BEP 405 – English Idioms about Animals (2) | Business English Pod :: Learn Business English Online

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Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod for the second part of our series on English idioms related to animals.

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English can be a difficult language to learn.

One reason, which you've likely discovered, is that there are so many different ways to say something.

It's not just a variety of individual words, but also the variety of idioms.

Idioms can be tricky.

You might hear someone say, it's a dog -eat -dog world, and wonder, why are they talking about dogs?

In fact, a dog -eat -dog world is not about dogs at all.

This is an idiom that describes a tough competitive environment, just like the business world in which you're trying to learn English, so you can compete.

English is full of expressions like this, and it turns out that we have dozens of idioms related to animals.

In this lesson, we'll rejoin a conversation among three colleagues in a large corporation.

Ruby, Dylan, and Kyle have been discussing the chief investment officer position in their company as well as the world of investments.

In their conversation, they use many idioms related to animals.

See if you can spot some of these as we go through the dialogue, and we'll explain them later in the debrief.

As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.

One, how does Dylan describe his investment adviser's work habits?

Two, what does Ruby say to communicate to her colleagues that she doesn't have special information to share?

Three, what does Dylan believe the company needs to do to prove they're serious about IT transformation?

Brett was hired in good times when getting good returns seemed easy, which is definitely not the case today.

Tell me about it. I've just met with my own adviser, kinda depressing, getting killed on my investments.

Maybe it's not the market, you know?

You sure that old guy of yours hasn't screwed the pooch and made some bad calls?

No way! I like my guy.

Known him for years.

He looks like a dog, I'll have you know.

It's just... it's just a tough market.

Okay, let's not go down that rabbit hole again.

So, this new guy. I heard he's planning some big changes in IT.

Oh, she's let the cat out of the bag now.

Come on, spill the beans.

I wish I had more details for you, but I don't, so you're barking up the wrong tree.

Oh, come on, we know you've got an inside scoop.

You can't weasel out of this one.

You overestimate me.

This isn't some big corporate secret, it's public knowledge.

You'd both know if you read your emails.

Ha, okay, fair point.

Anyway, it's great news, in my opinion.

We're overdue for some changes.

I'll believe it when I see it.

They can talk about IT transformation until the cows come home, but unless they pony up some decent coin, it ain't happening.

I think it's legit.

Things have changed.

You think it was a dog -eat -dog world before the pandemic?

You ain't seen nothing.

No doubt. If we're gonna compete, we need to level up on our side of the house, and maybe this new guy is just the person we need.

Okay, so you both think this guy is the cat's meow, but wouldn't be the first time we've had someone new come in and give a whole dog and pony show and then just, well, carry on as usual.

Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the idioms Ruby, Dylan, and Kyle used in their conversation.

We rejoin the conversation as they are discussing how the investing environment has changed.

Rhett was hired in good times when getting good returns seemed easy, which is definitely not the case today.

Tell me about it. Just met with my own advisor.

Kinda depressing. Getting killed on my investments.

Maybe it's not the market, you know?

You sure that old guy of yours hasn't screwed the pooch and made some bad calls?

Dylan is upset that he isn't making much money from, or he's getting killed on, his investments.

Kyle wonders if maybe the problem is Dylan's financial advisor.

He jokes that maybe the old guy has screwed the pooch.

The origin of this idiom is unclear, but it basically means to make a mistake, or as Kyle puts it, maybe Dylan's advisor has made some bad calls or decisions.

Let's practice some more ways of using this idiom to screw the pooch.

And by the way, this is quite an informal idiom, so don't use it in formal business situations.

I'm so sorry, everyone, but I think I really screwed the pooch on this proposal.

Sam didn't prepare much and kind of screwed the pooch on his presentation.

Does Dylan agree with Kyle's assessment of his financial advisor?

Let's listen. No way!

I like my guy. Known him for years.

He looks like a dog, I'll have you know.

It's just... it's just a tough market.

As you might be realizing, a lot of animal idioms are related to dogs, and Dylan disagrees with Kyle by saying that his advisor works like a dog.

So how do dogs work?

Well, although dogs aren't usually associated with hard work, that's what this idiom means.

If you work like a dog, you work very hard, as you can hear in the following examples.

I've been working like a dog all week, so I really need this weekend off.

I know you think Hank is lazy, but I've seen him working like a dog.

As we will hear, this isn't the first time Kyle and Dylan have had this discussion.

