This lesson will focus on using a variety of expressions related to failure.
This lesson will help you use these idioms describing failure. You will also get a chance to talk about your own experiences.
The topic is failure, which might be a familiar subject for some students.
Guide to Business Idioms
Why idioms?
Idioms bring up a lot of pre-packaged imagery. They are emotive and they resonate with native speakers.
Don't over-use them, but on the other hand, a well-placed idiom will bring your language to life.
Warm Up
- Be quick & interesting.
- Note idioms the student uses unprompted.
- You may say, "That was a clear answer, but it wasn't very natural. Let's add some natural expressions using the phrases in the Language section."
- Praise or recommend good spoken grammar:
- use of contractions (it isn't, they're, etc...);
- short, active sentences (clear spoken English often employs such language):
- emphatic language.
Language section
You may take multiple classes for this.
- Encourage short answers, but don't move too quickly (find a balance).
- Focus on the phrase at hand.
- Make sure the student is confident with each one before moving on.
- Encourage the student to express themselves using their own experiences or knowledge as much as possible.
- Model the target language as much as possible.
What's an example of a total failure? It can be a personal example or a widely-known example.
This warm-up should take 2–3 minutes. The student can talk about themselves, their company or the world in general.
Example: the infamous Texas energy company Enron.
Enron tried to hide billions of dollars in debt from failed deals and projects. It all caught up with them in late 2001, and by the end of the year, the company was broke.
Please consider each expression and match them to the images. Your instructor has an example and a question regarding each one.
- come up short—fail to reach a goal or standard.
- cut one's losses—avoid losing any more money than you have already lost.
- easy come, easy go—said when something, especially money, is easily acquired and then soon spent or lost.
- go broke—spend or lose all of your money.
- go down the drain—be completely wasted or spoiled.
A: |
B: |
C: |
D: |
E: |
Spend as long or as short a time as necessary on each phrase, but make sure the student can use it smoothly before moving on. The student should rephrase the "Practice" sentence with the target idiom, and then answer the "Question" using the target idiom.
1. (E) come up short
E.g.: My manager wanted us to brainstorm six new marketing ideas, but we came up short.
Practice: The client wanted us to finish the negotiations by January 1, but we didn’t make the deadline.
→Example answer: The client wanted us to finish the negotiations by January 1, but we came up short.
Question: Have you ever failed to meet a goal or deadline in your job?
→Example answer: Yes, I remember once when I had to prepare a report on my firm’s third-quarter dealings. The report came up short and my manager told me to rewrite it.
2. (B) cut one's losses
E.g.: After losing money consistently for the third consecutive year, they decided to cut their losses and close the business.
Practice: We aren’t making any profit from this venture. I think we should avoid losing any more money.
→Example answer: We aren’t making any profit from this venture. I think we should cut our losses.
Question: Under what circumstances would you withdraw from a business venture?
→Example answer: Well, if I was involved in a business venture that was consistently losing money, at some point I think I would cut my losses.
3. (C) easy come, easy go
E.g.: I won some money on roulette at the casino last night, but then I lost it playing poker. Oh well, easy come, easy go.
Practice: Someone gave me a new mobile phone for my birthday, but it was stolen soon afterwards. Never mind!
→Example answer: Someone gave me a new mobile phone for my birthday, but it was stolen soon afterwards. Never mind! Easy come, easy go!
Question: Have you ever spent money on something and then lost it shortly after? How did you feel about it?
→Example answer: Yes, I once bought a new umbrella, but I left it on the train a couple of days later. I just thought at the time, “Easy come, easy go”!
4. (A) go broke
E.g.: Jim went broke when the company he had invested all of his money in closed down.
Practice: When the stock market collapsed in 2008, many people lost all their money.
→Example answer: When the stock market collapsed in 2008, many people went broke.
Question: What circumstances can make people lose all of their money?
→Example answer: There are many cases in which people can go broke; for example, when they make unwise investments.
5. (D) go down the drain
E.g.: When the goals of the project were completely changed, all our previous efforts went down the drain.
Practice: The contract has been cancelled, so all our hard work has been wasted.
→Example answer: The contract has been cancelled, so all our hard work has gone down the drain.
Question: Have you ever been involved in a project or task where your time and effort have been wasted?
→Example answer: Actually, yes. I was working on a project a couple of years ago where the client realized he couldn’t afford to pay our fee. As a result, all our time and work went down the drain.
A. Complete the anecdote
Read each section and choose an appropriate idiom from the list above.
- The owners of the restaurant had been losing money consistently for more than six months when they finally decided it was time to close the business and…
- Thomas has been speculating on the stock market for a decade and has gained and lost a large amount of money in that time. His attitude towards money has always been…
- Halfway through the research project, funding was cut. All the hard work and energy spent by the scientists…
- Jen worked very hard on the report but when she gave it to her boss, she was told that she would have to do it again because it…
- If the government doesn’t inject money into companies that have been hit hard by the financial crisis, a lot of businesses are going to…
B. Discussion
Use idioms to discuss the following topics.
- What can a person learn from failure?
- How do you feel when your time, money or effort are wasted?
- What advice would you give to someone who has invested in a business that is steadily losing money?
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David Playford via FreeImages
Images Money via Flickr
Travis Wise via Flickr
Aqua Mechanical via Flickr
Vyacheslav Lozhkin via Pixabay