Idioms & expressions - lesson 11
(to) work one's tail off
to work very hard
example: The software developers worked their tails off to get
the new software package released before Christmas.
(to) call it quits
to give up; to quit; to stop; to admit defeat
example: When Borders announced they were building a new bookstore in town, the small book shop decided to call it quits.
(to) throw in the towel
to give up; to surrender; to admit defeat
example: After several years of trying to run a small business from his home, Patrick finally decided to throw in the towel.
origin: This idiom comes from boxing. When a fighter was losing a match, his assistant would toss a towel into the ring to signal defeat and end the game. That towel was the same one used to wipe the sweat and blood off the boxer's face.
We've been down before, but we always come back fighting.
everything is going to be okay; we've had trouble in the past too, and we managed to get over that
example: We need to be optimistic about our future. We've been down before, but we always come back fighting.
track record
a record of achievement or performances
example: General Electric has a proven track record of making successful acquisitions.
(to) rest on one's laurels
to believe that past success is enough to guarantee that the future will also be successful; to rely too much on reputation
example: The CEO made several positive changes during his first two years with the company, but now people say he's just resting on his laurels.
origin: In Ancient Roman times, a crown made of laurels (from the laurel tree) was a symbol of victory.
(to) turn around one's business
to make a business profitable again; to go from not making profits to being profitable again
example: The telecom company was able to turn around its business by developing a popular new line of services.
(to) roll up one's sleeves
see Lesson 10
(to) get down to business
to start work; to begin discussing the important issues
example: We could talk about last night's baseball game for hours, but let's get down to business and start the negotiation.
team spirit
enthusiasm; enthusiasm about doing something for the group
example: Jill is always organizing company trips and lunches. She's got a lot of team spirit
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on board
ready to participate; in agreement
example: Before we agree to sign this contract with our new partner, we'd better make sure our president is on board.
count me in
I will participate
example: You're organizing a farewell party for Christine? Count me in.
note: You may also hear the shorter variation of this expression: I'm in. Example: You're organizing a farewell party for Christine? I'm in.
(to) rally the troops
to motivate others; to get other people excited about doing something; to do something to improve the morale of the employees and get them energized about doing their work
example: After the lay-offs and salary cuts, the airline president organized a meeting to rally the troops and plan for the next year.
note: The verb "to rally" has several definitions, but in this case means to "call together for a common goal or purpose." Troops is an informal way of describing a group of employees. The term comes from the military — a troop is a military unit.
practice the idioms
Fill in the blanks using the following idioms:
track record on board
count me in team spirit
rally the troops turn around our business
throw in the towel working their tails off
Kim: Sales at our Westport furniture store are down by 50 percent this year. I've got a plan to (1) . For the month of December, we'll stand on street corners with big signs advertising our store.
Jason: Stand on street corners in this cold weather? Maybe we should just (2) and close the Westport store. Our other five stores are still doing well.
Cindy: Kim, I like your idea. I'm ready to participate. (3) ! Mark: I'm (4) too.
Cindy: I'd be happy to (5) and get all of our other employees to join us, starting with Jason.
Kim: Yeah, Jason. Where's your (6) ? Everybody else is going to participate.
Mark: Right, Jason. You're going to feel guilty when everybody else is (7) outside while you're inside drinking coffee and relaxing.
Jason: Okay, I'll do it. I just can't believe that with our excellent
(8) , we now have to take such desperate action!
ANSWERS TO LESSON 11, p. 192
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Lesson 12
RUNNING A MEETING
Julia is running a meeting. When Larry and Sally start arguing, Julia has to bring the meeting back under control.
Julia: Let's get down to business. We need to cover a lot of
ground. Our first agenda item is to figure out how we're going to respond to all the complaints we've been getting about our new website.
Larry: Just so we're all on the same page, please give us an overview of the problem.
Julia: In a nutshell, our customers are complaining that it's very difficult to place orders through the new website.
