5 min read

Learn These Popular English Idioms about Communication

English is full of idioms about various topics. Learn and remember these popular English idioms related to communication.

Don’t get me wrong: a way of clarifying something you said earlier to avoid a misunderstanding

I'm not going to attend tomorrow's meeting. Don’t get me wrong, I like to participate in team meetings but I have too much work to do these days.

I’ll cut to the chase / I won't beat around the bush: a way of saying that you’ll go directly to expressing the main point of your message

I’ll cut to the chase / I won’t beat around the bush. Your price is too high for us right now, so we are requesting a discount of 10%.

I’m glad that we could clear the air: a way of saying that you’re happy about resolving a conflict or misunderstanding

I’m glad that we could clear the air. I understand why you thought that I wasn’t listening to you, but as I said, I was just thinking about what you were saying. Anyway, thanks for seeing it from my point of view.

It’s just my two cents, but…: a way of modestly offering your opinion

It’s just my two cents but why don’t we make the product smaller so people can fit it in their bags?

I’ll keep you posted: a way of saying that you will update someone when new information becomes available.

I had to bite my tongue: a way of saying that you had to stop yourself from saying something negative

When my manager asked me to stay late at work, I had to bite my tongue and just say "okay". I was furious inside.

You really hit the nail on the head: a way of saying that someone described something perfectly as it is

I won’t sugarcoat it a way of saying bad news exactly the way it is (without trying to make it sound better than it is)

Well, I won’t sugarcoat it, everyone. Our results were really disappointing last quarter. We need to make some changes.

I really put my foot in it: a way of mentioning that you said something embarrassing earlier

I can’t believe that I said “who are you?” instead of “how are you?” when I met the CEO. I really put my foot in it. Luckily, the CEO had a good sense of humor.

It fell on deaf ears: a way of saying that people didn’t listen to what you said or don’t care what you said

I tried to suggest longer breaks for the factory workers, but it fell on deaf ears.

Learn 100 phrasal verbs and 100 idioms (200 lessons in total) to understand the real everyday language used in the business world with my book!

Practice

Choose the correct option provided to fill in the blanks.

Part A

put my foot in it / don't get me wrong / hit the nail on the head / cut to the chase / it's just my two cents

I think I really _____________ when I told the client how our service would benefit their life. He seemed to be really impressed with my proposal.
We didn’t have much time for discussion at the meeting, so I ___________. I explained directly that we didn’t have enough money in the budget to get our projects done on time and that we needed more money to hire more workers.
I think I ______________ when I spoke Spanish to greet my Brazilian supplier. I didn’t realize they speak Portuguese, not Spanish.
My coworker asked me what I thought about the new manager. I told her that ____________ but I thought that the manager seemed knowledgeable and competent.
During my job interview I mentioned that I prefer a fixed work schedule. I knew that she might misinterpret the answer so I told her "_______________, I am a team player and will get the job done, but I have a family to take care of after work.”

Part B

it fell on deaf ears / had to bite my tongue / didn't sugarcoat it / clear the air / I would keep her posted

I paid a lot of money for an instructor to come and train our staff, but he was late, finished early, and didn’t answer any questions from my team. I called the training company to complain about our experience and ____________. I told them that the instructor was very unprofessional and that I would be leaving a negative review on their website.
I made a sales pitch for our new product to one of our biggest clients, but ______________. I never received a call back from them.
The Director kept calling me last week to ask for updates about the project but I didn’t have any information myself so I could only say that ________________.
My colleague was upset with me when I didn’t reply promptly to the email that he sent me last Monday. However, I was able to _____________when I explained that I had 300 emails in my inbox on Monday because I had been on vacation. He understood and apologized.
I _________________ when the client complained to me that our staff were rude because in fact, he was the rude one! However, I knew I had to remain professional.

Answers

Part A

I think I really hit the nail on the head when I told the client how our service would benefit their life. He seemed to be really impressed with my proposal.
We didn’t have much time for discussion at the meeting, so I cut to the chase. I explained directly that we didn’t have enough money in the budget to get our projects done on time and that we needed more money to hire more workers.
I think I put my foot in it when I spoke Spanish to greet my Brazilian supplier. I didn’t realize they speak Portuguese, not Spanish.
My coworker asked me what I thought about the new manager. I told her that it's just my two cents but I thought that the manager seemed knowledgeable and competent.
During my job interview I mentioned that I prefer a fixed work schedule. I knew that she might misinterpret the answer so I told her “don’t get me wrong, I am a team player and will get the job done, but I have a family to take care of after work.”

Part B

I paid a lot of money for an instructor to come and train our staff, but he was late, finished early, and didn’t answer any questions from my team. I called the training company to complain about our experience and didn’t sugarcoat it. I told them that the instructor was very unprofessional and that I would be leaving a negative review on their website.
I made a sales pitch for our new product to one of our biggest clients, but it fell on deaf ears. I never received a call back from them.
The Director kept calling me last week to ask for updates about the project but I didn’t have any information myself so I could only say that I would keep her posted.
My colleague was upset with me when I didn’t reply promptly to the email that he sent me last Monday. However, I was able to clear the air when I explained that I had 300 emails in my inbox on Monday because I had been on vacation. He understood and apologized.
I had to bite my tongue when the client complained to me that our staff were rude because in fact, he was the rude one! However, I knew I had to remain professional.

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