Last resort & See the last of something: Meaning & Examples

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Hello students, it’s Shayna, your teacher at EspressoEnglish.net and unfortunately, today is the last day in our February phrases series. So both the expressions I’m going to teach you include the word “last.”

Last resort: Meaning & Example

The first one is “a last resort.” If something is a last resort, this means it is the final option or the final resource to try to solve a problem after all other attempts have been unsuccessful.

For example, imagine you have a serious health problem and you go to the doctor. The doctor says, “We’ll try to treat the disease with medication but if you don’t improve then surgery is a last resort.” This means that surgery is the final option after the attempts for treatment with medication have failed.

Surgery is a last resort: meaning the final option after all others have failed

See the last of something: Meaning & example

Another expression with the word “last” is, “see the last of something.” This phrase means to have the final experience with something.

For example, imagine that you’re in the time of year when its winter but it’s just starting to turn from winter to spring and the snow has recently melted. You could then say, “I hope we’ve seen the last of the snow for this year.” This means you hope there won’t be anymore snow; for this year anyway.

So, two expressions with the word “last:” A last resort, meaning a final option to solve a problem after other options have failed, and see the last of something, meaning to experience something for the last time; the final time.

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