Lexis/Vocabulary

Hi All, Miles here!

There are many idioms used in the business world. If you don’t
understand these expressions, it’s easy to get lost in a
conversation. Below is a chart of some of the most common idioms
used at work. Please revise those idioms in bold for part of your
next I.H.Test.

Try and start using them at work in the correct context but
remember idioms should not be used in formal correspondence
only in conversations e.g. negotiations
Idiom Meaning Example
"24/7" means 24 hours a day, seven days The convenience store on the
24/7
a week. corner is open 24/7.
It was a tough break for us when
When something unfortunate happens, it
a tough break Caroline quit. She was one of
can be called a "tough break."
our top performers.
We're investing a lot of money in
ahead of the To be "ahead of the curve" means to be
research and development so we
curve more advanced than the competition.
can stay ahead of the curve.
If we want to stay ahead of the
To be "ahead of the pack" means to be
ahead of the pack, we're going to have to
better or more successful than the
pack work hard and continue to
competition.
innovate.
"ASAP" is an acronym for "as soon as I need to finish these reports.
ASAP
possible." My boss needs them ASAP.
I'm a little nervous about
at stake "At stake" means at risk. giving this presentation.
There's a lot at stake.
Our programmers identified
what they thought the problem
was with the software. After
back to square To go "back to square one" means to working for several hours, it
one start something over again. turns out that the problem is
something different. We're
back to square one,
unfortunately.
back to the To go "back to the drawing board" The prototype wasn't
 Idiom Meaning Example
means to start something over and go successful. We have to go back
drawing board
back to the planning stage. to the drawing board.
A "backroom deal" is an agreement or I think they got the government
backroom deal decision that is made without the public contract because of a backroom
knowing about it. deal.
I'm not sure what a Super Bowl
ballpark A "ballpark number" is a very inexact commercial costs, but to give
number/figure estimate. you a ballpark figure I'd say
about three million dollars.
To do something "behind someone's She didn't think it would be
behind
back" means to do something without fair to go behind his back and
someone's
someone's knowledge and in an unfair talk to management, so she
back
way. confronted him directly.
What happens in secret or not in front of They make it look so effortless,
behind the
the general public is said to happen but they do a lot of hard work
scenes
"behind the scenes." and planning behind the scenes.
Even though we all have very
Everything that is involved with a
specific tasks to do, our manager
big picture particular situation is called "the big
makes sure we don't lose sight of
picture."
the big picture.
A "blue collar worker" is someone who
works with his hands (manufacturing,
construction, maintenance, etc.). The
opposite is a "white collar worker." A It's a blue collar town with a
blue collar white collar worker is someone who lot of farmers and factory
works in an office (customer service, workers.
management, sales, etc.). "Blue collar"
(and "white collar") can also be used to
describe a job, position, or a place.
To do things "by the book" means to do We are regularly audited by
things according to company policy or several regulatory agencies.
by the book
the law. It means to follow the rules It's important that we do
100%. everything by the book.
Well, John, it's 7:00 and I'm
To "call it a day" means to decide to
call it a day getting hungry. How about we
stop working for the day.
call it a day?
To "catch someone off guard" means to Mike was caught off guard when
catch someone
surprise someone by doing something that they asked him to direct the
off guard
he or she was not expecting. meeting.
To "cave" or "cave in" means to give in or The employees complained
cave (or cave
agree to something that someone about the change in policy, but
in)
previously did not want to accept. the supervisor refused to cave in.
"A change of pace" is something different It's nice to go on business trips
change of pace
from a normal routine or schedule. because it's a change of pace.
come up short To "come up short" means to try to achieve The charity fund raiser was
something but fail. We often say that supposed to raise three million
someone has "come up short" when dollars, but we came up short.
 Idiom Meaning Example
someone fails to achieve a goal, but not
completely.
Apple has cornered the market
corner a To "corner a market" means to on mp3 players. They have a
market dominate a particular market. large percentage of market
share.
To "cut corners" means to take
We don't cut corners on our
cut corners shortcuts and find an easier or cheaper
luxury products.
way to do something.
