English Expression: Level the playing field

English Expression: Level the playing field

English Expression: Level the playing field. This week in class we are talking about inclusive language. This is hard to do with idioms, as they are notoriously not inclusive. In the example given today, someone may say that it is NOT inclusive because it uses sports and so you may need to understand baseball, in this case, to understand the meaning. However, I am using it today because I think it has an important message.

LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD

  • Make a situation equal so that everyone has the same opportunity
  • Adjust a situation so that everyone has the same chance of succeeding.
    • Quotas were created at businesses to level the playing field for women.
    • In order to level the playing field, we need to make the class financially accessible to everyone.

A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

  • Conditions that allow everyone to have the same opportunity to succeed in a situation.
    • It’s not a level playing field. How can children play in the same tournament as adults?
    • We have put quotas in place in order to create a level playing field.

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expression: Level the playing field, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: turn over a new leaf
Expression Session: have skeletons in one’s closet

Cursos inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava, tenemos cursos para todos los niveles y necesidades para mayores de 16 años.

English Expression: Have skeletons in one's closet

English Expression: Have skeletons in one’s closet

English Expression: Have skeletons in one’s closet. It’s Halloween time, so let’s take a look at this very Halloweeny idiom.

HAVE SKELETONS IN ONE’S CLOSET

  • to have a secret about something bad that you have done in the past
    • I’m not sure I trust him. I think he has some skeletons in his closet.
    • We all have skeletons in our closets. I promise I won’t judge you if you tell me them.
  • to have a secret about something embarrassing that happened to you in the past.
    • Don’t bring up all my skeletons in the closet in front of John. It’s too embarrassing.
    • Nobody’s family is perfect. They all have skeletons in the closet.

SKELETONS IN THE CUPBOARD

  • Has the same meaning as skeletons in the closet.
    • I don’t like talking about my skeletons in the cupboard.
    • He never talks about himself. I think he has some skeletons in his cupboard that he doesn’t want to talk about.

Halloween vocabulary

Now that you have seen English Expression: Have skeletons in one’s closet, take a look at our other Halloween-based posts:
How to carve a pumpkin
Vocab Rehab: synonyms for scary
Podcast: off the cuff: Halloween!

Cursos inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio, tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotros: idiomas@camaradealava.com

English Expression: Bear in mind

English Expression: Bear in Mind

English Expression: Bear in mind. When speaking to adults, you don’t always want to tell them to ‘Remember…’ or ‘Don’t forget…’. So, instead we can use this nice expression to tell someone to take something into consideration.

BEAR IN MIND

  • to take something into consideration
  • to remember something when you are making a decision.
    • Please bear in mind that you only have 2 weeks to return the product.
    • Before we buy the refrigerator we need to bear in mind that we may also need to buy a wash machine soon.
    • Bearning in mind that she’s so young, she really knows how to play the violin.

KEEP IN MIND

  • this expression is the same as bear in mind.
    • Keep in mind that the plane leaves very late at night.
    • He told me to keep him in mind if we have a job opening.

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expression: Bear in mind, take a look at our other Expression Session Posts:
Expression Session: brush up on something
Expression Session: neither here nor there

Cursos Inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava tenemos cursos para todos los niveles y necesidades. Para recibir más información sobre los cursos, ponte en contacto con nosotros: idiomas@camaradealava.com, llamar a 945 150 190 o inscribirte aquí.

  • Business English
  • Preparación de Exámenes de Cambridge, EILTS, Oxford Test of English
  • Inglés General
English Expression: Brush up on something

English Expression: brush up on something

English Expression: Brush up on something. It’s that time of year to brush up on your English. Hay cursos de inglés para todos los niveles este trimestre, así que no lo pierdes.

BRUSH UP ON SOMETHING

  • to improve your knowledge or skill on a topic that you previously learned.
  • to remember information or skills that you once knew.
    • I really need to brush up on my French. I was in France and kept using Spanish.
    • We are signing her up for a IT coourse to brush up on her skills before she returns to work.

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expression: Brush up on something, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: neither here nor there
Expression Session: dodge the bullet

CURSOS INGLES

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. También somos un Centro Examinador del Oxford Test of English, una prueba de nivel de A2, B1 y B2 con certificado. Para recibir más información sobre nuestros servicios de inglés, escribe a idiomas@camaradealava.com o llamar a 945 150 190.

  • Cursos para niveles A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 y C2
  • Inglés para negocios / Business English
  • Curos InCompany for empresas
  • Preparación de exámenes de Cambridge, EOI, EILTS, Oxford Test of English
  • Mantenimiento de nivel para B2, C1 y C2
English Expressions: Hang in there

English Expressions: Hang in there

English Expressions: Hang in there. It’s May, the weather is getting nice and we still need to make it through some months before we can enjoy the summer. Hang in there!!! You can do it.

HANG IN THERE

  • A way to tell someone to keep trying even if things are difficult
  • Used to encourage someone to not give up.
    • I know it has been a rough month, but hang in there. Let me know if I can help with anything.
    • I know you are tired, but hang in there. You only have 5 more minutes left.

ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS

Now that you have seen English Expressions: Hang in there, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: Hammer out the details
Expression Session: Catch someone’s eye

CURSOS DE INGLÉS

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Álava, tenemos cursos de todos tipos. Pónte en contacto con nosotros: idiomas@camaradealava.com

  • Preparación de Exámenes de Cambridge, EOI y Oxford Test of English
  • Business English – Inglés para el negocio
    • Cursos presenciales y online
    • Cursos InCompany, especializados para ti y tu negocio
  • Inglés General
    • C1/C2 mantenimiento – fluidez y aumento de vocabulario
    • B1/B2 – ganar confianza, vocabulario y gramática para comunicarse en inglés
English Expression: Hammar out the details

English Expression: Hammar out the details

English Expression: Hammar out the details. Although this expression sounds a bit strange, it’s actually used quite often. If you hammer something like a glass cup, it breaks down into many little pieces. So, the expression means we are going to figure out all the little details.

HAMMER OUT THE DETAILS

  • to discuss something in detail in order to come to an agreement
    • So, we know that we are going to Malaga this summer, but we still need to hammer out the details.
    • The course starts this Saturday but they still haven’t hammered out the details.

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expression: Hammar out the details, take a look at our other Expression Session Posta:
Expression Session: Catch someone’s eye
Expression Session: A ballpark figure

Learning and Using English Expressions

There are so many expressions in every language. Not living in an English speaking country can make it difficult to learn all of them. Here are some tips on how to learn and use English expressions.

  • Read – books and articles are full of English expressions. So, take advantage of them. Choose a book that is challenging but easy enough to enjoy. You don’t have to look up every word. Try to understand the meaning from the context.
  • Watch TV series in English – I know it can be difficult sometimes. You get home late and at the end of the day you just want to relax. Well, start watching something at breakfast or lunch time. Don’t leave it for the end of the day. Small hint – comedies use more colloquial language so it can be harder to understand. Find a story that is easy to follow and doesn’t jump around a lot.
  • Listen to podcasts – there are so many podcasts out there that are quite short. Look for ones that are 3 to 10 minutes, then work your way up to 20 minutes.
  • Try to use the expressions we post weekly in a conversation. Not having conversations in English? Think about how you could use it in a conversation in your own language. You don’t have to say it out loud, but you can think about how to use it.
  • Make a mind map! If you’re a visual learner, make a map of the expressions, separating them into categories.

Good Luck!

English Expressions: ballpark figure

English Expressions: ballpark figure

English Expressions: ballpark figure. So many expressions in English come from sports, and this one comes from one of my favorites – baseball. As you can see, a ballpark in baseball (and in most sports) is vast (very big). So, if I ask someone for a ballpark figure, I am asking for an estimation, not something small, precise and exact.

BALLPARK FIGURE

  • An imprecise estimate of what something might cost or any other number.
  • An inexact number
    • Can you tell me how m any people are coming – just a ballpark figure.
    • There are about 250 people coming, but that’s just a ballpark figure. If you want something more exact, I can tell you tomorrow.

A BALLPARK ESTIMATE

  • This expression has the same meaning as ballpark figure.
  • An inexact number.
    • Can you give me a pallpark estimate of how much this new bathroom is going to cost us?
    • At least 5,000€, but that’s a ballpark estimate. It all depends on how much we are changing and so forth.

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expressions: ballpark figure, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:

Expression Session: be on equal footing
Expression Session: add fuel to the fire

Cursos Inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava, tenemos cursos de:

  • Business English
  • Preparación de exámenes de Cambridge
  • Preparación de examenes de Oxford Test of English. Somos un centro examinador de Oxford.
  • General English
  • Online and face to face.
English Expressions: be on equal footing

English Expressions: be on equal footing

English Expressions: be on equal footing. In a perfect world, we would all be on an equal footing. This means that we would all have the same opportunities and no one would have an advantage. Sounds pretty good, right?

BE ON EQUAL FOOTING

  • to be in a situation where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
  • when people do not have advantages over others.
    • All schools, public or private, should be on an equal footing.
    • We celebrate International Women’s Day in order for women to be on an equal footing as men in all areas of life.
    • It’s not fair to play against someone so much younger than you. You are not on an equal footing.

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expressions: be on equal footing, have a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: fuel to the fire
Expression Session: let your hair down

Cursos Inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de Cámara de Comercio de Álava, tenemos cursos para todos los niveles y necesidades.

At the Escuela de Idiomas at the Alava Chamber of Commerce, we have classes for all levels and needs.

  • Business Classes InCompany o online
  • Cambridge, Oxford, EILTS, EOI exam prep
  • General English
English Expression: fuel to the fire

English Expressions: fuel to the fire

English Expression: fuel to the fire. Do you know someone who only likes to make a bad situation worse? We all know someone like this. This expression is for them!

ADD FUEL TO THE FIRE

  • To make a bad situation worse.
    • My daughter was already angry and then her sister came and added fuel to the fire by making fun of her.
    • She showed up late to the interview and, to add fuel to the fire, she wasn’t dressed appropriately.

PUT/THROW FUEL ON/TO THE FIRE

  • Put or throw can also be used in the expression and it has the same meaning.
    • My boss told me I couldn’t have a raise and, to put fuel on/to the fire, he said I have to work late tonight.
    • Don’t throw fuel on the fire! She is already upset about what you said, so just leave her alone.

English expressions

Expressions in any language are an important part of that country’s culture and the way they express themselves. Not only that, expressions form a large part of English Language tests. At Bloglish we offer a range of B1, B2, C1 and C2 expressions to prepare you for the both.

Now that you have seen English Expression: fuel to the fire, take a look at our other Expression Session Posts:
Expression Session: let your hair down
Expression Session: back to back