Sally: I think we jumped the gun by not conducting focus groups with our customers before we launched our new website.
Larry: More focus groups? Every time I turn around we're running focus groups! It's gotten out of hand.
Sally: I beg to differ. Focus groups are very important. They help us better understand our customer.
Julia: Well, clearly you two don't see eye to eye on this issue.
Larry: Ha! That's putting it lightly! Focus groups are a waste of time and they...
Julia: Excuse me, let's not get off track here. Does anybody else want to weigh in on the issue at hand?
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Carl: If I can put in «y two cents, I agree with Sally that focus groups would've been a good idea.
Julia: Well, enough about focus groups for now. Let's move on to our next agenda item —. planning for our company offsite.
Larry: Wait, I'm not finished talking about the website!
Julia: We can circle back to that at the end of our meeting if we have time. I want to keep us on schedule since I know many of us have another meeting at 11 o'clock.
IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS - LESSON 12
(to) get down to business see Lesson 11
(to) cover a lot of ground
to discuss many topics; to have a productive discussion
example: That was an excellent meeting. We covered a lot of ground.
(to be) on the same page
see Lesson 5
in a nutshell
in summary; in short
example: I won't go into the details now. In a nutshell, our sales are down 50 percent versus one year ago.
(to) jump the gun
to start doing something too soon or ahead of everybody else
example: The company jumped the gun by releasing a new product before the results of the consumer testing were in.
origin: A runner "jumps the gun" if he or she starts running before the starter's pistol has been fired.
every time I turn around
frequently; too often
example: Every time I turn around, Lisa is checking her stock portfolio on Yahoo. No wonder she never gets any work done.
(to be or to get) out of hand
to be too much; to be out of control
example: Ed has called in sick 10 times this month. The situation is getting out of hand.
I beg to differ
I don't agree (a formal way of telling somebody you don't agree with them)
example: You think Tim has the leadership skills required to run this division? I beg to differ!
(to) see eye to eye
to be in agreement; to have the same opinion
example: Our manufacturing and our marketing people fight with each other all the time. They don't see eye to eye on anything.
that's putting it lightly
that's definitely true; that's for sure; that's an understatement
example: "You were upset when your husband lost his job?" — "That's putting it lightly!"
(to) get off track
to get off the subject; to lose focus; to digress
example: We've gotten off track. This meeting was supposed to be about our new sales strategy, but we ended up talking about Erin's vacation in Spain!
(to) weigh in on
to say something about; to comment on; to express an opinion
example: We'd like you to weigh in on some ideas we have for new products.
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the issue at hand
the topic under discussion; what's being talked about now
example: We've somehow gotten off the topic. Let's return to the issue at hand.
(to) put in one's two cents
to offer one's opinion; to give an opinion without being asked example: Let me just put in my two cents and say that I think we should definitely move our manufacturing to China.
(to) move on
1) to proceed
example: It's time we move on to our next topic.
2) to leave a job and do something else
example: Don't feel too bad that you were fired. It was probably time for you to move on anyway.
(to) circle back to
to return to
example: I'd like to circle back to something Maria said earlier in the meeting.
practice the idioms
Choose the best substitute for the phrase or sentence in bold:
1) Jim thinks his company should outsource its customer service to India, but his boss thinks they should keep it in California. They don't see eye to eye on the issue.
They don't understand the issue.
They don't agree on the issue.
They agree on the issue.
