Review the conversation between software developers. Then understand the meanings of the idioms and answer questions with them. Get more English practice at speakmethodpro.
☕ Coffee Break Chat
Sarah: “Mark, I heard we just landed the massive ‘Nexus Project.’ We’re going to need to hit the ground running next Monday if we want to meet that initial deadline.”
Mark: “Tell me about it. But our new CI/CD pipeline is so smooth now, getting the basic environment set up should be a snap. It used to take us days!”
Sarah: “True. Remember last quarter when we needed someone to take the blame for the server crash? Poor Tom became the fall guy for a system failure that was honestly beyond anyone’s control.”
Mark: “Yeah, I wish management would have a heart sometimes. They knew he was new. Speaking of new people, how’s that intern doing? Did she manage to get her foot in the door yet with the senior architects?”
Sarah: “She’s trying. But one of the lead devs, Dave, is being unnecessarily critical. Honestly, he’s all bark and no bite. He sounds tough in meetings, but he just caves if you push back with facts.”
Mark: “I know the type. I’m actually trying to carve out a niche for myself in machine learning integration. If I can prove I’m the go-to person for that, it’ll make my promotion review much easier.”
Sarah: “That’s smart. That new UI design they showed us yesterday, though… I thought it looked cluttered. The product owner swore it was sleek.”
Mark: “Well, you know what they say: beauty is in the eye of the beholder, especially with front-end design. It’s functional, I guess.”
Sarah: “I’m sure once we ship the final product, everyone will love it. Say, are you going to the company awards gala Friday? I hear the dress code is formal.”
Mark: “Dream on! I’m an engineer; I’ll show up in my least-stained hoodie. I’d rather spend the time optimizing queries than buying a tuxedo. Though, I suppose I could clean up well if I absolutely had to.”
Sarah: “Ha! Fair enough. Let’s finish up this sprint review first.”
| Idiom | Definition | Sense | Example |
| all bark and no bite | the person might say mean or scary things, but will not do anything bad | neutral, humorous | Don’t worry about our corporate manager. He’s all bark and no bite. |
| beauty is in the eye of the beholder | a phrase that means everyone sees beauty differently | neutral, humorous | He loves that dog, but I think it’s strange-looking. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. |
| carve out a niche | to create a particular point of expertise | positive | I think you have a great business idea, but many people are doing similar things. You will have to carve out a niche of your own. |
| clean up well | to look good when well-dressed (used for people who are often in casual clothes or uniforms) | positive | My professor always wears jeans to class, but when I saw him at the annual gala, I was impressed. He cleans up well! |
| dream on! | keep dreaming–your ideas are not real, only dreams, so you can only continue with dreams/fantasies | neutral | You scored a 980 on the SAT, and you still plan to go to Harvard. Dream on! |
| fall guy | the person who takes the punishment when something goes wrong with a group or organization | negative | I think that man did a few unethical things, but I feel sorry for him. If the company had not needed a fall guy, he probably wouldn’t be in jail. |
| get one’s foot in the door | to get started in an industry by getting a first job or meeting an influential person | neutral to positive | She wants to publish a book, but she doesn’t know how to get her foot in the door of the publishing world. It’s very competitive right now. |
| have a heart | have sympathy | neutral to positive | I know you don’t like sports, but have a heart! This is the World Cup, and I want to watch it. |
| hit the ground running | to have a great start, to be successful at the beginning | positive | We hit the ground running with that advertising campaign. We got 20,000 new subscribers in the first month! |
| it’s a snap | it’s easy (from the idea of snapping your fingers) | positive | I can fix the log-in issue on the website. It’s a snap! It will only take ten minutes. |
Questions
1. Do you know anyone who is all bark and no bite? Describe this person.
2. Think of a famous actor that is beautiful to many people, but not to you. Explain why this person fits the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
3. Have you ever carved out a niche for yourself? Do you think you will need to do so in the future?
4. Name someone you know that cleans up well when that person goes to a formal event.
5. Think of a friend’s dream or fantasy that will probably not come true. Describe how you could tell that person to dream on.
6. In your career or profession, what is a situation in which someone might become a fall guy?
7. If you are a student, how can you get your foot in the door of your chosen profession? If you are already professional, how did you get your foot in the door?
8. Describe a situation in which you might tell a friend or relative to have a heart.
9. Have you ever been a part of a project or campaign that hit the ground running?
10. Name something that some people think is hard, but that you think is a snap.
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