#1 – go into overdrive
= start working very hard (more intensely than normal).
“Every year around Christmas, my department goes into overdrive – there’s so much work to do.”
#2 – go off on a tangent
= when someone is talking, and then begins to talk about a subject that is outside the main topic
“He was giving a speech about politics, but he kept going off on tangents and telling stories about golf.”
#3 – go with the flow
Definition 1 = to accept the events of life without fighting them
“You’ll be a lot more relaxed if you just learn to go with the flow.”
Definition 2 = to do what other people are doing, without resisting or arguing
“All my friends wanted to go to the beach instead of to the movies, so I decided to go with the flow.”
#4 – go out of your way
= make a special and exceptional effort
“I’m a vegetarian, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to eat anything at the party – but Paula had prepared a couple vegetarian dishes just for me. She really went out of her way to make me feel welcome.”
#5 – go through the motions
= to do something because you are required or expected to, but not because you want to. Not putting in much effort – just doing the minimum necessary.
“He only has a week left at this job, so he’s not working very hard – he’s just going through the motions.”
#6 – go for broke
= to give 100% of your effort and risk everything in order to achieve the result you want
“When starting a new business, you need to go for broke.”
#7 – go haywire
= when a machine or electronic system stops functioning correctly, and starts functioning in a crazy or illogical way
“My computer’s going haywire – I need to restart it.”
#8 – go overboard
= go to an extreme and have too much of something, especially as a result of enthusiasm
If you go to a birthday party, and there are 2,000 balloons in the room, you can say:
“I think they went a little overboard on the balloons.”
#9 – go-to guy/gal
= a man/woman who is reliable in a specific area. The person is frequently asked for help in that topic.
“Amanda’s our go-to gal for computer issues.”
#10 – go for it
= take an opportunity, or try to do something enthusiastically
“If you have the chance to work abroad, you should go for it.”
