Communication idioms

Дата публикации: Aug 10, 2015 5:30:15 PM

to put somebody in the picture / in the picture, be

Understand, be informed about or be involved in a particular situation or activity.

The new ambassador wanted to be in the picture for every event, small or large.

This term is also used in such locutions as put someone in the picture, meaning "to inform or include someone," as in Put me in the picture about the new staff, or out of the picture, meaning "to be left ignorant of or excluded from some activity," as in The local authorities were out of the picture when it came to drug dealers.

His lawyer put him in the picture about what had happened since his arrest.

to put it in the nutshell

Used when you are going to explain a long or complicated idea, story etc in a quick and simple way

Fig. to state something very concisely. (Alludes to the small size of a nutshell and the amount that it would hold.)

The explanation is long and involved, but let me put it in a nutshell for you.

To put it in a nutshell: you are fired!

To put it in a nutshell, we need to act fast.

to get straight to the point

to talk directly about a subject

Let's not speak about secondary issues and get straight to the point.

to hear it on the grapevine

to hear news from someone who heard the news from someone else (usually + that )

I heard on the grapevine that she was pregnant, but I don't know anything more.

I heard something on the grapevine - are you going to resign?

to get the wrong end of the stick

to not understand a situation correctly

Her friend saw us arrive at the party together and got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

I said how nice he was and Julie got the wrong end of the stick and thought I wanted to go out with him.

Sorry, I got the wrong end of the stick. I thought you meant ..

to be on the same page / wavelenght

mod. have the same understanding or amount of knowledge. (As if people were reading from the same page.) / thinking in a similar way

Usage notes: usually said about efforts made to solve a problem

We’re not on the same page. Listen carefully to what I am telling you.

Louisa said she called the meeting to make sure everybody's on the same page.

to think in a similar way and to understand each other well:

I can't seem to get on with him - we're just not on the same wavelength.

Yeah, I agree with you - we're on the same wavelength.

can't make head or tail of it

can't make head nor tail of something

Fig. [to be] unable to understand someone or something. (Also with cannot.)

John is so strange. I can't make heads or tails of him.

Do this report again. I can't make heads or tails out of it.

Can you help me? I can’t make head nor tail of it.

to talk/be at cross purposes

with opposing viewpoints; with goals that interfere with each other.

If two or more people are at cross purposes, they do not understand each other because they are talking about different subjects without realizing this:

We are arguing at cross-purposes. We aren't even discussing the same thing.

Bill and Tom are working at cross-purposes. They'll never get the job done right.

to beat about the bush

to avoid talking about a difficult or embarrassing subject because you are worried about upsetting the person you are talking to (usually negative)

Don't beat around the bush. Just tell me where my brother is.

There is no point in beating about the bush. I'm leaving you.

Please, stop beating about the bush and get back to the point.

to get our wires crossed

1. Of oneself, to be or become confused, mistaken, or mentally disordered (about something). An allusion to telephone lines being wrongly connected and thus disrupting calls.

I'm sorry for bringing you the wrong order, sir, I've been getting my wires crossed all day!

Wow, it sounds like you really got your wires crossed about how to process that shipment!

2. Of two or more people, to have a miscommunication between one another, resulting in a mistake or misunderstanding.

I'm sorry about all the confusion regarding the contract, Bob; it looks like we got our wires crossed somehow.

I think Mary and Robert's fight is really just the because they got their wires crossed.

Oh, I see now. we are talking at cross-puposes...

Questions

1. What have you heard on the grapevine recently?

Dima's current position

2. When was the last time you got the wrong end of the stick?

follow the sun

3. When is it necessary to put someone in the picture?

newbie

4. In what situation is it good to beat about the bush?

if you don't have enough information to make a decision

5. In what situation is it good to get straight to the point?

if you've already made a decision

6. Can you give an example of when you were talking at cross purposes?

developer vs. admin

7. Is there anything you can't make head or tail of?

a lot of

mind as a magnifying glass/ a microscope / a telescope

+++Business Idioms

The ball is in your court Теперь ваша очередь.

Now is the time for you to decide. The ball is in your court.

To be up to one’s eyes in work По горло в работе.

Sorry, I can't come - I'm up to my eyes in work.

To go with the flow Плыть по течению, не сопротивляться.

That's it. I'm not going to do anything else. I'll just go with the flow.

To have a good (poor) grasp of … Иметь хорошее (плохое) понимание чего-то.

He has a poor grasp of the subject.

To know something inside out Знать что-то досконально.

She knows it inside out. We should definitely hire her.

To run over / behind schedule Отставать от графика.

Hurry up! We're running over schedule.

To get it straight from the horse’s mouth Получить информацию от первоисточника

Trust me, I got it straight from the horse's mouth.