Idiom
don't give up your day job
Meaning
Somewhat sarcastic but usually good-natured advice used to criticise a person's degree of talent (especially in music or other performing arts), implying that they are unlikely to be successful.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Your singing is okay, but don't give up your day job.”
“You are a terrible cook, so please don't give up your day job.”
“He is a bad actor who really should not give up his day job.”
“After hearing his brother's terrible jokes, he laughed and told him not to give up his day job.”
“My friend tried to fix his own car but ended up making the engine noise worse, so I told him not to give up his day job.”
“She showed me the messy painting she made over the weekend and joked that she definitely shouldn't give up her day job yet.”
“The judge told the nervous contestant that while her performance was enthusiastic, she definitely shouldn't give up her day job to pursue a career in professional dance.”
Examples
simple
“Your singing is okay, but don't give up your day job.”
“You are a terrible cook, so please don't give up your day job.”
“He is a bad actor who really should not give up his day job.”
contextual
“After hearing his brother's terrible jokes, he laughed and told him not to give up his day job.”
“My friend tried to fix his own car but ended up making the engine noise worse, so I told him not to give up his day job.”
“She showed me the messy painting she made over the weekend and joked that she definitely shouldn't give up her day job yet.”
complex
“The judge told the nervous contestant that while her performance was enthusiastic, she definitely shouldn't give up her day job to pursue a career in professional dance.”
Origin
20th-century show-business put-down: advice to an aspiring performer that they're not good enough to quit their regular employment.
Key words
Related idioms
- Level
- B1 · Intermediate
- Updated