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Martin, why are you carrying a tiny plastictrophy?
It belongs to Emma, one of the students in mypresentation group.
Did she win something?
She entered a difficult competition and came outon top.
So all her preparation paid off.
It did. And her manager says she is going places.
That is three success idioms already.
I have one more. She passed the final assessmentwith flying colors.
Then we definitely need today's lesson.
Welcome to your English Toolbox. I am Martin.
And I am Julia.
Today we are exploring Lesson 8 of our free IdiomToolbox course.
Success!
You can find the course at yourenglishtoolbox.com.
Open the Idiom section and choose Lesson 8,Success.
You will find slow listening, clear explanations,multilingual support,
examples, and interactive retrieval practice.
The direct link to this free lesson is also in theepisode description.
Let us begin with Come out on top.
To come out on top means to succeed after acompetition,
difficulty, or challenging situation.
Emma competed against 20 other candidates and cameout on top.
Or the negotiation was difficult, but our teamcame out on top.
The past form is came out on top.
And it describes an actual result, not simplyconfidence that someone will succeed.
Did Emma expect to win?
Not at all. Her first practice presentation wentbadly.
But she continued working.
Yes, and eventually all that work paid off.
To pay off means to produce a good result aftereffort, patience, or investment.
For example, months of practice finally paid off.
Or taking time to prepare really paid off duringthe interview.
Notice that the effort pays off.
We do not normally say the effort pays us off inthis meaning.
There is another meaning connected with money.
Yes, you can pay off a debt, but today we aretalking about effort producing a valuable result.
03:02
So Emma's practice paid off because it helped hersucceed.
Exactly.
Our third expression is Go places.
If someone is going places, we believe that personis likely to become successful in the future.
Her manager said, Emma is going places.
You could also say, that young designer is goingplaces.
This expression does not mean the person istraveling.
It means that their ability and progress suggest asuccessful future.
Can a company go places?
Yes, a new company can go places if it has strongideas and good leadership.
Now compare go places with come out on top.
Come out on top describes success in a particularchallenge.
Go places describes future potential.
Emma came out on top in the competition, andpeople now think she is going places.
Perfect.
Our final expression is with flying colors.
If you pass something with flying colors, you passit very successfully.
Emma passed her final assessment with flyingcolors.
Or the new system passed every safety test withflying colors.
We often use this expression with exams, tests,inspections, and assessments.
It is stronger than simply saying that someonepassed.
And the expression is always plural with flyingcolors.
Let us compare all four idioms.
Come out on top means succeed after competition ordifficulty.
Pay off means produce a good result after effortor patience.
Go places means be likely to become successful inthe future.
And with flying colors means very successfully,especially when passing a test or assessment.
Time for a quick challenge.
Choose the best expression before we answer.
Situation 1.
You study carefully for months and receive anexcellent result.
Your hard work paid off.
Situation 2.
A young musician is improving quickly and seemslikely to have a successful career.
That musician is going places.
Situation 3.
Your team succeeds after a very difficultcompetition.
Your team comes out on top.
Situation 4.
A new product passes every quality test extremelysuccessfully.
It passes with flying colors.
Now, complete one sentence about your ownexperience.
My effort paid off when...
A personal example helps turn an idiom intolanguage you can actually retrieve.
06:00
Continue with Lesson 8 in the free Idiom Toolboxcourse at yourenglishtoolbox.com.
You can also download the printable practice andreview the four expressions away from the screen.
The direct lesson link is in the episodedescription.
So, are you giving Emma her trophy?
Yes, but first I need to remove the price label.
How much did her great victory cost you?
€3.50.
Your generosity is going places.
I'm not sure that expression works there.
No, but your English passed the test with flyingcolors.
See you next time, friends.
Goodbye.