More Speak English Like an American » Lesson 25: One Year Later
Example: After enough people complained, the governor finally agreed to deep-six the new tax on services.
Example: I heard it through the grapevine that Marilyn's husband is leaving her to marry his administrative assitant.
Example: After Oprah picked A New Earth as her book club selection, the book flew off the shelves at bookstores around the country.
Example: Kate is already the star of the tennis team and the president of her class. Winning the art contest is yet another feather in her cap.
Example: Andrea and Dave met at a party and hit it off immediately. They're still together after five years.
Example: Hal and Leah tied the knot during their trip to Las Vegas.
Example: I hate to bad-mouth our receptionist, but she chats on the phone all day and is rude whenever you ask her for anything.
Example: "If we pay for you to get your MBA, you'd better not leave the company once you get your degree." - "I wouldn't dream of it."
Example: After the bank suffered big losses from the mortgage crisis, one of their mortgage brokers got his walking papers.
Example: After being out of the office for six weeks, Anna asked me to give her the lowdown on what she'd missed.
Example: We have a new employee coming out board tomorrow.
Example: Karen just hired a new marketing assistant. She's going to spend a couple of weeks showing him the ropes.
Note: This terms comes from the world of sailing. New sailors were shown how to use the ship's ropes.
Example: When Wendy told me she was dating a married man, I warned her that she was playing with fire.
Choose the best substitute for the phrase in bold:
Ron promotes Mark to marketing director after telling him that the dumplings were a great idea. He tells Mark that he's marrying Cindy and that when they return from their honeymoon, Cindy will start working at the company.
Ron: I'm glad we decided not to launch the meal kits. Grand Foods is going to deep-six their meal Kits. Sales have been terrible.
Mark: Where did you hear that?
Ron: I heard it through the grapevine.
Mark: Good thing we went with the dumplings instead.
Ron: Yes, Madame Chu's dumplings are flying off the shelves! Their success is a real feather in your cap.
Mark: Well, I am proud of the successful launch.
Ron: I'm promoting you to marketing director.
Mark: Thanks. That's great news!
Ron: And you'll be in charge of the company while I'm on my honeymoon.
Mark: Honeymoon? I didn't know you were getting married.
Ron: Yes, I am. Cindy Hansen and I really hit it off. We're tying the knot next month.
Mark: Good for you!
Ron: I know the two of you had some problems in the past, but please don't bad-mouth her around the office.
Mark: I wouldn't dream of it.
Ron: She'll be joining our sales department after we get back from our honeymoon.
Mark: Really? What happened to her job at Shop-Well?
Ron: She got her walking papers after they found out she was giving us the lowdown on Grand Foods.
Mark: I don't think I can work with her.
Ron: Well, she's coming on board, and I expect you to show her the ropes when she gets here.
Mark: I guess I should've known I was playing with fire when I introduced you to!
If you already speak some English and now would like to speak more like a native, “Speak English Like an American” will help you. One of the keys to speaking like a native is the ability to use and understand casual expressions, or idioms. American English is full of idioms. Speak English Like an American will help you understand and use idioms better. It contains over 300 of today's most common idioms.
Speak Business English Like An American covers over 350 idioms and expressions you're likely to encounter in today's business world. Familiarize yourself with all of them.
English idioms, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because idioms don't always make sense literally, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in your own language.