Last week’s Words making the headlines looked at the vocabulary of losing your job.

This week we have a vocabulary mind map on the same topic. It’s divided into three reasons for losing your job. Those are then split into verbs (blue boxes) and nouns (pink boxes) with an example sentence to illustrate each one.

You can see the mind map on the Popplet website or download an image file.

DOWNLOAD

We also have mind maps of Internet vocabulary and vocabulary for talking about trade.

---

Do you need to expand your English vocabulary? Contact us to talk how we can help.

 

Did you know, when we talk about business, we use a lot of idioms connected with gardening and growing?

How many garden and growing idioms can you find in these short conversations? Can you guess what they mean?

Listen to each conversation then try the exercise. The transcripts and answers are at the bottom of the page.

Listen

How many garden and growing idioms do you hear?

Money for advertising

The new contract

The interviews

Office closure

---

Exercise

Can you match the idioms to their meanings?

IDIOM	MEANING
1 plough money into	a  to produce a result (especially after a long period of hard work)
2 perennial problem	b  to separate out (a smaller group from a larger group / people who are less suitable from those who are more suitable)
3 bear fruit	c  to go into a different direction/ business area
4 dig out	d  to put (a lot of) time/money into a project
5 a crop of	e  to result from
6 weed out	f  to find something you have not used or seen for a long time
7 stem from	g a group of people who achieve something or become known for something at the same time (eg graduates)
8 branch out	h  something which always exists, never seems to change

---

Transcripts and answers

Money for advertising

A: How was the meeting?

B: Well, the Board want to plough more money into advertising, but I think we should be spending it on getting the products right first!

A: Hmm, I know what you mean. It’s a perennial problem:  increase advertising without having any new products or develop new products but lack the budget to promote them!

 

The new contract

A:  Did you hear we got the Strathco contract?

B: That’s great – all that hard work has finally borne fruit.

A: Yes, I’ll have to go back and dig out the research I did right at the beginning  of the process – over a year ago!

 

The interviews

A: Have you finished all the interviews?

B: Yes, just did the last few this morning – there’s a really strong crop of graduates this year, so we’ve got lots of good candidates.

A: That’s good to hear –how many are we taking?

B: Only 10, so I’ve now got the difficult job of weeding out the less suitable ones.

 

Office closure

A: Have you heard they’re closing the Leicester office?

B: Yes – their results have been pretty bad for the last couple of years, haven’t they?

A: Yeah, I think it all stems from relying on one or two big clients and when they lost those contracts….

B: You’re right – we should make sure that doesn’t happen here.

A: Yes but we could also branch out into other areas of business …….

 

Answers

1d 2h 3a 4f 5g 6b 7e 8c

 

By Joy

 

If you have any questions or comments, leave a reply below.

Do you want to learn English idioms? Send us a message.

 

Idioms are fixed phrases with a specific meaning.

Our latest video looks at idioms about time and money that are common in the business world. After you watch, test yourself with the quiz.

Now test yourself. The answers are at the bottom of the page.

Quiz 1

Choose the correct definition for each idiom.

1. at the eleventh hour

1. go at your own pace
2. at the last possible moment
3. very quickly

2. stony broke

1. have no money
2. do something quickly and cheaply
3. very expensive

3. in no time

1. not up to date
2. very quickly
3. go at your own pace

4. cost an arm and a leg

1. in debt
2. have no money
3. very expensive

Quiz 2

Choose the correct idiom to complete each sentence.

1. Don’t rush. It’s better to ____ and get it right the first time.

1. take your time
2. cost an arm and a leg
3. cut costs

2. They are so _____ .They don’t even use Facebook and Twitter.

1. in the red
2. stony broke
3. behind the times

3. It’s no surprise the company went out of business. They’d been _____ for nearly 2 years.

1. in the red
2. behind the times
3. at the eleventh hour

4. If you _____ now, it can sometimes be more expensive in the long-term.

1. take your time
2. cut corners
3. cost an arm and a leg

by Barney

 

If you have any questions or comments, leave a reply below.

Do you want to learn some English idioms? Send us a message.

 

Answers:

Quiz 1: 1. b, 2. a, 3. b, 4. c

Quiz 2: 1. a, 2. c, 3. a, 4. b