On this episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'll be teaching you 18 phrasal verbs, slang words and idioms all about military vocabulary that's used for business.
You'll be learning vocabulary like stand down in the trenches in the line of fire, take no prisoners and more.
Let's get to it.
Hey there, welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby podcast.
I'm your host, Gabby, your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City.
My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
Are you ready to improve your English skills?
Let's jump right in.
Hey, hey, hey, welcome to episode number 72.
How are you doing in your part of the world?
Here in New York City things are great, but the temperatures are getting colder as we get closer and closer to the winter season.
The month of November here is always what we call a toss-up.
A toss-up is a situation where the result could go wrong. either way.
So the weather in November is sometimes super warm or sometimes it's super cold.
Today was the coldest day in six months and the real field temperature, because of the wind that we have in New York City, felt like negative six Celsius.
Can you believe that?
And it's only November.
Thankfully, For the next two weeks, it won't be this cold again.
But for now, we're just prepping for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, which are only two weeks away.
Isn't it crazy how quickly this year has passed?
Wow.
This past week, we had one of our many holidays.
We have a lot of holidays throughout the year, a lot of days where we don't have to work or go to school.
And this week, we had Veterans Day.
Veterans Day is a national holiday where we honor and thank the men and women who have served in the US military.
That consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard.
Those are the five branches of the American military, the five main branches, I should say.
Now, what is a veteran?
If you've never heard the term veteran before, It's someone who has served in the military, whether in a time of war or a time of peace.
And this day is really about showing our appreciation for their service and sacrifice.
So, even if you never fought in a war, if you served in the military we use the expression serve in the military then this is the holiday where we celebrate those people.
You may have heard the nickname vet before.
So we say he's a vet or a veteran.
The word vet can also apply to a veterinarian, which is an animal doctor.
Typically, when you hear the word vet, you have to listen for the context to see if we're talking about the doctor or the soldier.
Now, Veterans Day might sound kind of familiar to you.
And that's probably because we have another holiday that honors the military, which is Memorial Day.
Memorial Day is at the end of May and it's one of our biggest holidays throughout the year because it's like the unofficial kickoff of summer.
Memorial Day is much bigger than Veterans Day.
Veterans Day honors living veterans who served in the military, while Memorial Day honors every military member who has ever lived from 1776 to up until now.
So they're slightly different.
Memorial Day, you know we'll look back in history and we'll say oh, we're so grateful for the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War or the Civil War, or World War I and World War II.
So yes, believe it or not, well, I'm sure you can believe it.
The United States has two national holidays that honor military people.
And, you know, here, the military, they're very well-respected military members.
And because it's purely voluntary.
So people who volunteer for the military, we usually see them as being very brave, very courageous, willing to protect their country.
Now, military is a very heavy topic.
I understand this.
Unfortunately, my country.
Though I do love my country, I acknowledge all of the bad things that my country has done throughout history.
And I know that our military has hurt many other countries around the world.
And so it's a really heavy topic.
And even though I really want to teach military vocabulary, I don't really want to focus on the military.
So that's why I took a different approach with this episode, and it works out really well.
So, instead of just saying hey, let's talk about the military, it's hey, let's talk about the very popular military vocabulary that we use every day, especially for business.
So it actually works out very, very well.
In business, for example, you might hear people say something like we're gearing up for a launch or our team is on the front lines.
These phrases maybe sound a little bit intense, but they're totally normal in everyday conversation, especially in workplace meetings marketing.
So in this episode...
We're gonna look at 18 military slang words, phrasal verbs and idioms that Americans use all the time in business and in daily life.
You'll learn what they mean, how we use them and how you can start sounding more natural and confident when you use them too.
Now, before we get into the episode, I wanna tell you two really important things.
The first one I'm really excited to talk about.
In two weeks, I'll be launching a brand new mini course called English Through Media.
As you know, I've been an English teacher here in New York City since 2011.
During this time, I've taught thousands of students from all over the world.
