Lesson #4 > Bump in the Road" > 10:35 a.m. Joan works at her desk. Jake enters. Jake: Joan: Jake: Joan: Jake: Joan: Jake: Joan: Jake: Joan: Jake: Joan: Joan: Jake: Jake: Sada Hi, Joan. You wanted to see me? Jake, hi. Yes. Come in. We need to talk. Have a seat. L take it that this is about the Biagi account? Right. So, begin at the beginning. Well, it all started last November, just before Black Friday. Back then... Don't tell me the whole story. Just giv me the gist, okay? Sure. The bottom line is Mario Biagi talks out of both sides of his mouth. He says he likes one idea, then two seconds later he turns around and throws cold water on it. He is the client, you know. He does have the final say. Joan, we have bent over backwards for him. He tells us to "Think outside the box." We do and he still flip-flops. So, is my head on the chopping block or what? Of course not. Relax. We'll flesh out some ideas during lunch, then run them by him. And if he gives us the-thumbs-down again? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, we have to step up to the plate and give it our best shot. Biagi Pizza was my first big client. I don't want to lose it. What about the budget for shooting the Chanel ad? Sounds good. So, I've got the OK? Absolutely. Don’t sell yourself short. You've got what it takes to get the job done. This is just a bump in the road. Thanks for the vote of confidence. Joan: Just make Mario Biagi happy. He's a cash cow.y) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 4.A > Defi I take it that... - lassume that... Black Friday - Thanksgiving Friday; a day of sales; the start of Christmas shopping gist (the) - a brief summary; the bottom line talk out of both sides of one's mouth (to) - to contradict oneself throw cold water on something (to) - to reject with criticism bend over backwards (to) - to try hard to please think outside the box (to) - to think differently /originally Slip-flop (to) - to change one's position on the chopping block (to be) - to be in serious trouble flesh out something (to) ~ to develop/expand in detail run something by someone (to) - to present for approval/feedback cross that bridge when one comes to it (to) - to deal with a problem/issue at the time, not before step up to the plate (to) - to take action/ responsibility sell oneself short (to) - to not believe in yourself/ abilities cash cow (a) - a reliable source of income from an established brand / product me Cec4.B > Practice Task Fill in the blanks using the idioms on the previous page. 1. a: 10. 1, be vy 15. The iPhone, the Big Mac and Diet Coke are all Jake wants to shoot a TV commercial on Mt. Everest. Joan, however, that idea and told him to go back to the drawing board. To seal the deal, the team really has Joan hired Sylvia because she always The woman is bursting at the seams with ideas. Josh is always late. The scuttlebutt is his head is When a politician says, "It's time to clean house!" you know she is During their working lunch, Joan some new ideas for a new client, a heavy hitter on Wall Street. Before you run the numbers, I want you that idea before I give you the OK. Don't worry about the Christmas party. It's only September. We'll Ewa speaks English perfectly, yet she is always The team really to make the client happy. Stop . Put a fire under it and hit one out of the park. If someone says, "Just give me ," she means, "I don't have time for the whole story. Just give me the bottom line.” I see you're not eating sushi. you don't like Japanese food. If you want the best deals on , you had better not get stuck in traffic. By 5:00 a.m., retail stores are already bursting at the seams with customers.> The Story Continues Task ® Read the rest of the conversation, then answer the questions. Joan: — Right. Moving on. How's Bobcat Beer doing? What's the latest? Jake: — Steve is giving the owner the pitch at the brewery this morning. Joan: Good. How is the new man Steve doing? Jake: I had my doubts at first, but he's really pulled up his socks. As you know, he signed Office Station last week. They loved his pitch. I'm telling you, the guy is a natural. He hits all the right notes. We definitely lucked out when we landed him. Joan: That's good to hear. What about Bobcat Beer? Does it look like a done deal? Jake: — I'll go out on a limb and say yes. Steve is a closer. He will get the account. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed. How many idioms can you identify in the passage above? What does each mean? Compare your choices to those on pg. 160. For definitions, see the word list, pg. 188. What is Jake's impression of Steve so far? Explain. Is it easy or difficult for you to pitch an idea? Explain. Being able to pitch an idea is an essential part of doing business. Why? Explain. Verbally summarize this lesson. Time yourself. You have 2 minutes.> Expansion > Answers Pg Task } Match the expressions in column A with the definitions in column B. y) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20) Black Tuesday take a bath (to) go the extra mile (to) waffle (to) throw one under the bus (to) throw one a curve (to) throw in the towel (to) discombobulated (to be) ___ on the block (to be) blockbuster (a)___ kick it up a notch (to)___ cross the line (to) __ wait until the cows come home (to) swim with the sharks (to) sacred cow (a)___ beat a dead horse (to) __ bark up the wrong tree (to) __ hound (to) __ What's done is done. (S) throw the baby out with the bath water (to) A) B) °) D) E) F) G) H) D J) k) Ll) M) to flip-flop to give up/surrender/capitulate to be confused/ perplexed /flummoxed to sacrifice for personal gain water under the bridge to wait for a very long time to ask the wrong person; to move in the wrong direction to bother; to go after continually to continue to argue when debate is over to work with heavy hitters when eliminating a negative, a positive element is also eliminated; an avoidable error to be available for purchase to incur a large loss on an investment to bend over backwards for to introduce something new unexpectedly a big financial success to take something to the next level to cross the point of no return untouchable; cannot be criticized October 29, 1929; the stock market crashed signaling the start of the Great DepresCe siti) Task ® Write a sentence using each idiom. 1) I take it that... 2) go the extra mile (to) 3) gist (the) 4) beat a dead horse (to) 5) _ throw cold water on something (to) 6) bend over backwards (to) 7) think outside the box (to) 8) flip-flop (to) 9) on the chopping block (to be) 10) flesh out something (to)11) run something by someone (to) 12) cross that bridge when one comes to it (to) 13) step up to the plate (to) 14) sell oneself short (to) 15) discombobulated (to be) 4.F > More Writing Practice Task % Write a short passage using as many idioms as you can from this lesson. The topic is your choice. Make it business-related if possible.