2) We're going to conduct focus groups so consumers can weigh in on the design of some of our new products.
complain about
dictate
give their opinion on
I know we're in a hurry to end the meeting, but let me just circle pack to something David said earlier.
a) emphasize
b) return to
c) dismiss
4) Every time I turn around, Ellen and Kelly are chatting.
very frequently
whenever I turn my back
from time to time
5) Let's not jump the gun by buying a new printer before we can see if the old one can be fixed.
let's not act too quickly
let's take action now
let's be efficient
6) I know many of you have more to say on this issue, but I'm afraid we're going to have to move on so we can finish this meeting on time.
continue to discuss this
leave the conference room now
proceed to our next topic
7) Our office expenses are out of hand. We're going to have to stop spending so much.
hard to count
written down
much too high
8) Calvin covered a lot of ground with his local partners during his business trip to Tokyo.
saw much of the city
had successful conversations
made a lot of money
ANSWERS TO LESSON 12, p. 192
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Lesson 13
DISCUSSING A MISTAKE
is and Todd work for Alpine Design, a furniture manufacturer. When Todd accidentally orders the wrong amount of wood, his boss, Chris, warns him to be more careful in the future.
Chris: Todd, we got our shipment of wood yesterday. We're short by 18 tons.
Todd: Our wood supplier must've made a mistake. I could've sworn that I ordered the right amount.
Chris: You'd better go back and double-check your order.
Todd: Oops, you're right. I accidentally ordered two tons instead of twenty. No big deal. I'll just put in another order.
Chris: When filling out order forms, you need to dot your i's and cross your t's. You shouldn't be making careless mistakes like this.
Todd: I just forgot to add a zero after the two. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. No need to blow things out of proportion.
Chris: This is very serious. Now we won't have enough wood to finish the furniture order we got from La-Z Boy.
Todd: Okay, sorry I dropped the ball.
Chris: Todd, this may be a bitter pill to swallow, but your work lately hasn't been up to scratch. You've really been asleep at the wheel!
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IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS - LESSON 13
I could've sworn that...
I really thought that; I was convinced that
example: You didn't know we already hired somebody for the sales director position? I could've sworn that I told you.
note: "Sworn" is the past perfect tense of "swear."
no big deal
it's not a problem
example: Our coffee machine broke? No big deal. Our employees will just have to go to Starbucks until we get a new one.
(to) dot your i's and cross your t's
to be very careful; to pay attention to details
example: When preparing financial statements, accuracy is very important. Be sure to dot your i's and cross your t's.
(to) make a mountain out of a molehill
to make a big deal out of something small or insignificant
example: Don't be angry at your boss for not complimenting you on your presentation. He probably just forgot. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
(to) blow things out of proportion
to exaggerate; to make more of something than one should
example: Our CEO says that if we don't meet our sales target for the month, our company is going to go out of business. He's probably blowing things out of proportion.
(to) drop the ball
to make a mistake; to fail; to do something poorly
example: You forgot to submit the budget? You really dropped the ball!
origin: When a football player drops the ball, his team may lose the chance to score.
bitter pill to swallow
bad news; something unpleasant to accept
example: After Gina spent her whole summer working as an intern for American Express, failing to get a full-time job offer from the company was a bitter pill to swallow.
up to scratch
good; at the expected level
example: Your customer service call center isn't up to scratch. They put me on hold for 45 minutes!
note: You will usually hear this expression in the negative: not up to scratch. ^^^
asleep at the wheel
not performing well; neglecting responsibilities; not paying
attention to what's going on
example: The dental hygienist was asleep at the wheel. She
accidentally left a big piece of dental floss in the patient's mouth!
synonyms: asleep at the switch; out to lunch
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practice the idioms
Fill in the blanks using the following idioms:
Lesson 14
up to scratch dot your i's and cross your t's
asleep at the wheel no big deal
bitter pill to swallow I could've sworn that
drop the ball blow things out of proportion
Ryan: Eric, we got fifty phone calls this week complaining that our spicy nacho chips are much too spicy. Do you have the machine set correctly?
Eric: Let me check...No, we've got the machine set wrong. It's putting in three times too much hot pepper. That's strange. (1) I checked it this morning and it was okay.
Ryan: Oh, for heaven's sake! How could you (2) like
this? You must be (3) .
Eric: Ryan, please don't (4) . It's really (5) .