Business English Vocabulary Challenge: Idioms for Decision-Making

Welcome to the Business English Vocabulary Challenge!

Idioms make your English sound more natural and confident. In this article, you’ll learn three useful idioms. Each idiom comes with a short quiz to help you practice and master their meanings in real-life situations. Let’s dive in!

Today's Challenge:

Click the correct option and listen to each sentence.

KEY

PLAY BY THE RULES

= to follow the rules, to act fairly

He doesn’t like people who don’t play by the rules.

If you don’t play by the rules, you’ll get into trouble.

You can succeed here only if you work hard and play by the rules.

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KEY

JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS

= to decide something quickly without having all the facts

Don’t jump to conclusions before you hear the whole story.

Let’s not jump to conclusions until we see the final report.

I know it looks bad, but don’t jump to conclusions just yet.

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KEY

HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS

= to start doubting a decision you’ve already made

I’m having second thoughts about buying that expensive phone.

Are you having second thoughts about the trip?

He had second thoughts after signing the contract.

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More practice

Fill in the blanks with the correct idiom.

1. Don't __________ before you know all the facts.

2. I was excited about the trip, but now I'm ___________.

3. If you want to win fairly, you have to __________.

KEY

1.jump to conclusions

2.having second thoughts

3.play by the rules

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Vocabulary Challenge IDIOMS.pdf

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