Let's listen as Ruby switches the topic back to the new CIO.

Okay, let's not go down that rabbit hole again.

So, this new guy, I heard he's planning some big changes in IT.

You've probably never been down an actual rabbit hole, but there's a famous book called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and in that book, the main character Alice follows a rabbit into its hole and enters a strange and complex world.

Now, this expression refers to any time we start talking about or researching something complex or something that takes a lot of time.

You might start reading about something online and suddenly realize a couple of hours have gone by.

That's going down a rabbit hole.

In this case, Ruby doesn't want to keep talking endlessly about Dylan's financial advisor.

So, how else can we talk about going down a rabbit hole?

Let's practice this idiom with a short dialogue.

Can we talk about what happened at the staff meeting last week?

Oh man, please, let's not go down that rabbit hole.

Now, remember, Ruby mentioned that the new CIO was planning some big changes in IT.

Clearly, this sparks Kyle's interest.

Oh, she's let the cat out of the bag now.

Come on, spill the beans.

Kyle uses two different idioms here with basically the same meaning, to spill the beans and to let the cat out of the bag.

It's probably not too obvious what these idioms mean, but it's enough to know that they both mean to reveal secret information.

Kyle is reacting to Ruby's statement about big changes in IT.

This is news to him.

So he thinks Ruby has special information.

In other words, she has let the cat out of the bag, as he puts it.

Let's run through some more ways of using this idiom.

Dave let the cat out of the bag and told me who he's going to hire.

Are you willing to let the cat out of the bag and tell me who the new CEO is?

So does Ruby have any special information to share?

It doesn't sound like it, as we can hear.

I wish I had more details for you, but I don't.

So you're barking up the wrong tree.

Barking is a sound that dogs make.

And barking up a tree is what a dog might do if it thinks there's something in that tree, like another animal.

Maybe even a cat. But if the dog is barking up the wrong tree, then it's not the correct location.

Now we use this idiom whenever someone takes an approach or action that isn't effective, or if someone looks for information in the wrong place.

Let's practice some more ways of talking about barking up the wrong tree.

You're barking up the wrong tree if you think Tom knows what's going on.

Sorry, but you're barking up the wrong tree.

I don't have any influence on this decision.

Ruby says she doesn't have any secret information or an inside scoop, but Dylan doesn't believe her.

Come on, we know you've got an inside scoop.

You can't weasel out of this one.

A weasel is a less common type of animal.

It's smaller than a cat with a long body and short legs.

It's known to be very sneaky.

And if a person is a weasel, it means they're dishonest.

As a result, to weasel out of something is to avoid responsibility.

Maybe you have a colleague who always weaseled out of working overtime when there's lots of work to do.

In this case, Dylan tells Ruby she can't weasel out of sharing the information she has.

What are some other ways we can talk about weaseling out of responsibility?

Let's run through some more examples.

I thought Carla was going to help us on this project, but she's weaseled out of it again.

I managed to weasel out of the staff meeting because I'm just too busy.

As we can hear next, Ruby's colleagues finally give up insisting that she has some special inside knowledge to share.

You overestimate me, this isn't some big corporate secret.

It's public knowledge.

You'd both know if you read your emails.

Okay fair point. Anyway, it's great news in my opinion.

We're overdue for some changes.

I'll believe it when I see it.

They can talk about IT transformation until the cows come home.

Kyle's excited because the company is overdue for some changes in IT.

In other words, they needed some changes a long time ago, but Dylan is doubtful that anything will happen.

He says they can talk about it until the cows come home.

What does it mean to do something until the cows come home?

Well, cows are never in a hurry to do anything.

And if a herd of cows is out in the field, it takes a very long time for them all to come back home.

So until the cows come home simply means for a long time, as you can hear in this short dialogue.

Can I talk to you about possibly joining the marketing team?

You can talk about that until the cows come home, but it won't change my mind.

So what might make Dylan actually believe that they'll see some changes in IT?

Let's listen. But unless they pony up some decent coin, it ain't happening.

To understand what pony up means, it may be helpful to know that coin generally means money.

If you pony up, then you pay money.

We use this especially when the money is owed or is due, like if you pay off a debt or a loan.

Dylan is tired of hearing people just talk about changes in IT.

He will believe it's happening once the company actually ponies up and spends money on it.

Let's run through some more ways of using this idiom to pony up.

