Here’s a great interview conversation. Review it to understand the meanings of idioms, and then answer questions with them.
Software Developer Interview: Mid-Level Role
Interviewer (Maria): Thanks for coming in, Liam. Tell me about a time you encountered a significant technical challenge that felt completely novel.
Candidate (Liam): Honestly, Maria, after working in this industry for five years, I’ve come to realize there’s nothing new under the sun. The problems are usually familiar—just the technology layers change. The last big challenge was a scaling issue, but it boiled down to classic database optimization, not some revolutionary new bug.
Maria: That’s a pragmatic view. We had a candidate yesterday who seemed like a nervous wreck. I wish they would have listened when I told them at the start to just take it easy.
Liam: I can imagine. So, I saw you recently launched a product very similar to one my last company developed. Did you feel like it was a rip off of our core concept, or did you approach the problem differently?
Maria: [Chuckles] That’s a fair question. We were very careful to look before we leap on the IP side. Our architecture is fundamentally different. If anyone thinks we’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes and pretend it’s completely original, they’re mistaken; we innovated heavily on the backend performance.
Liam: That makes sense. Speaking of performance, in my last role, I was frankly sick and tired of dealing with legacy code that was held together with duct tape and hope. Is that something I should expect here?
Maria: We’ve refactored about 80% of our core platform. We’re still not out of the woods entirely on the old customer reporting module—that’s one of the first areas you’d tackle—but the main service is clean.
Liam: Understood. How is the company positioned financially after the Series C funding? I know several early employees made a killing when the competitor went public last year.
Maria: We’re in a great position. We’re well-funded, but the market is still challenging. We secured the funding, but we’re not out of the woods when it comes to hitting profitability targets. It will require strong, efficient engineering, which is where you come in.
Liam: I appreciate the transparency. I’m ready for that challenge.
Maria: Excellent. Let’s move on to system design…
| Idioms | Definition | Sense | Example |
| keep an open mind | to remain aware of many viewpoints or differing ideas | positive | Our new methods are unusual, so please keep an open mind. They are proven effective! |
| look before you leap | to consider the results before taking action | neutral | Jack is very creative, but he doesn’t always look before he leaps. He often wastes time. It’s good idea, but remember to look before you leap! |
| make a killing | to make a lot of money | positive | That cell phone company made a killing on their latest model. |
| nervous wreck | to be very nervous, so much so that people can see the nervous habits | negative | I was a nervous wreck when I gave my presentation in Spanish. My lip was twitching and my hands were shaking–I was so embarassed! |
| not out of the woods | not out of danger (the woods often represent danger in fairy tales) | negative | I think that our research project is doing well, but we’re not out of the woods yet. If we don’t get additional funding, we might have to stop working and lose our data. |
| pull the wool over one’s eyes | to fool a person (by making the other person blind to the truth) | negative | That young executive pulled the wool over my eyes! I thought he was my assistant, but he was play-acting to see what kind of person I am. |
| rip off | something that is not worth the money spent, also “rip one off” means to cheat a person | negative | This purse is such a rip off! It costs $200 and there are no pockets. I feel stupid, but the man on the street corner ripped me off. He sold me a hotdog, but it tasted so bad, I couldn’t eat it. |
| sick and tired of | frustrated by | negative | I’m so sick and tired of my mother-in-law. She always pushes me to make money, and yet she never had a job of her own. |
| take it easy | to relax | positive | After three weeks of hard work, I plan to take it easy tomorrow. I’ll go to the park or watch a movie. |
| there’s nothing new under the sun | most creative ideas have been used by someone in the past | negative | She thinks she has a novel idea that is completely new. I told her that there’s new under the sun, and she should read more books. |
Questions
1. If you are dealing with a new situation, do you tend to keep an open mind? Why or why not?
2. If you are working on an artistic or business-related project, do you look before you leap?
3. Have you ever made a killing on a business project? Or do you know anyone who has made a killing?
4. In what situation might you become a nervous wreck? Why?
5. Do you know of a project or business endeavor that has faced risk and done well, and yet is not out of the woods?
6. Name a time when someone pulled the wool over your eyes (it could have been during childhood).
7. Did you ever buy something and then consider it a rip off? Why?
8. Think about a friend, relative or team venture. What is one thing that you are sick and tired of?
9. When you take it easy, what do you like to do?
10. Do you agree with the idea that there’s nothing new under the sun or do you think that there are always new ideas? Explain.
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