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With the World Cup underway, we're taking another look at one of our lessons on English idioms related to football.
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People have been competing in and watching some form of sports for thousands of years.
Sports' enduring popularity has helped it grow into a $2.3 trillion a year industry and is expected to just keep on growing.
Among all sports, there's one that is far and away the most popular.
And that's football or soccer.
Almost half the global population counts themselves as fans of the sport.
So it's no wonder that something this popular has impacted the English language.
Listen to any conversation in a sales meeting, around the water cooler in the boardroom or over drinks between colleagues, and you're guaranteed to hear idioms related to football.
These idioms are so common that most people don't think for a second about where they came from.
They're just a natural part of everyday language.
In today's dialogue, we'll rejoin Marilyn and Carl, two colleagues at a publishing firm.
They're talking about Carl's interest in a job at the company's Sydney branch.
Carl is hoping Marilyn can help him decide whether to apply for the job.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
How does Carl's wife feel about moving to Sydney?
2.
Why does Carl feel like he's cheating on his own company?
3.
What advice does Marilyn give at the end of the conversation?
So what does your wife think?
Would she want to move to Sydney?
Oh, she's scouting out job opportunities and checking out homes online.
At this stage of the game?
Yeah, she's almost ready to pack and I haven't even applied yet.
Sounds like she has a lot of confidence in you.
Why are you hesitating?
I don't know.
It's funny.
I feel like I'm playing away from home a bit, cheating on my own company.
What makes you say that?
Our management is on the ball.
If I don't get the job in Sydney, they could make life difficult for me here.
Do you really think that would happen?
It's not like they're going to show you a red card.
Yeah, but you know how things are around here.
Won't they think my interest in Sydney is a little offside?
No.
Whatever happens, you'd still be on our side.
That's the thing.
I guess I just don't want to let the side down here, you know?
Everyone's been good to me.
Of course.
But you know what's best for your career.
Well, I hope I do.
I just don't want to score an own goal.
You won't.
Look, why don't you just give it your best shot?
The worst that could happen is they say no.
You're right.
I guess it's time to get the ball rolling.
But for now, I'd like to keep this quiet.
Don't worry.
I'm not going to blow the whistle on you.
Thanks, Marilyn.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the football idioms that Marilyn and Carl used in their conversation.
We rejoin the conversation as Marilyn asks what Carl's wife thinks.
So what does your wife think?
Would she want to move to Sydney?
Oh, she's scouting out job opportunities and checking out homes online.
Football teams employ people called scouts whose job is to look for good up-and-coming players.
They scout out different football leagues to identify good prospects.
As you can hear, we use the term scout out as an idiom to mean to look for something.
If you're looking around at a variety of possibilities, whether it's job opportunities or houses for sale, you can use this term scout out.
Let's try some more ways of using this idiom to scout out.
Lars is going to Istanbul next month to scout out some office space.
We're scouting out some new creative talent for our marketing department.
So how does Marilyn react to the fact that Carl's wife is scouting out opportunities in Sydney?
At this stage of the game?
Yeah, she's almost ready to pack and I haven't even applied yet.
Sports and other games.
Progress in stages or phases and strategies may differ in the early stages, the middle stages and the later stages, depending on the score.
In this conversation, Marilyn is surprised that Carl's wife is looking for jobs and houses at this stage of the game.
What she means is that it's still so early in the process.
As Carl says, he hasn't even applied for the job.
How else can we use this idiom, this stage of the game?
Let's practice some more examples.
At this stage of the game we can't afford to make any more mistakes.
I don't see any reason to sell off stock at this stage of the game.
Now let's get back to the dialogue as Carl explains his hesitation.
Sounds like she has a lot of confidence in you.
Why are you hesitating?
I don't know.
It's funny.
I feel like I'm playing away from home a bit, cheating on my own company.
If you are playing away from home, it could mean a couple of things.
This idiom is often used to talk about having an affair or having a relationship with someone outside your marriage.
