10 Essential Business Idioms for Office Communication and Professional English

Hi everyone and welcome to the second part of our business idioms series where we are going to talk about business idioms again. You can use these idioms when conversing with your office mates, your bosses or even your clients. As always don't forget to test yourself by taking our short quiz at the end of this lesson. Let's begin. Idiom number one. Give someone an earful. To give someone an earful is to tell him or her your opinion in an angry manner. For instance, I did not like the work that she submitted to me so I gave her an earful. She was late to the office for the 20th time. I gave her an earful about being late. Idiom number two. Give someone a run for their money. To give someone a run for their money is to compete with someone else in a particular field. You say this to someone who has the potential to beat the best in a certain industry. For example, you swim so well you might give Michael Phelps a run for his money. You are the best performer I ever saw. You are going to give Britney Spears a run for her money. Idiom number three. Give someone the cold shoulder. To give someone the cold shoulder is to ignore or snub him or her. For example, I don't want to talk to him. I will give him the cold shoulder. I was late to the office this morning and he has been giving me the cold shoulder ever since. Idiom number four. Give lip service. When you are just giving lip service, this means that you are just talking and talking but without any action. For example, you keep promising that you won't be late again. We all know that it's just lip service. Our boss promised us a higher salary. We think he's just giving lip service. We don't have a salary increase yet. Idiom number five. Give and take. To give and take is to negotiate or to compromise. This applies to not just the office environment but also with relationships. For example, in our office we are not selfish. We practice the policy of give and take. My boyfriend and I have a good romantic relationship. It's give and take for the both of us. Idiom number six. Bite off more than you can chew. When you bite off more than you can chew, in the literal sense, you will have a hard time chewing your food and are more likely to choke. So this idiom means to take more work or responsibilities than you are capable of doing. For example, she worked three jobs a day. She is biting more than she can chew. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Have some time for rest. You cannot do everything. Idiom number seven. Go with the flow. To go with the flow is to accept things the way they naturally are. Going with the flow is to adapt to the existing environment. For example, don't worry about your new job. Just go with the flow and you will be fine. Let's have fun tonight and just go with the flow. Let's not make any plans. Idiom number eight. Blow it. To blow it does not mean to blow candles or to blow anything. This idiom means to lose or to ruin something. The past tense of blow is blew. For example, I think I did not do well in my presentation. I blew it. You have to make the sale. Don't blow it. Idiom number nine. Grab the bull by the horns. To grab the bull by the horns is to approach a task directly with full force. For example, the only way to get a salary raise is to tell your boss directly. You need to grab the bull by the horns. If you want to become a manager, you have to work hard and be a good leader. You have to grab the bull by the horns. Idiom number 10. Grasp at the straws. Have you ever felt desperate and hopeless? Like no matter what you do, you are not going to succeed or nothing gets better? To grasp at straws is to do everything but there doesn't seem to be any success. For example, I am studying so hard for my exams but I feel like I'm grasping at straws. I work so hard but I don't have a salary increase yet. It's like I'm grasping at straws. Okay, so that's it for this video. If you feel that you understood the lesson, then take our short quiz and find out. I'll see you in the next one.