Phrase · C1 · Neutral · practical arrangements and negotiation
iron something out
EYE-ern sum-thing OWT US iron sounds like eye-ern, not eye-ron; stress out in the phrasal verb.
Resolve problems, disagreements, or details so that a plan or arrangement works smoothly.
otkloniti probleme; usaglasiti detalje ili razlike
Use it
The rooms are booked; we just need to iron out the transport arrangements.
The main plan exists, but practical details still need attention.
They disagreed about payment dates, but a short meeting helped iron those differences out.
A noun object can go between iron and out.
Build the sentence
iron out + details/problems/differences · iron + object + out · iron them out
Memory scene
An iron smooths the wrinkles in fabric. A plan’s wrinkles are the problems and details you still need to resolve.
Watch out
With a pronoun, say iron them out, not iron out them. The phrase often concerns remaining complications, but the problems need not be trivial. Literal ironing is the source of the metaphor.
Nearby language
A broader expression for resolving a problem or organizing a situation.
A more formal verb for settling a problem or dispute without the smoothing metaphor.
Means avoid discussing a difficulty properly rather than actually resolving it.
Make it yours
Dogovorili ste putovanje, ali još treba usaglasiti vreme polaska i podelu troškova.