Online Tutor For English
Go back to Beginner Level Conversations
Idioms:
put yourself back against the wall
Jim: The stock market has lost one-hundred points today, and I'm worried about my money.
Stacy: I hear a lot about the stock market instability these days. I have sold all my stocks and put my money in the CD market and Municipal Bonds.
Jim: CD interest rates are only about 3.2 percent for one year investment. For the Municipal Bonds, the interest is just a little bit higher. Still you have to pay taxes for both CD and Municipal Bonds.
Stacy: Yeah. You're right. But you put your back against the wall with all this volatile stock market.
Jim: But without taking risk, you cannot make money in the stock market.
Stacy: Who needs that kind of risk? In the last four years the stock market has earned almost nothing.
Jim: I am still bullish somewhat.
Stacy: Your bullishness worries me. How long you will be bullish? Until you lose your shirt?
Idioms:
put your back against the wall: idiomatic phrase. To put yourself in a dangerous situation. If you put yourself against the wall, there is no way to escape. If you put your self against the wall with the stock market, it will be impossible to recover the money you lose.
back against the wall: adverb. In a trap. With no way to escape; in bad trouble. For example: "The soldiers had their backs to the wall." This sentence means the soldiers were in a bad situation and they had to fight or give up.
lose your shirt: idiomatic phrase. To lose everything you have because you keep doing things until you lose everything. For example: "I have tried to support my daughter's college education until I lost my shirt." This sentence means I have spent all my money on my daughter's education.
bullish: adjective. to be optimistic about the stock market
lost: past and present participle form of the verb lose. " I have lost; he has lost." See The Present Perfect Tense.
instability: noun. Uncertainty
CD: compound noun. Certificate of Deposit. A stock market investment
Municipal Bond: Government's bonds
interest: The money your investments earn. For example: "I earned 5 percent interest on my savings."
take risk: idiomatic verb: If you take a risk, you may succeed or fail. There is no guarantee that you will succeed, but t it's worth taking a risk sometimes. For example: "I will undergo this surgery. I know I am taking a risk but it's worth it, I may get better."
Who needs it: an idiomatic phrase. It means "it is not good for you." If someone tells you "Who needs this salty food?", it means salty food is not good for your health.
© 2011 Copy Rights Reserved at Online Tutor For English
Business English Conversations
Daily Conversations Vocabulary
How to use new vocabulary correctly
Writing Links:
Illustrations of a Well Written Paragraph
Steps to Write a Good Paragraph
An Example of a Three-Paragraph Essay
An Example of a Four-Paragraph Essay
Steps to Write a Three-Paragraph Essay
How to Write a Good Main Topic Sentence
How to Write Good Supporting Sentences
How to to Write a Business Letter
