Job Titles and Responsibilities
By Jessee
About Idioms

In this lesson, you will learn idioms and expressions related to working in computer systems and technology. You will also learn how to conjugate the idioms and expressions in various verb tenses.


  • How many of these idioms do you know?
  • Can you guess their meaning?
  • Can you use any of them in a sentence?

Idioms and Expressions


to hold the phone

to wait or stop; usually an imperative or interruption

Hold the phone, I have a solution to the problem!

to pull the plug

to stop something from happening or progressing

The company pulled the plug on the deal because it was not going to be profitable.

to have (all the) bells and whistles

to possess extra features that are usually not essential

If you want something more inexpensive, you may want to stick to a computer that does not have all the bells and whistles.

to be on the same wavelength

to agree with or understand someone

It is great to work with people who are on the same wavelength.

to push the panic button

to overreact to a situation

If you want to be successful, you cannot push the panic button every time you experience a setback.

to be (like a) well-oiled machine

to function smoothly and efficiently

We have all worked together for so long that our office is like a well-oiled machine.

to go back to the drawing board

to start over again

Our experiment failed so we went back to the drawing board.

to blow a fuse

to become extremely angry or upset

Our boss is going to blow his fuse if we do not finish this project on time.

to push (someone's) buttons

to do or say something to make someone annoyed, angry, or upset

My colleague knows exactly how to push my buttons!

to get wires crossed

to misunderstand

The meeting is tomorrow? I must have gotten my wires crossed - I thought it was today!


How to Conjugate Idioms

only change the verb part of the phrase

Example
1

to blow a fuse

(past simple tense)

Our boss blew his fuse when we did not finish the project on time. 


Example 
2

to pull the plug

(present continuous tense)

The company is pulling the plug on the project because it is not going to be profitable.


Example
 3

to push (someone's) buttons

(present perfect tense)

My colleague has pushed my buttons several times this week.



Reflection

Describe the following situations using an idiom described in the lesson. 

Anytime something goes wrong at the office, your colleague overreacts. 

You and your colleagues have prepared a presentation for your boss and practiced it extensively. 

You and your partner always agree on every thing and share a lot of the same opinions. 

You buy a new phone which is very cheap, but does not have very many functions. 

You like to tease your colleague until they get annoyed with you.

Ready to learn?

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