Blog

Each week of 2017 we present an English idiom. “to be par for the course”: a behavior, event, or situation that is not good but is normal or as you would expect it to be (normal sein; das war zu erwarten) It’s likely that this phrase comes from the game of golf, which is played …

Each week of 2017 we present an English idiom. “to kill two birds with one stone” = to take care of two things at the same time (zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen) Example 1:  Not only did I make a sale, I also got some information about what our competitor had offered the client. …

Each week of 2017 we present an English idiom. “to make a mountain out of a molehill”: to treat something that is unimportant as if it is extremely important (aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen) Example 1:  The new clients are arriving in 30 minutes but Lena is giving the presentation and is stuck in …

Am 26.3. kommt es in Deutschland wieder zur Zeitumstellung. In der englischen Sprache gibt es ein einfaches Wortspiel als „Eselsbrücke”, welches uns daran erinnert, in welche Richtung wir unsere Uhren stellen müssen: “spring ahead, fall behind”. Wir haben hier den Vorteil, dass die beiden Worte “spring” und “fall” sowohl als Verben als auch als Bezeichnung …

Each week of 2017 we present an English idiom. “the ball is in your court”: it’s your turn to take action, the next step is up to you Example 1:  We’ve formally presented ourselves and provided a detailed bid – now the ball’s in their court. Example 2:  You’ve offered him the job? Then the …

Each week of 2017 we present an English idiom. “to top it off”:  used to introduce the last event in a series of events; usually the series of events and the final event are negative Example 1:  My plane was late, my luggage was lost, and to top it off, my laptop stopped working in …

Each week of 2017 we present an English idiom. “to feel the pinch”: to experience the negative effects of having less money than before Example 1:  Our department is really feeling the pinch as the result of last year’s lower revenues. Our budget was cut by 10%. Example 2:  They even felt the pinch in …

“In like a lion, out like a lamb.” Dieses Sprichwort nutzen wir in den USA Anfang März. Falls der Anfang des Monats stürmisch ist, wird es am Ende des Monats freundlich und windstill.

Each week of 2017 we present an English idiom. “to add my two cents”: to give one’s opinion or thoughts on a topic that is being discussed (meinen Senf dazugeben) Example 1:  Let me just add my two cents. I think opening an office in Gdansk will advance our strategic plan in three ways. First, …