What is an idiom?
An idiom is a fixed phrase that has a meaning different from the words by themselves.
I feel over the moon
Over the moon = extremely happy
There are thousands and thousands of idioms with new idioms being made up all the time and they are mostly used in informal English. Today we will look at idioms for work.
These idioms can be used in any work situation in spoken English and for informal work emails too.
Back to square one
“Go back to the beginning or start something again because a plan has failed”
- We got the results and they are not good, we are back to square one
- Although the plan is not going well, I don’t want to go back to square one
- There is a big problem with this product design, I believe we have to go back to square one
By the book
“To do something according to the rules or law”
- This company doesn’t do things by the book, we shouldn’t trust them
- Make sure you follow this recipe by the book, don’t try and change it
- This person never takes risks, he always does everything by the book
Long shot
“Something that is unlikely to happen or succeed”
- This plan is really a long shot, I don’t think it will succeed
- That team is a long shot to win the world cup
- The client singing this deal is a long shot
- I know it is a long shot, but could you reduce the price?
On the same page
“Two or more people who agree on and fully understand an item”
- Are we on the same page regarding the marketing plan?
- I don’t think everybody is on the same page about this idea
- We need to have a meeting to get everyone on the same page
Smooth sailing
“Achieving success in a plan or situation without any problems”
- After we started cooperating with that company it was smooth sailing
- Setting up the new office was smooth sailing until the new manager left the company
- I don’t think there are anything problems to worry about, it should be smooth sailing
We will be adding more idiom pages on different topics all the time so make sure to keep checking back!