Officially, baseball is the national sport in the United States. We even call it “the national past time. And since the world stops at the American border (la frontière) (according to some ‘Mericans (des ‘Ricains)…) the final championship in which only American teams play is called “The World Series.”
But we’re not here to talk about sports, we’re here to talk about work, and more importantly your English at work. So what’s the connection with baseball, you ask?
Baseball has given us tons of idiomatic expressions that we Americans use every day at work. You can listen to this short (3 minutes) radio program to discover more expressions, and practice your comprehension skills. The program is by Americans, for Americans, so get ready for (préparez-vous à) a good challenge!
I specify “Americans” because I recently polled (fait un sondage de) my British friends on Facebook and found that they didn’t know what some of the expressions meant!
After all, they have the oh-so-exciting (du sarcasme: terriblement excitant) sport of cricket, with its matches that last (durent) days…
But enough about the Brits, back to (revenons au) baseball!
Baseball business idioms create two challenges for you: One, they’re idiomatic expressions, which means it’s not always easy to understand what they mean. Two, baseball is pretty non-existant (quasiment inexistant) in France, which means you don’t have the cultural references (that ALL Americans do have).
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of baseball When I think about it, I don’t have any American friends that really like baseball (even if it is far superior to cricket 🙂 When I was in high school, I played soccer, because in the US, it’s more of a girls’ sport. Boys played football (“le foot américain” pour un américain).
Nevertheless, (néanmoins; n’empêche) Americans use a lot of business idioms. Sometimes, it’s idioms to talk about results. Everyday, though, we use idioms that come from baseball.
This week, you’ll learn 4 very common ones on SBFG TV! Which ones?
- a ballpark figure
- three strikes and you’re out
- to touch base with someone
- to strike out
What do they mean exactly? Watch the video to find out! (découvrir; apprendre)
After this episode, you’ll finally understand your American colleagues when they say “Give me a ballpark figure for the project” ou “Can you just touch base with me next week?”
What about you?
Did you know these idioms before watching the video? Or do you know other idioms inspired by sports?
Tell us in the comments below!
And of course, have a great week in English,
Christina
