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War, what is it good for? Idioms!

The news that HMS Dauntless is to be deployed to the Falklands this year reminded me of the war there 30 years ago. This got me thinking about the language surrounding war and I realised that there are lots of idioms and expressions that relate to war and conflict. Let’s have a look at some of them with one of our trainers, Heather.


The first text includes idioms and the second shows you what they mean.

Text 1

I’d set my sights on starting my own business so I needed a bank loan.  When I went for the interview with the financial advisor, he caught me off guard with a lot of the questions and he thought my chance of success was a long shot, however, he suggested that I lowered my sights slightly and we drew up a more realistic plan together and he gave me the loan, so now he’s my knight in shining armour!  When my boss got over the initial bombshell, he said he wasn’t surprised as a lot of people had got the axe recently and that he knew it was an uphill battle trying to please the Board of Directors.  He also said that he was tired of having to watch his back all the time himself! 

Text 2

My ambition was to start my own business so I needed a bank loan.  When I went for the interview with the financial advisor, I wasn’t prepared for a lot of the questions and he thought my chance of success had little chance of success, however, he suggested that I aim for something less ambitious and we drew up a more realistic plan together and he gave me the loan, so now he’s my hero!

When my boss got over the initial shock, he said he wasn’t surprised as a lot of people had lost their jobs recently and that he knew it was very difficult trying to please the Board of Directors.  He also said that he was tired of having to worry about who to trust all the time himself! 

Do any of these idioms translate into your language?  Let me know. 

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