24 Sports Idioms that are Widely Used in the Business World
Do you get confused by sports idioms? Most English learners do.
Sports idioms are very common in the Business world.
If you are an non native English speaker working in the US or UK, you will hear a lot sports idioms you might not understand at once.
This is why Business English lessons at Spoken English Practice dedicate a big part of our lessons to sports idioms.
Our Business English Courses Make Sports Idioms Easy!
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Learning sports idioms is an important step towards achieving native English proficiency.
If you are looking for an internship or a job in the US or UK learning these will help you in your interview process.
So let’s jump in and learn some sports idioms commonly used in the American and British workplaces:
On the ball means being aware of what is happening in a situation
Textbook English Please be aware of what might happen today at work
Idiom Please be on the ball today at work.
Plain sailing means easy
Textbook English I found this project easy to prepare.
Idiom This project was plain sailing for me to prepare.
Get a head start means to start something earlier
Textbook English Get started early on the ads. We will need then early.
Idiom Get a head start on getting the ads ready. We will need those pretty soon.
A level playing field means everyone starts at the same level
Textbook English All the employees started at the same level within the firm.
Idiom The employees started from a level playing field within the firm.
Stay ahead of the game means to be aware of what is happening in a business situation
Textbook English Be aware of who else wants promotion within this firm.
Idiom Stay ahead of the game as far as promotion is concerned within this firm.
The ball is in your court means you need to decide what you are going to do
Textbook English You need to decide which job you apply for this week.
Idiom The ball is in your court with regard the job application this week
Long shot means something that may be difficult but it is worth a try.
Textbook English Getting a job at Google is very difficult but is worth the effort.
Idiom Getting a job at Google is a long shot but worth the effort.
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Jump off the page means that something stands out.
Textbook English The figures on the spreadsheet stood out well.
Idiom The figures on the spreadsheet jumped off the page.
Give (something) one’s best shot means to try your hardest to succeed
Textbook English He tried his hardest to win the contract for his firm.
Idiom He gave his best shot to win the contract for his firm.
Jump to conclusions means one makes an assumption without knowing all the details regarding a situation.
Textbook English She wrongly made the assumption that she had not been promoted.
Idiom She jumped to the conclusion, wrongly, that she had not been promoted
Across the board means that something is applied equally to everybody.
Textbook English Every employee in the firm had the same salary rise.
Idiom Salary rises were applied across the board in the firm.
Meet one’s match means you meet someone who is at the same level as yourself.
Textbook English At the interview he was up against someone who had the same qualifications as himself.
Idiom At the interview he met his match.
Learn the ropes means to learn something new.
Textbook English The new employee had to learn how the department was run when she started
Idiom The new employee had to learn the ropes when she started.
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Skating on thin ice means doing something, which is risky or could be dangerous.
Textbook English He drove too fast and risked losing his license.
Idiom He was skating on thin ice by driving too fast.
Neck and neck means a close race between the two people as to who would be promoted
Textbook English John and Alan were equally qualified for the promotion.
Idiom John and Alan were neck and neck as to who would be promoted.
Don’t go overboard means do not over do (something like spending)
Textbook English Don’t spend too much on decorating the office
Idiom Don’t go overboard with decorating the office
Dive right into a situation means to do something immediately.
Textbook English They started the work project early.
Idiom They dived into starting the work project.
Sink or swim means to fail or be successful due to the efforts one puts in during a situation.
Textbook English He will either fail or be successful with his plans for the business.
Idiom He will sink or swim with his plans for the business.
Approaching the finish line means to coming to the completion of the project
Textbook English We are coming to the completion of the project in the next few days
Idiom We are approaching the finish line.
It was a race against time means there was not much time
Textbook English There was not much time to prepare for the presentation.
Idiom It was a race against time to prepare for the final presentation.
The front-runner means someone who is the favorite to win.
Textbook English She is the favorite to win the marathon next month.
Idiom She is the front-runner to win the marathon next month
At this stage of the game means in this moment
Textbook English In this moment, the Sales team is ahead of the other teams in terms of performance.
Idiom At this stage of the game, the Sales team is ahead of the other teams in terms of performance.
These examples of sport idioms, together with many more, have become a big part of the English language with regard to business situations.
Are Sports Idioms only used in the workplace?
Absolutely not!
Sports idioms are also used in conversation between friends in our every day lives too. It is important to understand why they are used, what they mean and this helps you to speak the English language confidently.
If you don’t know any idioms that come from sports, you may look like someone who does not know anything about sports.
Sports and can be used in every day situations relating to every aspect of our lives both socially and in a business situation. Sports and businesses have much in common in that both involve a great deal of time and energy.
Sports men or women and businessmen or businesswomen can either be extremely successful or can fail. An idiom is a saying that it not used in its normal sense but it helps us produce a picture in our mind.
Looking for more free resources on sports idioms? Here is another post we wrote on sports idioms used in the American workplace.