To "cut one's losses" means to stop Our advertising campaign was
cut one's losses doing something that is unproductive expensive and not showing
and won't ever generate results. results, so we cut our losses.
"Cut-throat" is used to describe
In business school, the
cut-throat something that is very intense,
competition was cut-throat.
aggressive, and merciless.
He was a diamond in the rough.
A "diamond in the rough" is something or
diamond in the He was intelligent and had great
someone that has a lot of potential but first
rough ideas, but his management and
requires a lot of work.
English skills weren't very good.
"Easy come, easy go," is an expression
used to communicate that something A lot of people who inherit
easy come, easy
gained easily is also lost easily. We often money waste it on stupid things.
go
use this expression after something has I guess it's easy come, easy go.
been lost.
"Fifty-fifty" means something is divided
My business partner and I split
fifty-fifty equally -- 50% for one party, 50% for the
everything fifty-fifty.
other party.
If you start a business, project, or
from the ground Bill Gates built Microsoft from
something else from zero, you start it
up the ground up.
"from the ground up."
They're not sure what their game
game plan A "game plan" is a strategy or plan. plan is for the upcoming
election.
Our company shuts down
To "get back in/into the swing of things" operations for three weeks
get back in/into
means to get used to doing something during the holiday season. When
the swing of
again after having a break from that I go back to work in January, it's
things
activity. difficult to get back in the swing
of things.
To "get down to business" means to stop Now that everyone's here, let's
get down to
making small talk and start talking about get down to business and talk
business
serious topics related to business. about the proposal.
We're glad the planning
get something To "get something off the ground" process is over. We're looking
off the ground means to start a project or business. forward to getting the project
off the ground.
get the ball To "get the ball rolling" means to start We need to get the ball rolling
 Idiom Meaning Example
on this project. The deadline is
rolling something (a project, for example).
in June, and it's already April.
I always remember my
get/be on the
If someone likes you, you are "on the good coworkers' birthdays and get
good side of
side" of that person. them a card or small gift. I like
someone
to get on people's good side.
To "get or have one's foot in the door" My son just took a low-paying
means to take a low-level position with a internship position with a large
get/have one's
company with the goal of eventually company. He was happy to get
foot in the door
getting a better position with the same his foot in the door at a well-
company. known, respected company.
To "give someone a pat on the back" The boss gave Brian a pat on the
give someone a
means to tell someone that they did a good back for coming up with such a
pat on the back
job. good idea.
I can't believe she gave us the
give the thumbs To "give something or someone the
thumbs down. I thought it was a
down thumbs down" means to deny approval.
great idea.
They gave our new proposal the
give the thumbs To "give something or someone the
thumbs up. We're going out to
up thumbs up" means to give approval.
celebrate tonight.
There was too much competition
To "go broke" means to go bankrupt or to
and their expenses were too
go broke lose all the money a person or business
high. They eventually went
had.
broke.
He dropped out of college in his
go down the When someone wastes or loses something, third year and never continued
drain it is said to "go down the drain." his studies. All of his hard work
and money went down the drain.
We go the extra mile for our
customers. If someone is
go the extra To "go the extra mile" means to do more dissatisfied with a purchase, we
mile than what people expect. refund their money and offer
them a discount on their next
purchase.
We're happy our number of
go through the If something is "going through the roof," it
Facebook followers has gone
roof means it is rapidly increasing.
through the roof.
If something is in a "gray area," it means I asked our lawyers if it was
gray area that it is something undefined and not legal, and they said it wasn't
easily categorized. clear. It's a gray area.
The iPhone was a ground-
ground- If something is "ground-breaking," it
breaking piece of technology
breaking means it is new and innovative.
when it was released in 2008.
hands are tied Someone's "hands are tied" if they do I would love to get you a job at
not have control over a situation. my company, but my hands
are tied. Management isn't
hiring any additional
 Idiom Meaning Example
employees this year.
She has to sell $35,000 worth of
If you have a lot of work to do or a
have someone's products by the end of the
particularly difficult assignment, you "have
work cut out month. She has her work cut out
your work cut out for you."
for her.
