EFE learning modules / Workplace Challenges & Remote Work

Workplace Challenges & Remote Work

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Burn the candle at both ends

/በርን ዘ ካንድል አት ቦዝ ኤንድስ/

ሌት ተቀን መስራት

To work excessively hard without enough rest.

ያለ እረፍት ለረጅም ሰዓታት በመስራት ራስን ማድከም።

In Practice

"She is burning the candle at both ends to finish the project."
"Working two jobs means he burns the candle at both ends."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe overworking.

Bite off more than you can chew

/ባይት ኦፍ ሞር ዛን ዩ ካን ቹ/

ከአቅም በላይ መሞከር

To take on a task that is way too big.

ከአቅም በላይ የሆነን ስራ ለመስራት መሞከር።

In Practice

"Don't bite off more than you can chew with these remote tasks."
"He bit off more than he could chew by leading three teams."
Fluent Tip

Warning against over-commitment.

Keep your nose to the grindstone

/ኪፕ ዩር ኖዝ ቱ ዘ ግራይንድስቶን/

በትጋት መስራት

To work hard and continuously.

በትኩረት እና በትጋት ስራን መስራትን መቀጠል።

In Practice

"You must keep your nose to the grindstone to meet the deadline."
"She kept her nose to the grindstone all week."
Fluent Tip

Describing persistent hard work.

Get your foot in the door

/ጌት ዩር ፉት ኢን ዘ ዶር/

መጀመሪያ ዕድል ማግኘት

To succeed in taking the first step in an organization.

በአንድ ድርጅት ውስጥ የመጀመሪያውን የሥራ ዕድል ማግኘት።

In Practice

"Internships are a great way to get your foot in the door."
"He took a low-paying job just to get his foot in the door."
Fluent Tip

Starting a career path.

Cut corners

/ካት ኮርነርስ/

ጥራት ማጓደል/ማቆራረጥ

To do something in the easiest or cheapest way, often sacrificing quality.

ስራን ለማቅለል ሲባል ጥራትን በማጓደል መስራት።

In Practice

"We cannot cut corners when it comes to security."
"The developer cut corners and the app crashed."
Fluent Tip

Critiquing poor quality work.

Back to the drawing board

/ባክ ቱ ዘ ድሮይንግ ቦርድ/

ከመጀመሪያው መጀመር

To start over because a previous attempt failed.

አንድ ዕቅድ ስለከሸፈ እንደገና ከመጀመሪያው መጀመር።

In Practice

"The client rejected the proposal, so it's back to the drawing board."
"Our remote strategy failed; back to the drawing board."
Fluent Tip

When a plan fails.

Learn the ropes

/ለርን ዘ ሮፕስ/

ስራውን መልመድ

To learn the basics of a job or activity.

የአንድን ስራ መሰረታዊ ነገሮች መለማመድ።

In Practice

"It took me a month to learn the ropes of remote software."
"The new intern is still learning the ropes."
Fluent Tip

Training period.

The bottom line

/ዘ ቦተም ላይን/

ዋናው ነጥብ

The most important fact or the final profit/loss.

በጣም አስፈላጊው ነጥብ ወይም የመጨረሻው ትርፍና ኪሳራ።

In Practice

"The bottom line is that we need to increase productivity."
"Reducing costs is our bottom line this quarter."
Fluent Tip

Summarizing results.

On the same page

/ኦን ዘ ሴም ፔጅ/

ተመሳሳይ ግንዛቤ መያዝ

To have the same understanding or agreement.

በአንድ ጉዳይ ላይ ተመሳሳይ ግንዛቤ ወይም ስምምነት መኖር።

In Practice

"Before we start the meeting, let's make sure we are all on the same page."
"The remote team needs to be on the same page."
Fluent Tip

Ensuring alignment.

Put something on ice

/ፑት ሰምሲንግ ኦን አይስ/

ለጊዜው ማቆየት

To delay or postpone a project.

አንድን ፕሮጀክት ወይም ዕቅድ ለጊዜው ለሌላ ጊዜ ማስተላለፍ።

In Practice

"We had to put the hiring process on ice due to budget cuts."
"Let's put that idea on ice until next year."
Fluent Tip

Postponement.

Throw in the towel

/ዝሮው ኢን ዘ ታውል/

ተስፋ መቁረጥ

To give up or admit defeat.

ተስፋ መቁረጥ ወይም መሸነፍን አምኖ መቀበል።

In Practice

"After five failed attempts, they threw in the towel."
"Don't throw in the towel just because the tech is hard."
Fluent Tip

Giving up.

Work against the clock

/ወርክ አጌይንስት ዘ ክሎክ/

ከጊዜ ጋር መሽቀዳደም

To work very fast to finish before a deadline.

የተቀመጠው ቀነ-ገደብ ሳያልፍ ስራን ለመጨረስ መፍጠን።

In Practice

"The team is working against the clock to fix the server."
"We are working against the clock for the launch."
Fluent Tip

Time pressure.