Language tip of the week: conversation

In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. In this new series of language tips we will be looking at how metaphor is used to express some common concepts in English. This week’s tip looks at metaphors used to talk about conversation:

A conversation or discussion is like a journey, with the speakers going from one place to another:

Let’s go back to what you were saying earlier.
Can we return to the previous point?
I can’t quite see where you’re heading.
The conversation took an unexpected turn/direction.
I’m listening – Go on!
We’ve covered a lot of ground.
I was just coming on to that.
We eventually arrived at a conclusion.
It’s a roundabout way of saying she’s refusing our offer.
You’re on the right/wrong track.
We wandered off the topic.
The conversation drifted rather aimlessly.
We kept going round and round in circles.