I agree with John 100%. I
hit the nail on To "hit the nail on the head" means to
think he really hit the nail on
the head do or say something 100% correctly.
the head.
In a nutshell, this book is
in a nutshell "In a nutshell" means in a few words. about how to motivate
employees.
If a project is "in full swing," it means that
it has been completely started and that it is Construction on the new site is
in full swing
progressing or moving as fast as it ever in full swing now.
will.
If a company is "in the black," it means We're not having a great year,
in the black
that it is making a profit. but at least we're in the black.
I'm not used to being in the
in the driver's To be "in the driver's seat" means to be driver's seat. I should
seat in control. probably buy some
management books.
When I started my own
If a company is "in the red," it means business, we were in the red
in the red that is not profitable and is operating at for the first two years. We
a loss. didn't see a profit until the
third year.
To "keep one's eye on the ball" means to I know we can do it. We just
keep one's eye
give something one's full attention and need to keep our eyes on the
on the ball
to not lose focus. ball and not lose focus.
Our boss had been unhappy
The "last straw" means the last
with Brian's performance for a
annoyance, disturbance, or betrayal
last straw while, but it was the last straw
which causes someone to give up, lose
when he came to work three
their patience, or become angry.
hours late without calling.
To "learn the ropes" means to learn the I like my new position. I'm
learn the ropes
basics of something. starting to learn the ropes.
Winning the lottery is a long
A "long shot" is something that has a
long shot shot, but millions of people still
very low probability of happening.
buy lottery tickets.
A legal "loophole" occurs if a law is
Some people complain that
unclear or omits information. This lack
millionaires avoid paying taxes
loophole of legal clarity allows people or
by finding loopholes in tax
corporations to pay less in taxes or gain
laws.
some other advantage.
lose ground To "lose ground" means to lose some type
Apple lost some ground to
(opposite: gain of an advantage (market share, for
Samsung last quarter.
ground) example) to a competitor.
 Idiom Meaning Example
It's a lose-lose situation. If they
lose-lose A "lose-lose situation" is when there will lay off more workers, they'll get
situation (or no- be a negative outcome regardless of what bad press. If they don't lay off
win situation) decision is made. more workers, they won't be able
to compete.
A "nine-to-five" is a job during normal
She was tired of working a nine-
working hours. The term came into
nine-to-five to-five job, so she took her
existence because many work days start at
savings and opened a restaurant.
9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m.
Taking the new job was a no
If a decision is really obvious or really easy brainer. They offered me more
no brainer
to make, the decision is a "no brainer." money, a better schedule, and
more vacation days.
They will let you try the
If something is given without expecting product for free with no
no strings
anything in return, it is given with "no strings attached. If you don't
attached
strings attached." like it, there is no pressure to
buy it.
I told them I'd be finished by the
If there is "no time to lose," it means that
end of the day and it's already
no time to lose there is a lot of pressure to finish
4:45. I need to get to work.
something quickly.
There's no time to lose.
If a solution isn't effective, we can say that I don't think that's going to fly.
not going to fly
it "isn't going to fly." Let's keep generating ideas.
If someone says something "off the top of
I have no idea how many
off the top of their head," it means that they give a
branches they have. Off the top
one's head response without thinking about it much or
of my head, I'd say about 20.
doing any research on the subject.
Our profits have been above
If someone is "on a roll," it means that
our projected numbers for five
on a roll he or she has had several successes in a
months in a row. We're really
row.
on a roll.
My new personal assistant is
To be "on the ball" means to be alert
on the ball working out well. He's really
and aware of things.
on the ball.
Let's go over the details of
on the same If two people are "on the same page,"
what we agreed on to make
page page they are in agreement about something.
sure we're on the same page.
To be "on top of something" means to I read a lot to stay on top of
on top of
be in control of a situation and aware of the latest changes in my
something
changes. industry.
Stay on your toes. Anything
on your toes To be "on your toes" means to be alert.
can happen.
I think it's good to do things
If something is "out in the open," it is
out in the open because people
out in the open public knowledge and not hidden from
get suspicious if you do things
people.
in secret.
