Part 7: English in a Minute: Skeleton Crew

A skeleton is the free of bones inside an animal

and a crew is a group of people who worked closely together.

Skeleton Crew.

This expression sounds creepy.

Hey, are you going to the Sevendust concert tomorrow night?

I wish.

I'm working at the animal shelter tomorrow.

You can't leave a little early?

No, the shelter is running a skeleton crew.

Only two of us will be there all day.

The term skeleton crew means the minimum number of people needed to continue an operation.

A skeleton crew is usually called in during an emergency or when a business does not expect to have many customers.

And that's English in a minute.