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Everybody knows the importance of learning some phrasal verbs, idioms and colloquial expressions, especially when you live in a foreign country. We always learn a lot of them by communicating with native speakers or watching movies and series. In this post, you learn some phrasal verbs, idioms and expressions to communicate in a more natural way when speaking English in a foreign country.
* shore sth up – to support or improve an organization, agreement, or system that is not working effectively or that is likely to fail.
The new public relations manager has the difficult task of shoring up the company’s troubled image.
* management buyout – the situation in which a company’s senior managers buy the company that they work for, or enough shares in it to get control of it.
The group yesterday confirmed it was still in talks which could lead to a management buyout.
* fall through – to fail to happen.
We found a buyer for our house, but then the sale fell through.
* at the eleventh hour – the last moment or almost too late.
We only received the signatures at the eleventh hour.
* thanks to sb/sth – because of someone or something.
It’s thanks to Sandy that I heard about the job.
* bailout – the act of helping a person or organization that is in difficulty, usually by giving or giving or lending money.
The administration assembled the $50 billion emergency bailout package to ease a financial crisis in Mexico.
* hang in the balance – to be uncertain.
The job hung in the balance until the last minute.
* on the verge of doing sth – very near to doing or experiencing something.
He was on the verge of saying something in the middle of the meeting but stopped and shook his head.
* pull out of sth – to withdraw from an arrangement; stop being involved in sth.
The CEO pulled out of the deal as it wasn’t interesting for the company.
* stand aside – to leave a job or position so that someone else can have it instead.
It’s time he stood aside and let a more qualified person do the job.
* go to the wall – to be destroyed or fail because of lack of money.
After nine months of massive losses the company finally went to the wall.
* the going rate for sth – the amount of money that something costs at the present time.
The going rate for a skilled architect in India is about $50,000 per year.
* play sb off against sb – to encourage one person or group to compete or argue with another, hoping to gain some advantage from this situation.
Management policy seemed to be to play one department off against another.
* cut out the middleman – to deal directly with someone instead of talking to their representatives, or to avoid unnecessary stages in a process.
Why don’t you cut out the middleman and tell him what you think yourself?
* be in the right place at the right time – in the best position or place to take advantage of an opportunity.
The key to success is to be in the right place at the right time.
* payoff – the result of a set of actions, or an explanation at the end of something.
The payoff for years of research is a microscope that` performs better than all of its competitors.
* a roaring success – something that is very successful.
The party was a roaring success.
* in/within a short space of time – before much time has passed.
In a short space of time he was promoted from sales rep to area manager.
* rest on your laurels – to be satisfied with your achievements and not to make an effort to do anything else.
Just because you’ve got this promotion doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels.
* plough sth back (in/into sth) – to spend the money that a business has earned on improving that business.
Profits are being ploughed back into the company to allow expansion.
* be going strong – to continue to exist and be successful or work well, after a long period.
After fifty years, his business is still going strong.
I hope you learned some new phrasal verbs and idioms today, see you next time! Source: Idioms and Phrasal Verbs – Advanced / Ruth Gairns and Stuart Redman – Oxford
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