IDIOMS
An idiom is an expression with a meaning that can be difficult to guess from the meaning of its separate words:
- Talk to a brick wall means “Talk to an unresponsive person
- Hear something from the horse’s mouth means to get the information directly from the person concerned.
For example:
- I’ve asked my boss for a pay rise several times, but no luck. It’s like talking to a brick wall.
- I know he’s leaving. I heard it from the horse’s mouth.
In the language of business, idioms and metaphors are often used with reference to the domains of sport, war, and gambling. Let’s see some examples:
SPORT
- I don’t know the exact price but $500 is a good ballpark figure.
(= estimate).
- She’s smart and really on the ball. (= quick to understand)
- Follow his advice and it’ll be plain sailing. (= easy to do or achieve).
- You don’t know where you stand, they keep moving the goalposts.
(= changing their aims or decisions).
- There must be no unfair competition in the EU and we shall continue to stress the need for a level playing field. (= a situation that gives no one an advantage)
WAR
- Bill’s on the warpath again (= very angry) - there are mistakes in the publicity material we sent out.
- You may have to do battle with (= fight it out) the insurers because they won’t want to pay up.
- Manufacturers often feel they are fighting a losing battle (= making no progress) against counterfeiting.
- If you can convince the commercial attaché here, that’s half the battle
(= the rest is easy)
- I’ve been fighting a running battle (= having a series of arguments) with the financial department but they won’t give us the money.
- She may want to convince you otherwise but you should stick to your guns (= maintain your point of view).
- She’s up in arms (= very angry and ready to fight) about the lack of safety procedures.
GAMBLING
- We are trying to hedge our bets (= reduce our chances of failure) and not put all our eggs in one basket.
- The odds are stacked against us (= there are many difficulties) but we’re determined to succeed.
- It makes no odds (= makes no difference) whether we get permission or not, we’ll go ahead anyway.
- They’re paying over the odds (= more than it’s worth) for the site but it’s a prime location.
- We had our doubts about Susan but she has really come up trumps
(= produce good, unexpected results)
- If you play your cards right (= do the right thing) you’ll get the promotion.
Let's practice
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