Give Someone a Break
- Give Me a Break
More Job Idioms
More Up Idioms
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