Speak Business English Like an American » LESSON 13 - Discussing a Mistake

Discussing a Mistake

Chris and Todd work for Alpine Design, a furniture manufacturer. When Todd accidentally orders the wrong amount of wood, his boss, Chris, warns him to be more careful in the future.

Chris: Todd, we got our shipment of wood yesterday. We're short by 18 tons.

Todd: Our wood supplier must've made a mistake. I could've sworn that I ordered the right amount.

Chris: You'd better go back and double-check your order.

Todd: Oops, you're right. I accidentally ordered two tons instead of twenty. No big deal. I'll just put in another order.

Chris: When filling out order forms, you need to dot your i's and cross your t's. You shouldn't be making careless mistakes like this.

Todd: I just forgot to add a zero after the two. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. No need to blow things out of proportion.

Chris: This is very serious. Now we won't have enough wood to finish the furniture order we got from La-Z Boy.

Todd: Okay, sorry I dropped the ball.

Chris: Todd, this may be a bitter pill to swallow, but your work lately hasn't been up to scratch. You've really been asleep at the wheel!

Idioms
  • I could've sworn that...
    I really thought that; I was convinced that
    EXAMPLE: You didn't know we already hired somebody for the sales director position? I could've sworn that I told you.

    NOTE: "Sworn" is the past perfect tense of "swear."

  • no big deal
    it's not a problem
    EXAMPLE: Our coffee machine broke? No big deal. Our employees will just have to go to Starbucks until we get a new one.
  • (to) dot your i's and cross your t's
    to be very careful; to pay attention to details
    EXAMPLE: When preparing financial statements, accuracy is very important. Be sure to dot your i's and cross your t's.
  • (to) make a mountain out of a molehill
    to make a big deal out of something small or insignificant
    EXAMPLE: Don't be angry at your boss for not complimenting you on your presentation. He probably just forgot. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
  • (to) blow things out of proportion
    to exaggerate; to make more of something than one should
    EXAMPLE: Our CEO says that if we don't meet our sales target for the month, our company is going to go out of business. He's probably blowing things out of proportion.
  • (to) drop the ball
    to make a mistake; to fail; to do something poorly
    EXAMPLE: You forgot to submit the budget? You really dropped the ball!

    ORIGIN: When a football player drops the ball, his team may lose the chance to score.

  • bitter pill to swallow
    bad news; something unpleasant to accept
    EXAMPLE: After Gina spent her whole summer working as an intern for American Express, failing to get a full-time job offer from the company was a bitter pill to swallow.
  • up to scratch
    good; at the expected level
    EXAMPLE: Your customer service call center isn't up to scratch. They put me on hold for 45 minutes!

    NOTE: You will usually hear this expression in the negative: not up to scratch.

  • asleep at the wheel
    not performing well; neglecting responsibilities; not paying attention to what's going on
    EXAMPLE: The dental hygienist was asleep at the wheel. She accidentally left a big piece of dental floss in the patient's mouth!

    SYNONYMS: asleep at the switch; out to lunch

Practice The Idioms

Fill in the blanks using the following idioms:

  • up to scratch
  • asleep at the wheel
  • bitter pill to swallow
  • drop the ball
  • dot your i's and cross your t's
  • no big deal
  • I could've sworn that
  • blow things out of proportion

Ryan: Eric, we got fifty phone calls this week complaining that our spicy nacho chips are much too spicy. Do you have the machine set correctly?

Eric: Let me check...No, we've got the machine set wrong. It's putting in three times too much hot pepper. That's strange. (1) ___________ I checked it this morning and it was okay.

Ryan: Oh, for heaven's sake! How could you (2) ___________ like this? You must be (3) ___________ .

Eric: Ryan, please don't (4) ___________ . It's really (5) ___________ . I'll just turn this knob right now and adjust the setting.

Ryan: In the future, please be sure to (6) ___________ .

Eric: No need to make a mountain out of a molehill. It's just one little mistake. Some people prefer extra spicy nacho chips anyway!

Ryan: It's not just one little mistake. Lately, your work hasn't been (7) ___________ . This may be a (8) ___________ , but several of us have noticed that your performance has been poor for the past six months.

Answer Key
Practice The Idioms
  1. I could've sworn that
  2. drop the ball
  3. asleep at the wheel
  4. blow things out of proportion
  5. no big deal
  6. dot your i's and cross your t's
  7. up to scratch
  8. bitter pill to swallow
Answer Key
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