If we aren't willing to pony up and pay a good salary, we won't attract good talent.

Finally, the board decide to pony up the money to hire a good manager.

While Dylan doesn't seem to believe the talk about IT transformation, Ruby certainly does, as we can hear.

I think it's legit.

Things have changed.

You think it was a dog -eat -dog world before the pandemic?

You ain't seen nothing.

Ruby believes the talk about making big changes is legitimate or simply legit.

And one reason for believing that is because the world has changed.

More specifically, the world has become even more competitive since the pandemic.

Ruby doesn't use the word competitive.

Instead, she talks about a dog -eat -dog world.

This is a very common idiom.

We used to refer to a very tough, competitive environment.

It gives us a picture of a world where everyone is fighting everyone else for advantage.

Let's try this idiom, dog -eat -dog world, in a short dialogue.

I can't believe they fired me because I missed my sales target.

Come on, it's a dog -eat -dog world.

You can't expect anything different.

Now, let's get back to our conversation as Kyle agrees with Ruby's assessment.

No doubt. If we're going to compete, we need to level up on our side of the house.

And maybe this new guy is just the person we need.

OK, so you both think this guy is the cat's meow.

It's clear to Dylan that both Ruby and Kyle think the new CIO is wonderful.

As he puts it, they both think he's the cat's meow.

We learned earlier that the sound dogs make is called a bark.

Now we have the sound a cat makes, meow.

If we call something the cat's meow, then it's very special or excellent.

You might also hear people say the cat's pajamas or the bee's knees.

These are all animal idioms, meaning special or amazing.

What are some other ways we can use this idiom, the cat's meow?

Let's run through a few more examples.

You think Xavier is the cat's meow now, but you'll find out how lazy he is.

She thinks she's the cat's meow, but I don't think she's that talented.

Next, Dylan explains a bit more why he remains doubtful that the new CIO is all that special.

But wouldn't be the first time we've had someone new come in and give a whole dog and pony show and then just, well, carry on as usual.

Dylan's doubts are based on the fact that they've had new leaders come in and make big promises before, and in many of those cases, nothing changed.

Dylan calls these big promises a dog and pony show.

This idiom comes from the days of travelling circuses, which often feature dogs and ponies.

The expression has come to mean a fancy display or presentation, one that entertains and impresses, but not much else.

That is, a dog and pony show is just talk and no real action.

Let's try a short dialogue to practice this idiom, a dog and pony show.

What did you think of the product launch?

Not much, to be honest.

I'm so sick of these dog and pony shows.

As we've heard throughout this dialogue, the group disagrees on just how much faith they have in the new CIO.

Ruby and Kyle feel very positive about the new guy and potential changes.

Dylan, on the other hand, remains very skeptical that they'll see any improvements.

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...

It's about time you paid money for the office coffee fund.

You can say... It's about time you ponied up for the office coffee fund.

After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.

Ready? Let's give it a go.

I'm sorry, but it looks like I made a big mistake on this proposal.

Answer. I'm sorry, but it looks like I screwed the pooch on this proposal.

I bet Carl will try to avoid responsibility for cleaning up after the office party.

Answer. I bet Carl will try to weasel out of cleaning up after the office party.

Betty deserves a big bonus because she always works very hard.

Answer. Betty deserves a big bonus because she always works like a dog.

I'm sure Sam and Matt will be arguing about this issue for a very long time.

Answer. I'm sure Sam and Matt will be arguing about this issue until the cows come home.

It can feel very hard to succeed in this tough, competitive environment.

Answer. It can feel very hard to succeed in this doggy dog world.

We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our two -part series on idioms related to animals.

We've learned a lot of different idioms for talking about people and activities.

And if the old saying is true that dog is man's best friend, then it's clear by now how often dogs feature in our idioms.

For more practice, premium members can access the online quizzes and PDF transcripts for this and other lessons on the BEP website.

Not a member yet? Then just head over to www .businessenglishpod .com and sign up for a free trial to preview some of the extra resources available to members.

Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.

[Mastering Animal-Related Business Idioms: A Guide to Corporate Communication]-[BEP 405 – English Idioms about Animals (2)]

📋 Summary

Mastering Animal-Related Business Idioms

1. Describing Mistakes and Hard Work

2. Managing Information and Conversations

3. Assessing Corporate Commitment and Competition

🎯Key Sentences

📝Key Phrases

📖 Transcript