CHECK YOUR
ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR PHRASAL VERBS AND IDIOMS
IDIOMS AND OTHER
EXPRESSIONS USED FOR TALKING ABOUT ‘WORK’
Exercise 1:
Choose the best definition, (a) or (b),
to explain the idiom or other expression in bold in these sentences.
1
|
Sue has always been a high-flier.
(a) Someone who has achieved a lot
and is determined to continue being successful.
(b) Someone in a company who thinks
they are more important than other people.
|
2
|
I hate carrying the can for people in my department.
(a) Taking instructions from people
and doing what they tell you to do.
(b) Being the person who is
considered responsible for something that has gone wrong
|
3
|
My boss is such a slave driver!
(a) Someone who never has his / her
own ideas, and so steals other people's.
(b) Someone who makes his / her
employees work very hard for long hours.
|
4
|
This job can be difficult at times, but
just go with the
flow.
(a) Work as hard as you can for as
long as you can.
(b) Do what seems like the easiest
thing in a particular situation.
|
5
|
You want 2000 items delivered by
Monday? That's a tall order.
(a) Something very difficult that
someone expects you to do.
(b) Something which happens very
suddenly, especially when you don't expect it.
|
6
|
This company has a long history of
employing movers and
shakers.
(a) People who are powerful or have
a lot of influence.
(b) People who work for a company
for a very short time, then leave.
|
7
|
You've got a choice: you can shape up or ship out!
(a) Do a simple job and receive low
pay, or do a more difficult job and get more pay.
(b) Improve your work and behaviour,
or leave the company.
|
8
|
Friday is dress down day in our department.
(a) A day when employees wear what
they like to work.
(b) A day when each employee's work
and performance during the week is assessed by his / her boss.
|
9
|
Our boss always gives us a lot of ear candy,
although we would rather have a pay rise instead.
(a) Kind words that praise and
encourage an employee.
(b) Small gifts, such as chocolate,
cinema tickets, bottles of wine, etc.
|
10
|
It's time we cut out the
dead wood in this company.
(a) Dismiss the employees who do not
work very well or efficiently.
(b) Reduce the number of unnecessary
meetings and discussions.
|
11
|
He's an industrious member of staff,
but his work really isn't up to the mark.
(a) Good enough.
(b) Fast enough.
|
12
|
Our line manager is always picking holes in my work.
(a) Giving someone more work than
they can do in the time allowed.
(b) Finding faults or mistakes with
someone's work.
|
13
|
This newspaper survey says that most
people who call in sick on Monday are pulling a fast one.
(a) Working too hard the rest of the
week, and not relaxing enough during their free time.
(b) Pretending something that is not
true in order to trick someone.
|
14
|
My boss is always laying down the law.
(a) Breaking the rules in order to
get what you want.
(b) Telling people what to do or how
to behave.
|
15
|
Your request for a pay rise is out
of the question.
(a) Not possible.
(b) Being considered by the people
responsible for giving pay rises.
|
Exercise 2:
Choose the correct idiomatic word or
expression for each of these sentences.
1
|
A job that offers no prospect of
promotion is sometimes known as a / an…
|
|||||||
a
|
hatchet job
|
b
|
dead-end job
|
c
|
inside job
|
d
|
nose job
|
|
2
|
Boring and detailed work, such as
examining documents for mistakes, can be described as…
|
|||||||
a
|
hammer and chisel work
|
b
|
nut and bolt work
|
c
|
bucket and spade work
|
d
|
pick and shovel work
|
|
3
|
We sometimes say that people who
compete for success in business or in a career are working for the…
|
|||||||
a
|
horse race
|
b
|
dog race
|
c
|
rat race
|
d
|
camel race
|
|
4
|
We might refer to a bad employer with a
reputation for losing talented staff as a…
|
|||||||
a
|
people churner
|
b
|
people mixer
|
c
|
people stirrer
|
d
|
people beater
|
|
5
|
If you do a lot of different types of
work in an office for very low pay, you could be referred to as a…
|
|||||||
a
|
catsbody
|
b
|
pigsbody
|
c
|
ratsbody
|
d
|
dogsbody
|
|
6
|
When an employee telephones to say that
s/he is not coming to work because s/he is ill, but in fact is only
pretending to be ill, we say that s/he is throwing…
|
|||||||
a
|
a sickle
|
b
|
the book at someone
|
c
|
a wobbly
|
d
|
a punch
|
|
7
|
If an employee gets very angry at work
because of something bad or unpleasant that happens, we can say that they are
experiencing…
|
|||||||
a
|
office anger
|
b
|
work rage
|
c
|
shopfloor strops
|
d
|
workplace wobblies
|
|
8
|
Work that offers the same money for
less effort than another similar job is often known as…
|
|||||||
a
|
a cushy number
|
b
|
a doddle
|
c
|
a pushover
|
d
|
child’s play
|
|
9
|
When somebody is dismissed from their
job, we can say that they have…
|
|||||||
a
|
got the shoe
|
b
|
got the sandal
|
c
|
got the boot
|
d
|
got the slipper
|
|
10
|
Someone who receives very little money
for their job can be said to make, earn or receive…
|
|||||||
a
|
water
|
b
|
stones
|
c
|
sweets
|
d
|
panuts
|
|
11
|
Someone who works extremely hard for a
long time might complain that they are working their…
|
|||||||
a
|
nose to the grindstone
|
b
|
fingers to the bone
|
c
|
ear to the ground
|
d
|
back to the wall
|
|
12
|
An employee who works very hard in a
determined way can be said to…
|
|||||||
a
|
chisel away
|
b
|
cut away
|
c
|
beaver away
|
d
|
hammer away
|
|
13
|
Some people have a second job in
addition to their main job, which they might want to keep secret from their
employer. This is called
|
|||||||
a
|
sunlighting
|
b
|
starlighting
|
c
|
lamplighting
|
d
|
moonlighting
|
|
14
|
A lazy employee who only pretends to
work is said to be…
|
|||||||
a
|
swinging a cat balance
|
b
|
swinging both ways
|
c
|
swinging the lead
|
d
|
swinging the balance
|
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15
|
Someone who is out of work and claiming
money from the government can be said to be…
|
|||||||
a
|
on the dole
|
b
|
on the pull
|
c
|
on the razzle
|
d
|
on the level
|
|
a
|
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b
|
|
c
|
|
d
|
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Also see: Phrasal verbs, idioms and other
expressions using 'work' on the next page.
ANSWER KEY
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