Good afternoon everyone,
In order to get familiar with the Canadian workplace, there are a lot of things we need to consider.
Here is a list of business idioms that are taken from this website. Please go over them and try to understand each one’s meaning and then follow the tasks below.
Task one:
Pick five to six of the following idioms and use them in sentences of your own.
Task two:
Compose a short story about any event/meeting that has happened to you at your previous workplace. Use at least five to six from these idioms n your story.
Take three:
Request two from your peers to check and edit your work before you publish it on your blog.
time’s up--- Doctor Li will retire tomorrow. Today is his
time's up.
touch base--- Our team has a new mission in Paris. The commander
will touch base with each of us later.
twist someone's
arm--- Ali opposed to this plan, so we need someone to twist his arm.
under the table--- Corruption
is the severe problem in this country. Many deals are under the table.
up in the air--- Which university he will choose is still up in the air.
uphill battle--- For me, being an archaeologist is an uphill battle. I need to persist on and be diligent.
upper hand--- He’s
the upper hand of this field. If you have any questions, you can ask him.
white collar---I n
some countries, white collar's salary is much more than blue collar.
win-win
situation---I f you teach me maths, I will tutor your English. We will be
in win-win situation.
word of mouth--- This
company doesn’t need to advertise their product. Its reputation comes from word
of mouth.
writing on the
wall--- The woman got angry, so her kids knew the writing on the wall.
yes man--- Don't
be a yes man. You should tell him what you want.
Edited by Rosie
time’s up--- Doctor Li will retire tomorrow. Today is his time’s up.
touch base--- Our team has a new mission in Paris. The commander will touch base with each of us later.
twist someone's arm--- Ali opposed to this plan, so we need someone to twist his arm.
under the table--- Corruption is the severe problem in this country. Many trades are under the table.
up in the air--- Which university he will choose is still up in the air.
uphill battle---
upper hand--- He’s the upper hand of this field. If you have any questions, you can ask him.
white collar---I n some countries, white collar’s salary is much more than blue collar’
win-win situation---I f you teach me maths, I will tutor your English. We will be in win-win situation.
word of mouth--- This company doesn’t need to advertise their product. Its reputation comes from word of mouth.
writing on the wall--- The woman got angry, so her kids knew the writing on the wall.
yes man--- Don't be a yes man. You should tell him what you want.
Task two:
It will hold a teaching method
contest in our school. Every team is excellent, so the competition is
cut-throat. Susan is the upper hand of our team. She assigns task to every
member to prepare all kinds materials. It makes sure that we can go ahead of
the curve. Last Friday, we talked about our project and presented opinions one
by one. Susan always hits the nail on the head. Finally, we revised the
project and gave the thumbs up. We believe our plan will catch everybody off
guard.
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"Time's up" means that the time for something or someone has ended.
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I think his time's up as the CEO. They're going to replace him as soon as they find a suitable candidate.
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To "touch base¨ means to make contact with someone.
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Let me make a few phone calls to try to get an answer to your question. I'll touch base with you later today.
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To "twist someone's arm" means to persuade or convince someone to do something that he or she does not want to do.
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The owner thought the advertising budget was a little high. We had to twist his arm to get him to agree to it.
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Something done secretly (and usually illegally) in the business world is done "under the table."
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To avoid paying taxes, they paid some of their employees under the table.
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If something is undecided, it is "up in the air."
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We're looking for a test market right now, but nothing has been decided yet. Everything's still up in the air.
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Something that is difficult to achieve because of obstacles and difficulties is an ¨uphill battle.¨
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Winning the election is going to be an uphill battle. He doesn't have a lot of support at the moment.
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If someone has an advantage over someone else, he or she has the "upper hand."
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He was more experienced and well respected, so he had the upper hand in the argument.
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A ¨white collar worker¨ is someone who works in an office (customer service, management, sales, etc.) The opposite of a white collar worker is a ¨blue collar worker.¨ A blue collar worker is someone who works with his or her hands (manufacturing, construction, maintenance, etc.) ¨White collar¨ (and ¨blue collar¨can also be used to describe a job, position, or place.
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There are mostly manufacturing positions here. There aren't a lot of white-collar jobs here.
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A "win-win situation" is a situation where everyone involved gains something.
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We were happy to get the contract, and they were happy to get such a good price. It was a win-win situation.
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If something spreads by "word of mouth," people hear about it by informal conversation with friends, family members, acquaintances, etc.
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A lot of local restaurants rely on word of mouth to get new customers.
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The "writing on the wall" refers to the evidence and clues that something (usually negative) is going to happen.
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I'm going to get my resume ready. I can see the writing on the wall.
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A ¨yes man¨ is someone who always agrees with his or her superiors.
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The company isn't looking to hire someone who is going to try to make a lot of changes. They're basically just looking for a yes man.
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