I always teach integrated skills a regular traditional class where you learn everything grammar speaking listening,
But we also teach more focused, specific skills, elective classes.
And one of the classes that I've loved teaching through the years is a class called English Through Media.
In this course, I would use different forms of media to teach English.
That's anything from YouTube clips, TV shows movies, even TED Talks, in order to teach English fluency.
You see, textbooks and classroom learning are great.
They're highly beneficial.
If you do it online, if you do it in person, highly beneficial.
But these classes often miss the real life English that you're exposed to in the real world.
So, for example, students will say you know I love learning English, but when I go out on the street I feel totally lost.
When I talk to an American, I feel lost.
When I watch an American TV show, I feel lost because they're using different vocabulary and they're speaking really quickly.
And for this reason, I always encourage my students who are learning English and who really want to improve to watch English TV shows and movies every single day, even if it's just one short 20-minute show.
I've learned that using media to improve your English, it's like a shortcut.
It's a shortcut to learning English.
And you know what?
I noticed a difference when my students watch American TV shows and movies.
I notice how quickly their English improves.
You see, English media shows real life English and how native speakers use English every single day.
It shows you everything from pronunciation, intonation.
It shows body language.
It shows interactions between people, social norms.
It also shows how people actually use grammar.
Of course, vocabulary is so much different when you're on the street talking to native speakers.
Imagine watching your favorite shows, your favorite movies, interviews with your favorite celebrities and improving your English while doing it.
In my mini course, I give you 40 plus PDF lessons that you can use to improve your listening vocabulary pronunciation, grammar and more.
All while learning real English from TV shows, movies, and other forms of media.
It's the shortcut to fluent, natural English, and it's actually fun.
And because it's Black Friday, the launch price is going to be Really great.
Stay tuned for more information.
If you're already on my email list, like if you get the study guides every week, you'll get the information.
I will also have some information here on launch day.
So stay tuned for that.
The second thing I wanted to remind you about is the free study guide that comes with this episode.
It has everything you need to remember what you learn in the episode.
It contains the transcripts, the words definitions, example sentences and practice activities, so that you can practice what you learned.
To get the free study guide, just click the link in the episode description.
All right, now let's take a look at the vocabulary you'll be learning in today's episode.
We have gear up for rally.
The troops take no prisoners in the trenches under fire.
Marching orders on the front lines to drop a bomb or bombshell, battle tested to take flak in the line of fire.
Fight your own battles.
Boots on the ground, stand down, go AWOL.
Raise or wave the white flag, a loose cannon?
Drop your guard or let your guard down.
Now I'm going to read you a story that will have all of this vocabulary in real life contexts.
Listen as I read and try to guess the meanings of the words as you listen for context clues.
After I read the story, we'll review all of the definitions together and and hear some new examples.
All right, so let's get to the story.
Here we go.
It was Monday morning at Miller Marketing and everyone was gearing up for the company's biggest product launch of the year.
Marta, the team manager, was known for her no-nonsense approach and for taking no prisoners.
She called everyone into a quick meeting.
All right, team, she said, time to rally the troops.
We've got three days to make this campaign a success.
Ben, the new intern, was already in the trenches, editing social media posts.
Jenna, the graphic designer, was stressed out and under fire because Marta had given her a lot of tasks and but her computer kept crashing.
Marta handed out everyone's marching orders.
Ben handled the TikTok and Instagram ads.
Jenna fixed the issues with our website, and I'll talk to the client.
Everyone nodded like soldiers on the front lines.
By lunchtime, the pressure was on.
The client dropped a bombshell.
They wanted to change the main slogan of the campaign.
Are you kidding me?
Marta said.
We're too far in to start over.
Ben tried to calm her down.
Hey, your battle tested, Marta.
You've handled worse.
But soon, everyone was taking flack from the client for making small mistakes.
The whole team felt like they were in the line of fire.
So Jenna said, Marta.
Should we call in some help from corporate?
