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The English we speak from bbclearningenglish.com hello and welcome to the English We Speak.
With me Fei Fei and me Roy.
We may sound a little different.
That's because we're not able to record in our normal studios during the coronavirus outbreak.
In this program we have an expression that is used to describe the minimum number of people that are required to run a business.
Speaking of which, there are not many people working in the train stations today.
No, you're right.
It's because of the strikes on the trains.
Ah, so that's why it was hard to get a train this morning.
The train companies decided to run the trains on a skeleton crew.
What?
Skeletons driving the trains?
Is this some kind of ghost story?
I think I'll walk home.
No, Roy.
Skeleton crew refers to the minimum number of people needed to run a business or an organization.
Ah, yes, and it's usually in times of crisis or during an emergency,
for example, the coronavirus, that people run businesses with a skeleton crew.