But that meaning is related to sports, where a team plays some of their games at home in their own city and other games as a visitor in other cities.
Carl is using this idiom to suggest that he feels he's not being loyal to his company.
He's cheating on the company by looking for opportunities away from his home office.
It's like he's being unfaithful to his manager and team.
Let's try some more ways of talking about playing away from home.
James' behaviour on business trips makes me uncomfortable.
He plays away from home quite a bit.
It's no secret Norm is playing away from home with Tina in accounting.
They were very public about it at the holiday party.
Carl isn't really being disloyal and thinking about applying for the job, but he explains that things could get complicated.
Let's listen.
What makes you say that?
Our management is on the ball.
If I don't get the job in Sydney, they could make life difficult for me here.
Carl has to be careful because his management is on the ball, as he says.
In sports we talk a lot about being on the ball, or keeping your eye on the ball.
To mean staying focused and alert.
If you're on the ball, you're smart, you're paying attention, and you know what's going on.
Karl's management is smart and he's worried that they might not like knowing he's pursuing other opportunities.
This idiom, on the ball, is very common in English, so let's run through some more examples.
Olga is an excellent choice for vice president.
She's always on the ball.
Simon hasn't been on the ball lately.
I wonder if he's having trouble at home.
Carl's worried what management will think about him applying for another job, but Marilyn doesn't really see any great risk, as we can hear.
Do you really think that would happen?
It's not like they're going to show you a red card.
Some of the expressions we've been looking at can be heard in several different sports, but showing someone a red card is something that only happens in football.
While other sports have penalties or fouls for breaking the rules, football has a card system.
If the referee shows you a red card, it means you've done something dangerous or unsportsmanlike and you have to leave the game.
Outside of soccer, showing someone a red card means forcing them to leave.
Marilyn really doubts that Carl's management would make him leave for applying for a different job.
Let's go through some more ways of talking about showing someone a red card in business.
I know we're all enjoying the party but the restaurant is closing.
They'll show us a red card before long.
Ernie got angry and started swearing at the meeting.
Someone should have shown him a red card.
Carl still doesn't sound convinced that there's not something a bit wrong about applying for the job.
Let's listen.
Yeah, but you know how things are around here.
Won't they think my interest in Sydney is a little offside?
No.
Whatever happens, you'd still be on our side.
In football you're not allowed to position yourself far down the field past all the other team's players.
That would give you an unfair advantage.
So there's an offside rule to prevent players from gaining that advantage.
Outside of football.
We use this term offside to refer to anything that is not acceptable or not appropriate.
It's not always about clearly breaking a written rule.
Often it's about going against what is expected or what people commonly think is acceptable.
Carl doesn't think management will take his actions so seriously as to fire him, but he's still worried that they'll see it as offside or inappropriate.
What are some other ways we can use this idiom offside?
Let's try some more examples.
I'm not sure that Tony did the right thing.
It seems a bit offside to me.
Have you talked to the legal department about this?
We don't want to do anything offside.
Now, remember that Marilyn tried to reassure Carl by saying he'd still be on our side.
Let's listen and explore this idea of sides some more.
That's the thing.
I guess I just don't want to let the side down here, you know?
Everyone's been good to me.
We say that's the thing to acknowledge a key idea, or when someone makes a point that is related to something we want to say.
In this case, Marilyn's use of the word side relates directly to Carl's biggest worry.
As he says, he doesn't want to let the side down.
In a football match, we use this word side to refer to the teams.
In every game, there are two sides to the competition.
If you let someone down, you are disappointing them.
It means you do something that goes against the team's expectations.
Carl is worried about letting his side down or disappointing his team.
Let's try some more ways of talking about letting your side down.
Marty didn't finish his part in time and that really let the side down.
Homer let the side down when he refused to work last weekend.
Now let's get back to the dialogue as Marilyn continues to reassure Carl.
Of course, but you know what's best for your career.
Well, I hope I do.
I just don't want to score an own goal.
What's the biggest mistake you could make in a football match?
