Ten Phrases from Show Business to Boost your English Vocabulary
As we know, idioms are everywhere in English. Native speakers use them in casual conversations as well as business meetings. No matter what you do there will be an English idiom around the corner (=nearby). If you want to boost your English fluency, English idioms can take you to the next level.
Below you will find ten English idioms from show business and the theater world that every English learner should know:
1. The show must go on
No matter what the show must go on. Even if bad things have happened, a planned event or show must continue. People use this expression to motivate others to not quit or give up.
Example: I know it rained overnight and the festival grounds are wet, but the show must go on. We have tons of people standing in line already.
2. To run the show
If you run the show, you are in charge of everything.
Example: Anna‘s boss runs the show at her office. She has everything under control.
3. To be star-studded
If something is star-studded, it means that all kinds of stars are involved– movie, TV, music, and any other entertainment stars. Something that is studded has things all over it. For example, a diamond-studded necklace has diamonds completely covering it.
A star-studded event or movie is one that has many stars in it. This can also apply to a business conference if it has lots of famous CEOs, for example.
Example: The conference in Geneva was a star-studded event. It even had Barack Obama speaking at it.
4. To steal the show
Somebody that steals the show is someone the audience pays the most attention to, even though the people creating the show did not intend for her to be the star. For example, if you are watching an interview with a famous scientist and their adorable puppy appears, you might start to pay attention to the puppy instead of the person so the cute puppy completely stole the show.
5. Get the show on the road
If someone tells you to get the show on the road, they are urging you to get started on something! They don’t want you to wait any longer. This expression is also grounded in the very American belief that many potential problems will sort themselves out before you have to really deal with them. The idea that it’s better to get started than to talk about starting something endlessly.
Example: John, we should get the show on the road and launch our project as soon as possible.
6. Kick something off, a kick-off
If you kick something off, you start it. If you want to start a meeting, you could say: Let’s kick this off with a short summary of what we have done so far.
You can also kick off a conversation.
The kick-off of a meeting could be an introductory round to help kick off the meeting.
You can also use it like this: A kick-off meeting, a kick-off speech, a kick-off celebration, etc.
7. Live up to the hype
If a show, movie, or music album is to live up to the hype, it has to be as good as people hope it will be. This is, in general, difficult to live up to if there is a lot of hype (talk about it before the release date).
Example: The new Star Wars movie definitely lives up to the hype. It’s amazing!
8. Break a leg
This idiom stems from the superstition that if you wish an actor good luck, the exact opposite will happen! Instead of jinxing them, their friends and fellow actors may tell them to break a leg – or, metaphorically, to have good luck!
Example: My best friend is playing a minor role in a theater play. I told her to break a leg!
9. To be in the limelight
If you are in the limelight, you are in the public eye.nLimelight is a type of light used for stage lighting.
Example: John is a famous actor. He doesn’t want the public to know about his private life, but because of his success he is always in the limelight .
10. To crave the limelight
If you crave the limelight, you crave attention. Another word for this is attention hog.
Example: Paul never craved the limelight, but after the success of his first book, he understood its appeal.