Those words/phrases you highlighted truly are terrible, aren't they? Ping me? Yikes!
I must confess, however, to sometimes using touch base, but that's because my students over the years seem to like that one and pick up on it quickly. Not sure why - I am a fan of sporting idioms, but that isn't one I use a ton (I prefer level the playing field, move the goalposts, set the bar high)
Yes, ping me definitely belongs in the cringe category, though it does seem to survive in tech-land!
And I totally get what you mean about touch base. It somehow feels friendly and easy to say, even though it makes zero literal sense. (Base of what? Where is it? Why are we touching it?) Maybe that’s exactly why learners remember it. It's short, vague and sounds important. (I used to play rounders at school. We had four bases, but I can't remember ever using the phrase "touch base". Mind you, I'm going back a few years!)
I’m trying to cut back on idioms unless I’m sure they’re helpful or fun enough to be worth the effort!
I played baseball growing up, where we also had bases and where I also never recall saying ‘touch base’. You just kind of did it without announcing it! It’s so weird how idioms take on this life of their own. Many have a fun history to them, others are baffling.
In my years as an IELTS examiner, I’d get candidates throwing in idioms willy nilly thinking they’d impress me. I always told my own students preparing for IELTS not to use them unless they can do it naturally and seamlessly. We can always tell when it’s contrived. I might ask a question and if they answer, “yes, well, to get the ball rolling…” and I just cringe inside.
I had a candidate once who was around B1 but she seemed to have memorised way too much cockney rhyming slang. It was jarring hearing her talk about her ‘china plate’ and the other ‘dustbin lids’ at school.
Those words/phrases you highlighted truly are terrible, aren't they? Ping me? Yikes!
I must confess, however, to sometimes using touch base, but that's because my students over the years seem to like that one and pick up on it quickly. Not sure why - I am a fan of sporting idioms, but that isn't one I use a ton (I prefer level the playing field, move the goalposts, set the bar high)
Yes, ping me definitely belongs in the cringe category, though it does seem to survive in tech-land!
And I totally get what you mean about touch base. It somehow feels friendly and easy to say, even though it makes zero literal sense. (Base of what? Where is it? Why are we touching it?) Maybe that’s exactly why learners remember it. It's short, vague and sounds important. (I used to play rounders at school. We had four bases, but I can't remember ever using the phrase "touch base". Mind you, I'm going back a few years!)
I’m trying to cut back on idioms unless I’m sure they’re helpful or fun enough to be worth the effort!
I played baseball growing up, where we also had bases and where I also never recall saying ‘touch base’. You just kind of did it without announcing it! It’s so weird how idioms take on this life of their own. Many have a fun history to them, others are baffling.
In my years as an IELTS examiner, I’d get candidates throwing in idioms willy nilly thinking they’d impress me. I always told my own students preparing for IELTS not to use them unless they can do it naturally and seamlessly. We can always tell when it’s contrived. I might ask a question and if they answer, “yes, well, to get the ball rolling…” and I just cringe inside.
I had a candidate once who was around B1 but she seemed to have memorised way too much cockney rhyming slang. It was jarring hearing her talk about her ‘china plate’ and the other ‘dustbin lids’ at school.
Oh yes, Daniel, idioms can be fun, if they come naturally. But when they’re memorised and dropped in like confetti? Painful.
My husband tries an English idiom now and then, but it’s never quite right.
Instead of two birds, he’ll talk about three…
Cockney rhyming slang at B1? That’s ambitious. And a bit surreal.
I’m sure you were both confused and impressed!
I always tell my learners: Idioms are optional. Communication is not.