'Run Something Up the Flagpole' to Test an Idea
2023-08-06
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Great ideas can be the lifeblood of any project.
3That means they can bring a project to life or even back from the dead.
4From redesigning a home to creating an educational product, bold, creative ideas are valuable.
5But often even a great idea needs a little work.
6It may need tweaking, meaning you need to make small changes.
7So, before sharing an idea with a large group, we may want to share it with a smaller group.
8We can test it out first, before putting the idea into action.
9But first, let's talk about getting that big idea.
10You may have heard of brainstorming.
11This is an idea-creating activity.
12When we brainstorm, we say ideas as quickly as we think of them.
13In informal situations, we can call this throwing spaghetti at the wall.
14Why, you may ask? Well, cooked spaghetti is sticky.
15If spaghetti is cooked enough, it will stick when you throw it against the wall.
16If it is not cooked enough, it might not stick.
17Good ideas stick too. In brainstorming, we often say we throw ideas around.
18And the good ones stay or stick.
19But as we said earlier, even if an idea sticks, we may want to test it out before sharing it with a large group of people.
20That is when we can run it up the flagpole. Running an idea, plan, or proposal up the flagpole is a way to test interest or get feedback.
21The full phrase is "run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes."
22Military members salute when our flag is present and when they hear the first note of the national anthem.
23Let's listen to an example: If you are the leader of a project, you could say to your team, "I like that plan. But it is risky. Let's run it up the flagpole before pitching it to the boss."
24In other words, you want to get more opinions before making the plan official.
25Here is another example: When writing these stories, I often run my ideas up a flagpole.
26I respect the opinions of my co-workers and often take their suggestions on board - meaning I take them into consideration.
27So, I like bouncing ideas off them.
28And that is a more common way to express this idea.
29Bouncing something off someone is a way to know their thoughts.
30You are asking their opinion and are looking to see their reaction.
31Bouncing ideas around is a good way to gauge interest - to find out what people think.
32So, the next time you have an idea, and you are unsure about it, run it up the flagpole!
33Bounce it off some friends! With the right people, you will soon know if it is good, bad, or needs work.
34And that is all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time...
35I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Great ideas can be the lifeblood of any project. That means they can bring a project to life or even back from the dead. From redesigning a home to creating an educational product, bold, creative ideas are valuable. 3But often even a great idea needs a little work. It may need tweaking, meaning you need to make small changes. So, before sharing an idea with a large group, we may want to share it with a smaller group. We can test it out first, before putting the idea into action. 4But first, let's talk about getting that big idea. 5You may have heard of brainstorming. This is an idea-creating activity. When we brainstorm, we say ideas as quickly as we think of them. 6In informal situations, we can call this throwing spaghetti at the wall. Why, you may ask? Well, cooked spaghetti is sticky. If spaghetti is cooked enough, it will stick when you throw it against the wall. If it is not cooked enough, it might not stick. 7Good ideas stick too. In brainstorming, we often say we throw ideas around. And the good ones stay or stick. But as we said earlier, even if an idea sticks, we may want to test it out before sharing it with a large group of people. 8That is when we can run it up the flagpole. Running an idea, plan, or proposal up the flagpole is a way to test interest or get feedback. The full phrase is "run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes." Military members salute when our flag is present and when they hear the first note of the national anthem. 9Let's listen to an example: If you are the leader of a project, you could say to your team, "I like that plan. But it is risky. Let's run it up the flagpole before pitching it to the boss." In other words, you want to get more opinions before making the plan official. 10Here is another example: When writing these stories, I often run my ideas up a flagpole. I respect the opinions of my co-workers and often take their suggestions on board - meaning I take them into consideration. So, I like bouncing ideas off them. 11And that is a more common way to express this idea. Bouncing something off someone is a way to know their thoughts. You are asking their opinion and are looking to see their reaction. Bouncing ideas around is a good way to gauge interest - to find out what people think. 12So, the next time you have an idea, and you are unsure about it, run it up the flagpole! Bounce it off some friends! With the right people, you will soon know if it is good, bad, or needs work. 13And that is all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time... 14I'm Anna Matteo. 15Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 16___________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18lifeblood -n. the most important part of something 19bold -adj. strong, clear and without fear 20tweak -v. to change something a little to improve it 21feedback -n. advice or criticism given to a person or group providing a product or service 22salute -v. to honor (a person, a nation, an event, etc.) by a conventional military or naval ceremony 23pitch in -v. to contribute to a common task 24gauge -v. to judge the qualities of someone or something 25__________________________________________________ 26We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expression in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 27We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.