10 Idiomatic Expressions with the Word GO

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#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.”

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