But Marta answered, no.
Let's fight our own battles.
We've already got our boots on the ground and we're almost there.
Finally, after 12 hours, Marta told everyone to stand down and go home.
We don't want your families thinking you've gone AWOL, she said.
We've done enough for today.
Tomorrow, We'll be back in action.
The next morning, Ben showed up early and finished the video edits himself.
When Marta arrived, she was really impressed.
Nice work, Ben, she said.
Then suddenly, the client emailed again.
Another surprise change.
Marta said, oh, that's it.
I'm raising the white flag.
We'll do what they want.
Just as things seemed calm, Jenna came in.
Who approved the background change?
It's awful, she yelled.
Martha looked at Ben.
She's a bit of a loose cannon right now.
The client wanted a change.
But in the end, the campaign launched perfectly.
When the numbers came in, they were better than expected.
Martha smiled and congratulated the team.
They all laughed.
Finally, they were able to let their guard down.
They'd survived another marketing battle.
They were tired, but they were proud and ready for the next one.
The end.
All right, now let's get to the vocabulary.
First up, we have a three-word phrasal verb, gear up for.
Now we can say gear up, but typically we say gear up for.
To gear up for something is to prepare or get ready for something that's big or important.
For example, we're gearing up for the product launch next week, so everyone's working overtime.
Next up we say, Rally the troops.
This is an idiom.
To rally the troops means to bring people together and motivate them to take action.
Troops are another name for soldiers, but we often use troops for groups of people.
So we typically use this in sports, when you're talking to your team, or at your job, when you're talking about your coworkers, maybe at school, with your classmates, for example.
So anytime you want to motivate people, bring them together.
We're going to say it's time to rally the troops.
For example, the manager rallied the troops to meet their deadline.
Next up, we have take no prisoners.
This is an expression and it means to be extremely determined, really tough.
Don't show mercy.
Don't Go easy on anyone.
You've got to be your tough, normal self.
For example, our manager takes no prisoners when it comes to making deals.
That's why his company is so successful.
Next up, we have in the trenches.
Okay, a trench is like a big pit or hole that soldiers build inside And they get into it and shoot from there.
So if you've ever seen a military movie, you'll see in a battle soldiers in like a pit and a bunch of them are there and that's where they shoot the other side.
But what we mean by in the trenches is when you are deeply involved in hard work, detailed work, you are in the trenches.
You are there on the battlefield, even if it's just a work battlefield.
For example, our customer service team is really in the trenches handling all the complaints that people give.
Next up we have to be under fire.
Under fire means to be criticized or pressure for something.
We use this a lot in the media.
So we could say, the president is under fire for his comments.
Military is literally under fire when people are shooting at them.
But in everyday use, we say it means to be pressured or criticized.
For example, the CEO has been under fire because the company missed its quarterly goals.
Next up, we have marching orders.
Marching orders are clear instructions or very direct commands used to do something, often from a boss, or what we call a higher up, anyone who is over you, leading you.
For example, before we left the meeting, we all got our marching orders for the next phase of the project.
Next up, we have the idiom to be on the front lines.
The front lines are the first batch of fighters that go into battle.
So when you're fighting on the front lines metaphorically, as an idiom, this means to be in the most active or challenging part of a situation.
So you're the main person.
You're in the position that is the most difficult.
You're on the front lines.
For example...
Our support staff are on the front lines dealing with customer issues every single day.
Next, we have to drop a bomb or a bombshell.
This is to reveal shocking or surprising news.
This happens all the time.
We might say there was a big scandal and they dropped a bombshell.
The client dropped a bombshell when they said they wanted to change something. the whole campaign.
Next up, we have battle tested.
When you are battle tested.
This means that you are proven to be strong reliable, effective after difficult experiences.
So it basically is someone who came through a battle.
You're battle tested.
You can prove yourself in a battle.
Our new manager is David. battle-tested.
He's been working for over 30 years.
Next up we have to take flack.