Well, there's probably nothing worse than putting the ball in your own net, pass your own goalkeeper and giving a point to the other side.
This is what Carl is referring to when he says he doesn't want to score an own goal.
If you score an own goal, you are doing something that hurts yourself or your team.
It's about making a bad mistake, as you can hear in the following examples.
I never knew that Betty was so unreliable.
I scored an own goal when I asked her to help me.
I volunteered for more work than I can handle.
I've really scored an own goal this time.
Let's hear how Marilyn responds to Carl's concerns.
You won't.
Look, why don't you just give it your best shot?
The worst that could happen is they say no.
When a football player kicks the ball at the goal in an attempt to score, he is taking a shot.
The shot is the attempted kick, and we use this expression anytime we try something that we aren't sure how it will turn out.
If you give something, your best shot as Marilyn is telling Carl he should do you are trying your best.
Marilyn suggests that Carl won't lose anything by trying.
She thinks he should stop hesitating and just try his best to get the Sydney job.
What are some other ways we can talk about giving something your best shot?
Let's run through some more examples.
Well, we didn't win the account, but we gave it our best shot.
We should still be proud of ourselves.
You gave it your best shot.
That's all anyone could ask for.
As we can hear next, it sounds like Carl is finally ready to take Marilyn's advice.
You're right.
I guess it's time to get the ball rolling.
But for now, I'd like to keep this quiet.
If you get the ball rolling in football, you're kicking a motionless ball.
This happens at the start of each half of the match, when a player kicks the ball from center to a teammate.
If you get the ball rolling outside of football, it just means you start some activity or process.
Carl is saying that it's time for him to begin the process of applying for the job.
To get the ball rolling is a very common English idiom, so let's practice some more ways of using it.
Well, it's nine o'clock.
Let's get the ball rolling.
We'll be fine once we get the ball rolling.
Now, Carl wants to get the ball rolling, but he also said that he wants to keep this quiet.
This expression just means that he doesn't want anyone talking about it, and Marilyn is happy to protect Carl's secret, as we can hear.
Don't worry, I'm not going to blow the whistle on you.
Thanks, Marilyn.
In most team sports, the referee uses a whistle to start or stop the play.
And one common reason for stopping the play is that someone committed a foul or has broken the rules.
If you blow the whistle on someone, it's like you're a referee calling attention to a broken rule.
If your coworker is stealing paper from the office and you blow the whistle, for example, it means you tell the boss about it and of course, after the whistle is blown comes some kind of punishment or penalty.
Marilyn is not going to blow the whistle on carl by telling his management about his plans to apply for the sydney job.
As we've heard, Marilyn doesn't really think it's wrong for Carl to apply for the job, but she uses this idiom because Carl continues to think that his action is a bit offside.
Let's run through some more ways of using this idiom to blow the whistle on someone.
Someone needs to blow the whistle on Adam.
He's looking for a new job during work hours.
Jenny was using her company car for personal business until a client blew the whistle on her.
By now it should be clear that there are so many expressions used in football that are also used in business.
Marilyn and Carl have both shown us just how common sports idioms can be used in a conversation.
Now let's practice some of the idioms from this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences.
Each sentence will be followed by a beep.
After the beep, you need to restate or rephrase the sentence using one of the idioms we learned today.
When you listen to the sentence, think about which idea can be replaced by one of the idioms.
For example, if you hear At this point in the process, timing is critical.
You can say At this stage of the game, timing is critical.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Answer.
Gordon scored an own goal when he insulted the client.
I'm angry with Jean for revealing my secret.
I'm angry with Jean for blowing the whistle on me.
We're looking for space for next year's convention.
Answer.
We're scouting out space for next year's convention.
There were no pay raises last year and that really disappointed the group.
Answer.
There were no pay raises last year and that really let the side down.
Answer.
All you can do is give it your best shot.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our two-part series on idioms related to football.
We've learned lots of great expressions that come from the world of sports to talk about business and different situations.
For more practice.
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Thanks for listening and see you again soon.
