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To bend over backwards

A colleague changes her schedule, calls three suppliers, and stays late to solve your problem. Saying she tried hard does not capture the extraordinary effort.

To cut it fine

Your train leaves in twenty minutes, but the journey to the station normally takes eighteen. You might arrive, although almost nothing can go wrong.

To get a word in edgeways

One person has talked for ten uninterrupted minutes. You have something useful to add, but every pause disappears before you can begin.

To jump ship

A company loses its biggest clients, and several senior employees immediately accept jobs elsewhere. Their timing suggests more than an ordinary career change.

To not lift a finger

Three people cook, carry boxes, and clean the room while a fourth person watches from the sofa. How do you emphasise that the watcher contributed nothing?

To pull the plug

A promising project keeps losing money. Its sponsor finally ends the funding, and the whole operation must stop immediately.

To put someone on the spot

During a public meeting, someone unexpectedly asks you to choose which colleague should lose their budget. Everyone waits for your immediate answer.

Torn between

One job offers meaningful work near your family. Another offers better pay in a city you love. Both choices matter, and neither feels easy.

Touch a nerve

A casual remark about school closures suddenly changes your friend's expression. You did not intend harm, but the subject connects with a painful experience.

Trauma meaning: physical injury and shock

Up in the air

You may travel next month, but the dates, budget, and permission are undecided. The trip has not been cancelled, yet nothing is settled.

Up to scratch

A report contains good ideas, but several figures are wrong and key evidence is missing. It is not terrible, although it cannot be accepted yet.

Up to speed

You return after two weeks away. The project has changed, and you need the latest decisions before you can contribute confidently again.

Vain meaning: pride and failed efforts

Vulnerable: Meaning and Everyday Use

Whatever or what ever: choosing the right form

When it comes to

Your friend is generally relaxed, but money makes her extremely careful. You want to narrow a broad description to that one particular subject.

Who or Whom: Choose with Confidence

Word of mouth

A tiny café buys no advertisements, yet every table is full because customers keep recommending it to friends and colleagues.

Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely: How to Choose

Zeal meaning: Energetic Commitment to Goals

adamant meaning: how to use it

apathetic meaning: unconcerned or indifferent

austere meaning: strict, plain, and serious