Shape up or ship out!

Friday, May twenty fifth, two thousand and seven

An employee in my factory often drives me nuts actually, so I often tell him, "Shape up or ship out!" However, apparently, he doesn't have the intention to quit his job. In Japan, it's quite difficult for company representatives to fire their employees.
Actually my brother and I are struggling to make ends meet, therefore we can't afford to hire new employees so far. But, the recent profit of our factory has been going up, so we'll be able to dismiss him soon for neglect of duty. To be honest, I'm looking forward to getting rid of him from my heart. Go fly a kite!


"quotes from LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English"
shape up or ship out [spoken]: used to tell someone that if they do not improve they will be made to leave a place or their job
make ends meet: to have only just enough money to buy the things you need