Lesson 12: Idioms Related to

Work & Employment

Introductory Quiz
Guess the correct meaning of each idiom from the context. It's OK if you get a lot
of answers wrong – what’s important is to do your best in trying to figure it out!

1) Just when I'd finally organized my five kids' weekday schedules, my

daughter's dance teacher threw a wrench in the works by changing her class
from Wednesday to Thursday.

To "throw a wrench in the works" means...

A be late or delayed
B complicate matters
C do something without checking

2) We can debate strategy and tactics all day long, but the bottom line is that
we need to win Saturday's soccer game, otherwise we'll be disqualified from
the tournament.

The "bottom line" is...

A the bad news

B the essential fact
C the point that nobody acknowledges

3) My uncle has worked as a painter, a truck driver, a stonemason, and a

plumber. He's a jack of all trades.

A "jack of all trades" means a person who...

A can't keep a job

B has many skills
C works very hard

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
4) I'm in charge of organizing an international conference with 2,000 people.
The event starts on Friday, so I'll probably be burning the midnight oil every
day this week.

If you are "burning the midnight oil," it means that you...

A are networking with a lot of important people

B are putting yourself in a dangerous situation
C are working very late into the night

5) I had just put the peanut butter chocolate cake in the oven, when I
remembered that our guests' son is allergic to peanuts - so I had to go back to
the drawing board.

If you go "back to the drawing board," it means you...

A forgot an important fact

B need to buy a missing ingredient
C start again from the beginning

6) Laura is a good singer, but she can't hold a candle to Joanna, who sounds
like she could be a professional.

If something/someone "can't hold a candle to" someone or something else, it

means they...

A are not as good

B are jealous
C don't work in the same area

7) My company isn't hiring right now, but I was able to pull some strings and
get you an interview anyway.

If you "pull some strings," it means you...

A break the rules

B pay to get access to an opportunity
C secretly use your influence

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
8) Two cashiers were sacked after the customers repeatedly complained
about their terrible service.

If a person was "sacked," he or she...

A was angry
B was criticized by the boss
C was fired

9) All new employees need to attend a training session on the nuts and bolts
of the company's operations - no exceptions.

"The nuts and bolts" are...

A the essential basics

B the domestic and international
C the history and future

10) My first assignment in my new job was to organize all the company's files
from the last decade. It was hours of grunt work.

"Grunt work" is work that...

A is complex and challenging

B is done by only one person
C is repetitive and boring

11) After two decades of climbing the career ladder, Vanessa finally became
president of a billion-dollar corporation.

"Climbing the career ladder" means...

A advancing in your career

B doing jobs for rich people
C working for a famous company

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
Explanation

#1 - throw a wrench in the works = (B) – complicate matters

A wrench is a type of tool, and if a wrench accidentally gets caught in

machinery, the machine will malfunction or stop working. Note: The British
English form of this idiom is “put a spanner in the works.”

#2 - the bottom line = (B) – the essential fact

This idiom comes from accounting - you can do lots of calculations, but the
final most important number is on the bottom line. So the expression "the
bottom line" can be used in any situation to mean the essential fact.

#3 - jack of all trades = (B) – a person who has many different

skills

"Jack" is a common name in English, and a "trade" is an old word for a job in a
specific area of expertise. Sometimes this idiom has a positive connotation,
since it describes a person with many different abilities who is useful in
various situations - however, sometimes this idiom is used with a negative
connotation. There is an expression "jack of all trades, master of none" which
means that the person can do a lot of things, but is not really very good at any
of them; his knowledge is all superficial.

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
#4 - burning the midnight oil = (C) – working very late into the
night

In the past, before there was electrical power, you needed to use an oil lamp to
provide light if you wanted to work at night.

Even though we no longer use oil lamps, the idiom "burning the midnight oil"
continues to be used in modern English to describe working very late.

#5 - go back to the drawing board = (C) – start again from the

beginning

In architecture, the first step in a project is often making a drawing of the

building or structure that will be constructed. If there's a problem with the
implementation of the plan, the architects have to start again from the
beginning and make a new drawing.

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
#6 - can't hold a candle to = (A) – not as good as / inferior

In the past, master workers had an assistant holding a candle so that the
master could better see his work. The person holding the candle had a lower
status than the master worker. If there was a person who wasn't even capable
of holding the candle, then he would be considered extremely inferior.

