loose end
57
3.7
- noun
- /luːs ɛnd/
- Informal
:
cabo suelto
- OK, let's clean up any loose ends that we have with the Challenger.
- many loose ends
- few loose ends
- loose ends in a story
She ties up a couple loose ends, says goodbye to Sebastian.
- She ties up a couple loose ends, says goodbye to Sebastian.
- So she like tied up a couple loose ends from the series.
- Sadly, this potential rivalry is one more loose end still waiting to be tied up.
- But I don't want to leave any loose ends.
- So let's just come full circle again just to tie up all these loose ends.
- So today's lecture is devoted in some sense to the tying up of loose ends.
- I gave you the part that you were missing and it turned out that part tied up a lot of loose ends.
- You know, it's just we're at the point where these are the loose ends of society.
- Is this world one you're hoping to return to in the future, or did you have other reasons to leave larger scale loose ends united?
- You want to tie up all the loose ends of relationally with everybody and that'll make you feel better.
Examples
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Just trying to tie up some loose ends, Mr. Barnell.
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She's cleaning up loose ends.
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And then a lot of loose ends to tie up here.
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I have a few loose ends to tie up -- probably tomorrow.
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In the last five years or so, however, it turned out that there were a few loose ends.
Academic text (2009) -
Did all those loose ends get tied up?
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When I'm gone, would you please take care of that loose end for me?
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Sadly, this potential rivalry is one more loose end still waiting to be tied up.
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Isn't the writer supposed to tie up the loose ends of the story neatly at the conclusion?
Academic text (2009) -
Before we can move forward with the project, we need to address a few loose ends.
Synonyms
66
3.7
Work or tasks that are not finished and need attention
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The figurative meaning 'an unfinished or unresolved detail' is directly inferable from combining 'loose' (not firmly fixed) with 'end' (a terminal part): something 'loose' at the 'end' naturally suggests a dangling, unresolved piece. This compositional metaphor is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'cabos sueltos') and follows predictable English imagery, so a B1 learner who knows both words is likely to understand it.
Etymology
The phrase loose end comes from a simple image: a piece of rope or thread with a loose end that is not tied and can come undone. So when we talk about a 'loose end' today, we mean a small unfinished detail that still needs to be 'tied up'.