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Transcript:

Hi everyone!

I’m Georgiana; founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU speak English fluently.

In today’s episode:

• I’ll talk again about the most common business expressions.
• Later, you’ll practice your English speaking with a funny story with questions and answers.

Awesome! Let’s get started!

• A long shot

If you describe a solution to a problem as a remote possibility, it means there is little chance of success, but you think it’s worth a try. The idiom originates from the concept of a shot at a target from a great distance, therefore difficult to make.

Example:
“You could try to find that mysterious man. It’s a long shot, but you could start surfing the internet.”

• To go broke

If you go broke, you experience a financial collapse. You’ll lose most or all of your money.

Example:
“Our company is going to go broke anytime unless you stop spending money foolishly.”

• Start from scratch

The meaning of this expression is to start doing something over from the beginning.  The root of the expression comes from races in which the scratch line was the starting point and wouldn’t offer any advantage to anyone. Disabled people would be given shorter distances to run, but they would always start from scratch.

Example:
“The company expects me to start from scratch and redo the entire task because I missed a key point. 

• Down the drain

This metaphoric term refers to water going down a drain and being carried off.

If something is going down the drain, it means that it’s getting worse or being destroyed and it’s unlikely to recover.

Example:
“Everything’s ruined. My big plans, my great company. All those years of work are down the drain.”

• Go Out of Business

When a company goes out of business, or something puts it out of business, it stops operating, especially because of financial problems.

Example:
“Highest interest rates can drive small companies out of business.“

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