One vocabulary a day

      One vocabulary a day

      to gauge ( sounds like wage)

      If you gauge something, you guess or estimate it.


      Examples

      People are better able to gauge what is good for their health than in the past.
      I can't really gauge how much money our department will need next year.
      It's not always easy to gauge when the best time is to put winter tires on your car.
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      One vocabulary a day

      to discriminate against someone (discrimination)

      If you discriminate against someone then you automatically have a low opinion about them because of their sex, age or appearance.


      Examples

      It is illegal to discriminate against people because of their age.
      The personnel boss lost her job because she discriminated against black people.
      Sex discrimination is still a big problem at work.
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      One vocabulary a day

      To bury their/our differences ('bury' sounds like 'berry')

      If people bury their differences then they talk about and solve problems which you had in the past so that they now have a better relationship.


      Examples

      I buried my differences with my neighbors.
      We had a long talk to bury our differences.
      I think you should both sit down and discuss this so that you can bury your differences.
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      One vocabulary a day

      to win over

      If you win people over, then you convince them that your ideas are good.


      Examples

      The boss had to talk to us about the new working practices. I don't think he really won us over.
      The new government will have to work had to win over public opinion.
      I loved this new software as soon as I tried it. I was won over immediately.
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      RE: One vocabulary a day

      might

      This is another word for great power, but not in the sense of machinery.


      Examples

      The US likes other countries to know about its military might.
      At the beginning of the 20th century, steel production was an important way to measure a country's might.
      The financial might of many large companies is bigger than that of some small countries.
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      One vocabulary a day

      My hands are tied

      This means that you can't really do what you would like because of your budget or orders from your boss.


      Examples

      I would like to improve the system but my hands are tied, it's too expensive.
      The boss wanted to employ more people but his hands were tied by our employment policy.
      I wanted to offer the customer a better deal in the negotiation but my hands are tied - I have to follow my boss's instructions.
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      One vocabulary a day

      you and yours

      This is often used as a greeting, especially at Christmas, if you don't know exactly if someone is married or not, so you can't really say 'your family'.
      You and yours means 'You and all the people you care about, either family or friends', so it's very useful at this time of year.


      Examples

      Merry Christmas to you and yours.
      All the best to you and yours.
      A very happy Christmas to you and yours.
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      One vocabulary a day

      It was the final nail in the coffin

      A coffin is a box for dead people and we use this idiom when something that is nearly finished is finally stopped.


      Examples

      When 3 people from our project left the company it was the last nail in the coffin and the project was cancelled.
      The company is already in big trouble and if we lose our biggest customer it will be the last nail in the coffin.
      When the heating broke in my old car it was the last nail in the coffin and I scrapped it.
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      One vocabulary a day

      to go / to get back to basics

      This is what we say when we have to stop doing complicated things and just concentrate on the simple things.


      Examples

      We had to go back to basics when we found that there were so many things wrong with the project.
      The marketing manager said that our marketing was too complicated and that we need to go back to basics.
      Let's get back to basics - why do customers actually buy our products?
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      One vocabulary a day

      quick as a flash

      If something happens quick as a flash, it's very fast. A flash is what you get if there is a sudden burst of light, like from a camera when it's not light enough.
      We should actually say 'as quick as a flash,' but we don't, we leave out the first as.


      Examples

      When the competitor lowered their prices, we reacted quick as a flash.
      Anita was quick as a flash when the boss asked if anyone had any ideas.
      My shares were doing really well and then, quick as a flash, they lost 30% of their value.
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      One vocabulary a day

      a long shot

      If you have a problem, a long shot is unlikely to solve it. But it's the only thing you can try, because you don't have any other choice.


      Examples

      It's a long shot, but it might work.
      Changing our product range is a long shot, but it was the only way we had to try to improve our sales figures.
      A What do you think about moving to a new office with lower overheads?
      B It's a long shot but I don't know what else we can do.

      This phrase was made famous in a 1950s science-fiction movie where a monster is attacking a city. Someone suggested a solution to get rid of the monster and another character answered 'It's a long shot, but it might just work.'
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