ENGLISH VI • STUDENT EDITION
THE
SOFTWARE IDIOM FILES 10 everyday English expressions for real IT teams
CODE
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DEBUG
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C O L L A B O R AT E
VOL. 01 / OCT 2026
T H E S O F T WA R E I D I O M F I L E S
DEBUGGING
01 / 10
01
Hit a snag ONE IDIOM. ONE REAL-LIFE SOFTWARE SITUATION.
MEANING
To find a problem you did not expect.
EXAMPLE / AT WORK
“We hit a snag when the app stopped working.”
ENGLISH VI / SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
03
T H E S O F T WA R E I D I O M F I L E S
DEBUGGING
02 / 10
02
Back to square one ONE IDIOM. ONE REAL-LIFE SOFTWARE SITUATION.
MEANING
To start again because your first plan did not work.
EXAMPLE / AT WORK
“The test failed, so we went back to square one.”
ENGLISH VI / SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
04
T H E S O F T WA R E I D I O M F I L E S
DEVELOPMENT
03 / 10
03
Under the hood ONE IDIOM. ONE REAL-LIFE SOFTWARE SITUATION.
MEANING
The hidden parts that make a program work.
EXAMPLE / AT WORK
“The app looks simple, but a lot happens under the hood.”
ENGLISH VI / SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
05
T H E S O F T WA R E I D I O M F I L E S
TEAMWORK
04 / 10
04
On the same page ONE IDIOM. ONE REAL-LIFE SOFTWARE SITUATION.
MEANING
To understand and agree on the same plan.
EXAMPLE / AT WORK
“We had a short meeting to get on the same page.”
ENGLISH VI / SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
06
T H E S O F T WA R E I D I O M F I L E S
DEVELOPMENT
06 / 10
06
In the pipeline ONE IDIOM. ONE REAL-LIFE SOFTWARE SITUATION.
MEANING
Being planned or developed for the future.
EXAMPLE / AT WORK
“A new login feature is in the pipeline.”
ENGLISH VI / SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
08
T H E S O F T WA R E I D I O M F I L E S
QUALITY
07 / 10
07
Raise the bar ONE IDIOM. ONE REAL-LIFE SOFTWARE SITUATION.
MEANING
To make the expected level of quality higher.
EXAMPLE / AT WORK
“Our new tests raise the bar for code quality.”
ENGLISH VI / SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
09
T H E S O F T WA R E I D I O M F I L E S
DECISIONS
09 / 10
09
Pull the plug ONE IDIOM. ONE REAL-LIFE SOFTWARE SITUATION.
MEANING
To stop a plan, project, or system.
EXAMPLE / AT WORK
“We pulled the plug on the old app because it was not safe.”
ENGLISH VI / SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
11