You can use this idiom with both people and things:

• Frank works fast, but he can't hold a candle to Joe.

= Joe works MUCH faster
• My old computer can't hold a candle to my new one.
= the new computer is FAR superior

#7 - pull some strings = (C) – secretly use your influence

This idiom comes from an art form where a puppeteer pulls strings to
manipulate the movement of puppets or marionettes. In everyday life, if you
"pull some strings," it means you use your influence to manipulate a situation.

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
Pulling some strings can be good - if you influence people in an ethical way.
However, it can also be bad - if you do it in an unethical way or to gain a truly
unfair advantage.

#8 - sacked = (C) – fired

English has a large number of idioms for losing your job.

Some of the informal idioms are:

• He was sacked
• He was fired
• He was canned
• He got the ax
• He got a pink slip
Some of the more diplomatic idioms are:

• She was laid off

• She lost her job
• She was dismissed

#9 - nuts and bolts = (A) – the essential basics

These are nuts and bolts. These small but essential pieces help a machine to
function correctly. If you learn the nuts and bolts of a subject, you learn the
essential, basic, and practical aspects of that topic.

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
#10 - grunt work = (C) – work that is repetitive and boring

The word "grunt" refers to a sound people make when they are struggling to
lift something heavy - or doing another task that is physically difficult. Manual
labor is often considered repetitive and boring. But the idiom "grunt work"
can be used for any type of work that is not very glamorous, and also not very
highly appreciated by other people.

#11 - climb the career ladder = (A) – advance in your career

A ladder is a piece of equipment that helps you go up to higher places - so

climbing the career ladder means advancing to higher and higher positions in
your career.

Now take the practice quiz and try the short-answer exercises!

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
Practice Quiz
1) No matter how much I try to get my work done ahead of time, I always end
up ______________ in the last few days before my vacation.

A burning the midnight oil

B going back to the drawing board
C throwing a wrench in the works

2) I suspect that Lindsey ____________ to get her son's picture on the front page
of the newspaper.

A couldn't hold a candle

B pulled some strings
C did some grunt work

3) I can't believe I _____________ - I had thought that job was quite stable, but
apparently not.

A am a jack of all trades

B climbed the career ladder
C was sacked

4) The roof is leaking, the garage door is broken, the walls are infested with
mice... ____________ is that the house really isn't in the best condition.

A the nuts and bolts

B the bottom line
C the wrench in the works

5) Doing research for a police investigation sounds exciting, but it's nothing
like what you see on TV - it's mostly ______________.

A grunt work
B pulling strings
C midnight oil

6) The new software that we bought 500 copies of isn't compatible with our
computers?! Well, that ______________.
www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
 A can't hold a candle
B goes back the drawing board
C throws a wrench in the works

7) This creative writing workshop will teach you the _____________: how to
construct a story, how to develop the characters, etc.

A grunt work
B nuts and bolts
C career ladder

8) This stuff they call "music" nowadays _____________ to classic rock - now
THAT was real music!

A can't hold a candle

B is a jack of all trades
C was sacked

9) You can't be lazy if you want to ______________ - you need to show initiative.

A climb the career ladder

B be a jack of all trades
C burn the midnight oil

10) Let's make sure we plan carefully and do everything right the first time; I
don't want to have to __________________.

A do grunt work
B go back to the drawing board
C pull some strings

Answers are at the end of this lesson.

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012
Short-Answer Exercises
1) Have you ever had plans, but then something threw a wrench in the
works? Describe the situation.
2) Do you think it’s better to be a “jack of all trades,” or to have specialized
skills in only one area?
3) Describe a time when you had to go back to the drawing board.
4) Have you ever had to “pull some strings” to get what you wanted in a
particular situation?
5) Every job has some parts that are “grunt work.” What are the tasks that
feel like grunt work in your job?

If you want correction / feedback, you can e-mail me your writing at

homework@espressoenglish.net

Practice Quiz Answers

1) A
2) B
3) C
4) B
5) A
6) C
7) B
8) A
9) A
10) B

www.espressoenglish.net
© Shayna Oliveira 2012