 Idiom Meaning Example
To be "out of the loop" means to not know
out of the loop something that a select group of people I felt like I was out of the loop
(opposite: in the knows. The opposite, to be "in the loop," after being on vacation for two
loop) means to be part of a select group with weeks.
knowledge that others do not have.
Someone who gets the "pink slip," has They gave him the pink slip. He
pink slip
been fired by their employer. wasn't performing very well.
To "play hardball" means to be competitive
He played hardball to get where
in a cruel and merciless way. Playing
play hardball he is, so I would be careful what
hardball means doing anything possible to
you say and do around him.
win.
It's not good to only invest in
put all one's To "put all one's eggs in one basket,"
the stock market. You don't
eggs in one means to rely on only one thing to bring
want to put all your eggs in
basket success.
one basket.
They were trying to find
put the cart To "put the cart before the horse" investors without even having
before the means to do or think about things in the a business plan. They were
horse wrong order. putting the cart before the
horse.
To "raise the bar" means to set the
The new software is getting
standards or expectations higher,
great reviews. It looks like the
raise the bar usually by achieving or creating
bar has been raised for the
something better than what had
competition.
previously existed.
To "read between the lines" means to
understand something that isn't
He didn't say that he wants to
communicated directly. Reading
read between leave the company, but I can
between the lines involves
the lines read between the lines. He's
understanding what someone is
not happy here.
implying or suggesting but not saying
directly.
"Red tape" refers to excessive rules,
procedures, and regulations that make it
The new law is going to create
difficult to accomplish something. We
a lot of red tape, and we're
red tape usually use "red tape" to talk about
going to have to pay our
government requirements that create
lawyers a lot more money.
difficult, time-consuming barriers for
people and businesses.
To "rock the boat" means to cause I'd ask for a raise, but I don't
rock the boat
problems or disrupt a peaceful situation. want to rock the boat.
We have round-the-clock
round-the-clock "Round the clock" means 24 hours a day. production at all our
manufacturing facilities.
run/go around To "run (or go) around in circles" Everyone kept restating their
in circles means to do the same thing over and opinions but nothing was
over again without getting any results. agreed on. We were running
 Idiom Meaning Example
around in circles.
It's a safe bet that
A "safe bet" means something that will
safe bet smartphones will be much
probably happen.
more advanced in 10 years.
If people are in the same situation, they are We're all worried about losing
same boat
in the "same boat." our jobs. We're in the same boat.
When someone does something so well She's been a computer
that it seems like they were born knowing programmer for ten years. At
second nature
how to do it, we say that the activity is this point, programming is
"second nature" to that person. second nature to her.
We don't always see eye to eye,
To "see eye to eye" with someone means
see eye to eye but I respect her opinions and
to agree with that person.
appreciate her honesty.
I told my boss that I really
see something To "see something through" means to do wanted to see this project
through something until it is finished. through before taking on another
project.
We had to sever ties with several
sever ties To "sever ties" means to end a relationship. of our suppliers due to late
shipments.
It's best not to shoot down
shoot To "shoot something down" means to people's ideas during a
something reject something, such as a proposal or brainstorming session. The goal
down idea. is to generate ideas, not to
criticize them.
With their commission structure,
"The sky's the limit" if there is no limit to
sky's the limit the sky's the limit to what you
what can be achieved.
can earn.
"Small talk" is conversation about We typically spend about 15
small talk unimportant topics that do not offend minutes making small talk
people (the weather, for example). before we start our meetings.
"Smooth sailing" is a term used to describe Once our largest competitor
smooth/clear
a situation where success is achieved went out of business, it was
sailing
without difficulties. smooth sailing.
If you want to fill out form 52-E
"Snail mail" is the term used for the and send it to the government,
snail mail traditional mail that goes through the post you have to do it using snail
office. mail. They don't allow you to
scan the document.
We tried to change the dress
stand one's To "stand one's ground" means to not
code, but Human Resources
ground change one's opinion or position.
stood their ground.