Flack is criticism or even blame, and so to take flack from someone means to get or receive criticism or blame.
For example, the marketing team took a lot of flack for our social media failures last year.
Next up, we have the idiom to be in the line of fire.
To be in the line of fire in a military perspective is when you are in the middle of a path of a bullet or a bomb.
So when we use it as an idiom, it's being in a position where you might get criticism, you might get blame, you might get pressure.
For example, Because he's the manager, he's always in the line of fire during press conferences.
Next up, we have to fight your own battles.
I'm sure you can guess this meaning, but this means to handle your own challenges, your own conflicts, your own battles, instead of relying on other people.
For example, you need to fight your own battles if you want to grow as a leader.
We commonly use this also for family.
So we say, no, I don't want my mom fighting my battles for me.
I want to fight my own battles.
Next up, we have the expression stand down.
To stand down means to stop or take a break after intense work or effort.
In the military, standing down means stopping.
You're in the middle of fighting.
Stop.
I want you to stand down.
Take no action.
In a business perspective or how we use this daily, it means take a break.
Stop.
There's been intense work, intense effort, intense fighting.
I want you to stop.
Stand down.
For example, after finishing the campaign, the whole team was told to stand down and take the weekend off.
Next up, we have go AWOL.
A-W-O-L.
AWOL means absent without leave.
AWOL used to mean in the military when a soldier would disappear.
Nobody would know where they are.
Absent A without W-O leave L.
We also use it in daily life to mean someone disappears or doesn't show up when they're supposed to.
So it has a similar meaning, but it's not as dangerous as if a soldier goes AWOL.
For example, she went AWOL right before the final deadline and didn't answer any calls, texts or emails.
Next up, we have to raise the white flag or to wave the white flag.
The white flag is a flag that you hold up and it represents surrender.
So back in the day with military, if one side held up their white flag, it means that they surrender and they weren't going to fight anymore.
This expression.
To wave the white flag or raise the white flag means to admit defeat or stop fighting for something.
For example, after hours of arguing with her client, she finally raised the white flag and and agreed to do what they wanted.
Next up we have a loose cannon.
A cannon is a big type of weapon that shoots out cannonballs or balls that can do a lot of damage.
If you've ever seen pirate movies, pirates have cannons on their ships.
A loose cannon is used to describe a person who a person who is very unpredictable.
They might say or do something that causes problems.
So if someone calls you a loose cannon, it's not a good thing.
For example, you never know what Jake's going to say in meetings.
He's a bit of a loose cannon.
Next, we have the idiom to drop your guard or to let your guard down.
This means to relax and stop being cautious or defensive.
So all the defenses that you had up, all the protection, you let it down.
You relax.
Typically, to drop your guard or let your guard down is a bad thing.
It means that someone was able to trick you, defeat you, take advantage of you.
Oh, I can't believe I let my guard down and I got tricked by the scammers.
For example...
After the presentation went well, we all let our guard down and celebrated.
And lastly, we have the idiom boots on the ground.
This is people who are actively doing the real job, actively doing hands-on work.
So in a company, you have the CEO and then you have workers underneath you with boots on the ground.
They're actually there physically, actively doing the real work.
For example, we need more boots on the ground if we're going to reach our goals.
Can you believe it?
You just learned 18 phrasal verbs, slang words and idioms that you can use every single day in English.
Now I'm going to give you some homework so that you can remember everything that I just taught you.
Step one is to go and download the study guide.
Step two is to pick seven of the vocabulary words and expressions that you just heard in the episode and try to use them.
There are a lot of different ways that you can try to use them.
You can write them in a notebook or write someone an email.
You can text them to someone.
But the thing that I recommend is to use them in sentences.
You can record yourself in an audio message or even talk to someone and be intentional about using the vocabulary.
The more you use the vocabulary in real life contexts, the more naturally and confidently you'll be able to use them in everyday life.
Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast.
Be sure to download today's study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently.
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning.
Also, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave me a review.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
