In this week’s podcast, you’ll learn 12 useful expressions and idioms connected to work so that you can expand your vocabulary and improve your English.
Previous podcasts with Bea: Present perfect simple and continuous with special guest Bea https://inglespodcast.com/18
How to take your relationship to the next physical level in English https://inglespodcast.com/183
Improve your speaking with Craig
https://www.englishmasterclass.net/
What is an idiom?
A group of words that have a meaning that’s different from the meaning of the individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light)
Idioms and expressions connected to work
to get the ball rolling (make a start) – “Let’s get the ball rolling with our first idiom.”
to learn/know the ropes (obtain/have experience of how a job is done) “Susan will teach you what to do, and it shouldn’t take you long to learn the ropes.”
a cushy job (easy, undemanding) – “You don’t work a full day, or a full week, and you have long holidays. Teaching is such a cushy job.”
to be between jobs / weighing up your options (temporarily unemployed) – “I’m actually between jobs at the moment and weighing up my options before moving on.”
to burn the candle at both ends (to work or do other things from early in the morning until late at night and so get very little rest) – “People who have a full-time job and a side-hustle that they do in the evenings and at weekends, run the risk of burning the candle at both ends and suffering from stress and exhaustion.”
to burn the midnight oil (work late into the night) – “I used to burn the midnight oil and work until 2 or 3 am.”
A glass ceiling (a barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities) – “There seems to be more of a glass ceiling in the tech industry than in teaching.”
to have a game plan (a carefully considered strategy) – “It’s essential to have a marketing game plan before you launch a new product.”
to go back to the drawing board / to go back to square one (to start again) – “I failed my B2 First exam. Oh well, back to the drawing board.”
to raise the bar (increase standards) – “Just as I was getting used to my job, my boss raised the bar and I had to perform even better.”
to have your work cut out (to have a lot of work to do to complete a particular task.) “The fire service has its work cut out to get the wildfires under control.”
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
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In next week’s episode: Food idioms
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The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’
Pueden decir la web de la invitada Bea Para ver los cursos que ofrece?
I’ve passed your email on to Bea, Guille. I’m sure she’ll be in touch soon.
Great program , I learned more about idioms
We’re pleased you found it useful.
Hello Craig and Reza
I hope my message finds you well
I am very grateful for all the effort you are making. I really enjoy listening to your podcast episodes. I even repeat it more than once, and I recommend it to many of my friends.
I would like to ask you about the Bea’s website, and about the possibility of seeing the services she provides.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Bahel. I have passed your email address on to Bea.
Hi, first of all, thank you and congrants for this amazing site and podcasts, they are really helpfull!.
I have a question, in the podcast while Bea is talking about leaving her studying to the very last minute, you say something like “you crump” (around 12:15 in the podcast) or something like that, can you spell it please? or explain what you meant? Thanks in advance
Hi Erik. I said, ‘You crammed. To cram for an exam means to study very intensively just before the exam. Here are some other uses of ‘cram’: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cram