We offered them a very generous
price on their first order and
start off on the To "start off on the right foot" means to
everything shipped on time. We
right foot start something in a positive way.
really started off on the right
foot.
 Idiom Meaning Example
I just switched cable companies.
start off on the To "start off on the wrong foot" means to They overcharged me for the
wrong foot start something in a negative way. first month's service. They really
started off on the wrong foot.
Something that is "state of the art" is We have a brand new, state-of-
state of the art
modern and technologically advanced. the-art facility.
The proposed law would kill our
To "take something lying down" means to industry, but we're not going to
take something
accept something unpleasant without take it lying down. We're going
lying down
fighting back. to fight back and make sure the
law isn't passed.
One of our mid-level managers
wasn't very popular and was
take the bull by To "take the bull by the horns" means to causing some problems, so we
the horns directly confront a difficult situation. took the bull by the horns and
replaced him with somebody
else.
I was hesitant to redesign our
talk someone To "talk someone into something" means website, but my employees
into something to convince someone to do something. talked me into it. I'm glad they
did. The new site looks great.
talk someone I wanted to make a real estate
To "talk someone out of something" means
out of investment, but my financial
to convince someone not to do something.
something adviser talked me out of it.
We should have been talking
"The elephant in the room" refers to an
the elephant in about our huge debt, but no one
obvious problem or controversial issue that
the room wanted to talk about the elephant
no one wants to talk about.
in the room.
I'm not content with just opening
one or two more stores. I'm
To "think big" means to have ambitious
think big thinking big -- I think we can
goals and big plans for the future.
open 10 stores in the next five
years.
To "think outside the box" means to think Creating a product that no one
think outside
of creative, unconventional solutions has sold before is an example of
the box
instead of common ones. thinking outside the box.
I was trying to learn Portuguese,
throw in the
To "throw in the towel" means to quit. but I got frustrated and threw in
towel
the towel.
I think his time's up as the CEO.
"Time's up" means that the time for They're going to replace him as
time's up
something or someone has ended. soon as they find a suitable
candidate.
Let me make a few phone calls
To "touch base" means to make contact to try to get an answer to your
touch base
with someone. question. I'll touch base with you
later today.
 Idiom Meaning Example
To "twist someone's arm" means to
The owner thought the budget
twist someone's persuade or convince someone to do
was a little high. We had to twist
arm something that he or she does not want to
his arm to get him to agree to it.
do.
Something done secretly (and usually To avoid paying taxes, they paid
under the table illegally) in the business world is done some of their employees under
"under the table." the table.
We're looking for a test market
If something is undecided, it is "up in the right now, but nothing has been
up in the air
air." decided yet. Everything's still up
in the air.
Winning the election is going to
Something that is difficult to achieve
be an uphill battle. He doesn't
uphill battle because of obstacles and difficulties is an
have much support at the
"uphill battle."
moment.
John is more experienced and
If someone has an advantage over someone
upper hand well respected, so he had the
else, he or she has the "upper hand."
upper hand in the argument.
A "white collar worker" is someone who
works in an office (customer service,
management, sales, etc.). The opposite of
a white collar worker is a "blue collar There are mostly
worker." A blue collar worker is manufacturing positions here.
white collar
someone who works with his hands There aren't many white-collar
(manufacturing, construction, jobs.
maintenance, etc.). "White collar" (and
"blue collar") can also be used to
describe a job, position, or place.
We were happy to get the
win-win A "win-win situation" is a situation where contract, and they were happy to
situation everyone involved gains something. get such a good price. It was a
win-win situation.
If something spreads by "word of mouth,"
Many local restaurants rely on
people hear about it through informal
word of mouth word of mouth to get new
conversation with friends, family members,
customers.
acquaintances, etc.
The "writing on the wall" refers to the I'm going to get my resume
writing on the
evidence and clues that something (usually ready. I can see the writing on
wall
negative) is going to happen. the wall.
The company isn't looking to
hire someone who is going to
A "yes man" is someone who always
yes man try to make a lot of changes.
agrees with his or her superiors.
They're just looking for a yes
man.