English Idoms - Unit 3: Challenges/Difficulties

I’m feeling very frustrated. I have so much work to do, and I’m still waiting for tech support to upgrade my system to improve the processing speed. I feel like I’m doing the job of three people. I tried multi-tasking, but even when I talk on the phone and read and answer my e-mail at the same time, I can’t get everything done. I’m also having problems with my staff. I have one person who always makes waves and causes arguments with the rest of the staff. Whenever there’s a bottleneck and work builds up so that we fall behind schedule, she’s usually responsible. Our budget has been cut, so I have to find ways to save money; this means I have to cut corners on hiring, so I can’t bring on any new people. I just have to make do with the current team. I was talking with Joe, the other supervisor, during a break. He’s in the same boat. He says his job has become a pain in the neck. His boss is always in his face about something. We both feel like we’re between a rock and a hard place. My wife is going to have a baby, so I need to have a steady income. Joe is about 25 years older than I am. He was planning to retire next year, but he put all his eggs in one basket and invested in a high-tech stock that was supposed to make him a million dollars. Then the market went south and now he’s really up a creek. He doesn’t want to tell his wife about his bad investment, so now he has to keep working for a lot longer than he expected.

1. Upgrade: improve, update, or change for the better

 He needs to upgrade his job skills so he’ll be more employable.

 I upgraded my computer system so I could work better.

2. Multi-tasking: doing more than one thing at the same time.

I can’t keep up with my work. I need to try multi-tasking so I can get everything done.

He got a ticket for multi-tasking while he was driving. He was talking on the car phone and looking up another phone number while he was at the wheel.

3. Make waves: to cause troubles or problems

 I don’t want him on my team because he always makes waves and upsets the others.

 She made waves wherever she went, so she didn’t usually stay long in one company.

4. A bottleneck: a person or place that stops or slows the easy flow of ideas or products

 There’s a bottleneck in manufacturing at the third station on the assembly line.

 We need to make some changes in the process there. That department is always a bottleneck for us when we try to get anything done quickly. They always delay the process.

5. Cut corners: save money or time by substituting inferior materials or not carrying out all the required steps.

 The company cut corners on the new product by using a less expensive part in the design.

 We have to find a way to cut corners on this project because we’ve already gone over our budget.

6. Make do: complete a task using only the available supplies or people

 We don’t have enough yellow paper, so we’ll have to make do with white.

 She ran out of butter, so she made do with oil for the recipes.

7. Be in the same boat: be in the same situation as someone else

 They are both engineers who worked for start-up companies and then left to start their own companies. They are in the same boat.

 Both women have just had their first babies. They are in the same boat.

8. A pain in the neck: a difficult problem or person

 This project has had problems from the beginning. It’s a pain in the neck.

 I left that job because it was a pain in the neck.

9. Be in someone’s face: make someone uncomfortable, be confrontational

 That salesman was really in my face. I didn’t like him. He stood very close and was very persistent.

 She’s a difficult person to work with because she is always in your face. She likes to argue.

10. Be between a rock and a hard place: be a difficult position, unable to escape.

 She’s caught between a rock and a hard place. She needs to invest in research and development to be competitive, but she has to spend all the money just to keep the company going.

 He’s between a rock and a hard place. If he does what his mother wants, his wife will be angry. If he does what his wife wants, his mother will be angry.

11. Put all one’s eggs in one basket: put all one’s money or energy in one place

 Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s less risky to have more than one investment.

 She put all her eggs in one basket, so when the price of gold dropped, she lost everything.

12. The market goes south: the value goes down/declines

 We were doing well with our investments for retirement until the market went south. Now, we’re all worried.

 That country was exporting coffee for a good price, but then the marker went south, and their economy is really hurting now.

13. Be up a creek (without a paddle): be in a difficult situation

If the programmer leaves without giving us any notice, we’ll be up a creek without a paddle.

Our child-care provider quit yesterday, and we are really up a creek trying to work with our new twins.

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