Don’t hold your breath! The language of planning, part 2

On March 13, 2019March 21, 2019 By Kate WoodfordIn Idioms, the English language, Vocabulary22 Comments

Last month we looked at the language of planning and making arrangements. Sadly, not everything in life goes according to plan (=happens as intended) and it is wise to keep this in mind when making arrangements! This post, then, focuses on planning words and phrases that relate to problems.

A contingency is something that you know might happen in the future which would cause problems and require further arrangements:

We must prepare for all contingencies.

A contingency plan is a plan that can be used if a problem arises (=happens):

Fortunately, a contingency plan was in place for dealing with such emergencies. Continue reading “Don’t hold your breath! The language of planning, part 2” →

It slipped my mind: words and phrases connected with forgetting

On March 6, 2019March 1, 2019 By Liz WalterIn Idioms, the English language, Vocabulary18 Comments

by Liz Walter

Back in 2015, my colleague Kate Woodford wrote a post about words connected with remembering. Today’s post looks at the opposite: words and phrases for forgetting.

It is surprising that for such an important concept, there aren’t really any direct, one-word synonyms for the verb ‘forget’. A slightly formal way to talk about forgetting is to say that you have no memory/recollection of something:

We lived in Russia when I was a baby, but I have no memory of that time. Continue reading “It slipped my mind: words and phrases connected with forgetting” →

Kept under wraps: Idioms that describe secrets

On April 6, 2016August 2, 2016 By Kate WoodfordIn Idioms15 Comments

by Kate Woodford

secret As part of our series on English idioms, we’re looking this week at common expressions for describing secrets and secretive behaviour.

A lot of expressions refer to secret situations or information. If someone keeps a new piece of work or information under wraps, they keep it secret: They didn’t know whether to make the announcement immediately or keep it under wraps for a few weeks. Someone who has something up their sleeve has a secret plan: Who knows what she has up her sleeve. If a situation is cloaked or shrouded in secrecy/mystery, it is deliberately kept secret: Very little was known about the incident. For years it was shrouded in secrecy. Meanwhile, something that happens behind closed doors happens in a place where most people cannot see or hear it: These deals take place behind closed doors. Continue reading “Kept under wraps: Idioms that describe secrets” →

Money for Old Rope! (Money idioms)

On December 16, 2015December 8, 2015 By Kate WoodfordIn the English language5 Comments

by Kate Woodford
money_old_rope
Continuing our occasional series on idioms that relate to the world of business, we look this week at phrases that express something about money.

There are a number of phrases relating to making money (and not all are admiring). A cash cow is a product or an area of a business that a company can rely on because it always makes money. The money made is often used to support other business activities: The credit card had become the bank’s cash cow. A person or company’s main way of earning money may be described as their bread and butter: They provide legal advice for companies – that’s their bread and butter. In UK English, a way of earning money that is very easy, needing little effort, may be referred to as money for old rope or money for jam. A lot of people assume that buying and selling property is money for old rope. Similarly, on hearing about an easy job that earns a lot of money for someone else, someone might say humorously, Nice work if you can get it! Eighty pounds an hour for rubbing someone’s shoulders? Nice work if you can get it! Continue reading “Money for Old Rope! (Money idioms)” →

We’re making headway! (Idioms and phrases used to talk about progress)

On October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 By Kate WoodfordIn the English language

by Kate Woodford

As part of our occasional series on idioms used in or in relation to business, we look today at the important area of making projects happen – getting projects started, making progress with those projects and, as sometimes happens, failing to make progress.

Starting at the beginning, if a plan gets or is given the go-ahead, permission is given for it to start: Plans for a new building at the university have been given the go-ahead. Another idiom which means much the same is to give the green light to something: The council has given the green light to the new development. You can also say that you get a project off the ground. If you get a project off the ground, you manage to make it start successfully: A lot more money will be required to get the project off the ground. Similarly, to start/set/get the ball rolling is to start to make something happen: Once we have permission for the project, we can start the ball rolling. Meanwhile, if a project is in the pipeline, it is being planned, though has not yet started: We have a number of projects in the pipeline, though none are due to start immediately. Continue reading “We’re making headway! (Idioms and phrases used to talk about progress)” →

Take the rough with the smooth (Idioms to describe dealing with problems)

On October 7, 2015October 5, 2015 By Kate WoodfordIn the English language

by Kate Woodford

Readers of this blog will know that from time to time, we focus on frequent idioms. This week, we’re looking at idioms that we use to describe the way we deal with – or fail to deal with – problems and difficult situations.

Starting with the positive, if you are in a difficult situation and you take it (all) in your stride (UK)/take it in stride (US), the situation does not upset or worry you: Sarah often has problems with staff but she takes it all in her stride. Someone who weathers the storm or rides the storm is not harmed during a difficult period. You might say this of a person whose reputation is not damaged despite difficulties: For a while, the scandal threatened to destroy the president, but somehow he weathered the storm. Meanwhile, to get/come to grips with a difficult situation or task means to succeed in starting to deal with it: This is a problem that the government really needs to get to grips with. Continue reading “Take the rough with the smooth (Idioms to describe dealing with problems)” →

Are you a glass-half-full person? (Everyday Idioms)

On July 29, 2015October 28, 2016 By Kate WoodfordIn Idioms38 Comments

by Kate Woodford

A reader of this blog recently asked for a post on idioms that are used in everyday English. This seemed like a reasonable request. After all, if you are going to make the effort to learn a set of English idioms, you want those idioms to be useful. The question, then, was how to decide which idioms to write about. There are a great number of idioms in the English language, but some are rarely used. In the end, I decided to keep an idioms diary for a week, and make a note of any idioms that I heard people use in conversation. From this set of idioms, I chose a few that I considered to be common in contemporary, conversational English and have presented them here.

Early in the week, a radio presenter told his colleague that she was ‘opening up a can of worms’ when she said something that many people would disagree with. A can of worms (informal) is a situation or subject that causes a lot of problems or arguments when you start to deal with it or discuss it. The verb ‘open (up)’ is often used with this phrase. The same presenter later talked about occasions when he really wanted to say what he thought, but instead ‘bit his tongue’. To bite your tongue is to stop yourself from saying something that might upset someone or make them angry. Continue reading “Are you a glass-half-full person? (Everyday Idioms)” →

What’s she like? Idioms to describe personality

On February 18, 2015February 13, 2015 By Liz WalterIn the English language25 Comments

by Liz Walter

Students of English are usually introduced to personality words such as friendly, shy, confident or lazy fairly early on in their studies. This blog offers a selection of colourful yet common idioms that can offer a more interesting response to the question ‘What’s s/he like?’.

For instance, we often say that shy people wouldn’t say boo to a goose (British)/wouldn’t say boo (US), while lazy people don’t lift a finger and tend to think that the world owes them a living. Someone who is always confident enough to give their opinion is not backward in coming forward. (This phrase usually implies that the person is a little bit more assertive than the speaker would like!)

A useful way of describing the sort of person who frequently manages to cause offence or annoyance is to say that they tend to rub people up the wrong way, while someone who boasts a lot about what they are going to do but never actually does is all mouth and no trousers (British)/all mouth (US). Continue reading “What’s she like? Idioms to describe personality” →