Some common Business Idioms

24/7    “24/7” means 24 hours a day, seven days a week.    The convenience store on the corner is open 24/7.

a tough break    When something unfortunate happens, it can be called a “tough break.”     It was a tough break for us when Caroline quit. She was one of our top performers.

ahead of the curve    To be “ahead of the curve” means to be more advanced than the competition.     We’re investing a lot of money in research and development so we can stay ahead of the curve.

ahead of the pack    To be “ahead of the pack” means to be better or more successful than the competition.    If we want to stay ahead of the pack, we’re going to have to work hard and continue to innovate.

ASAP    “ASAP” is an acronym for “as soon as possible.”     I need to finish these reports. My boss needs them ASAP.

at stake    “At stake” means at risk.     I’m a little nervous about giving this presentation. There’s a lot at stake.

back to square one    To go “back to square one” means to start something over again.     Our programmers identified what they thought the problem was with the software. After working for several hours, it turns out that the problem is something different. We’re back to square one, unfortunately.

back to the drawing board    To go “back to the drawing board” means to start something over and go back to the planning stage.    The prototype wasn’t successful. We have to go back to the drawing board.

backroom deal    A “backroom deal” is an agreement or decision that is made without the public knowing about it.     I think they got the government contract because of a backroom deal.

ballpark number/figure    A “ballpark number” is a very inexact estimate.    I’m not sure what a Super Bowl commercial costs, but to give you a ballpark figure I’d say about three million dollars.

behind someone’s back    To do something “behind someone’s back” means to do something without someone’s knowledge and in an unfair way.    She didn’t think it would be fair to go behind his back and talk to management, so she confronted him directly.

behind the scenes    What happens in secret or not in front of the general public is said to happen “behind the scenes.”
    They make it look so effortless, but they do a lot of hard work and planning behind the scenes.
big picture    Everything that is involved with a particular situation is called “the big picture.”    Even though we all have very specific tasks to do, our manager makes sure we don’t lose sight of the big picture.

by the book    To do things “by the book” means to do things according to company policy or the law. It means to follow the rules 100%.    We are regularly audited by several regulatory agencies. It’s important that we do everything by the book.

call it a day    To “call it a day” means to decide to stop working for the day.     Well, John, it’s 7:00 and I’m getting hungry. How about we call it a day?

catch someone off guard    To “catch someone off guard” means to surprise someone by doing something that he or she was not expecting.    Mike was caught off guard when they asked him to direct the meeting.

cave (or cave in)    To “cave” or “cave in” means to give in or agree to something that someone previously did not want to accept.    The employees complained about the change in policy, but the supervisor refused to cave in.

change of pace    “A change of pace” is something different from a normal routine or schedule.    It’s nice to go on business trips because it’s a change of pace.

come up short    To “come up short” means to try to achieve something but fail. We often say that someone has “come up short” when someone fails to achieve a goal, but not completely.    The charity fund raiser was supposed to raise three million dollars, but we came up short.

corner a market    To “corner a market” means to dominate a particular market.     Apple has cornered the market on mp3 players. They have a large percentage of market share.

cut corners    To “cut corners” means to take shortcuts and find an easier or cheaper way to do something.     We don’t cut corners on our luxury products.

cut one’s losses    To “cut one’s losses” means to stop doing something that is unproductive and won’t ever generate results.    Our advertising campaign was expensive and not showing results, so we cut our losses.

cut-throat    “Cut-throat” is used to describe something that is very intense, aggressive, and merciless.     In business school, the competition was cut-throat.

diamond in the rough    A “diamond in the rough” is something or someone that has a lot of potential but first requires a lot of work.     He was a diamond in the rough. He was intelligent and had great ideas, but his management and English skills weren’t very good.

easy come, easy go    “Easy come, easy go,” is an expression used to communicate that something gained easily is also lost easily. We often use this expression after something has been lost.    A lot of people who inherit money waste it on stupid things. I guess it’s easy come, easy go.

fifty-fifty    “Fifty-fifty” means something is divided equally — 50% for one party, 50% for the other party.     My business partner and I split everything fifty-fifty.

from the ground up    If you start a business, project, or something else from zero, you start it “from the ground up.”     Bill Gates built Microsoft from the ground up.

game plan    A “game plan” is a strategy or plan.    They’re not sure what their game plan is for the upcoming election.

get back in/into the swing of things    To “get back in/into the swing of things” means to get used to doing something again after having a break from that activity.    Our company shuts down operations for three weeks during the holiday season. When I go back to work in January, it’s difficult to get back in the swing of things.

get down to business    To “get down to business” means to stop making small talk and start talking about serious topics related to business.    Now that everyone’s here, let’s get down to business and talk about the proposal.

get something off the ground    To “get something off the ground” means to start a project or business.    We’re glad the planning process is over. We’re looking forward to getting the project off the ground.

get the ball rolling    To “get the ball rolling” means to start something (a project, for example).    We need to get the ball rolling on this project. The deadline is in June, and it’s already April.
get/be on the good side of someone    If someone likes you, you are “on the good side” of that person.    I always remember my coworkers’ birthdays and get them a card or small gift. I like to get on people’s good side.

get/have one’s foot in the door    To “get or have one’s foot in the door” means to take a low-level position with a company with the goal of eventually getting a better position with the same company.    My son just took a low-paying internship position with a large company. He was happy to get his foot in the door at a well-known, respected company.

Choose the Correct answer :

Idiom 1:
“We showed the president 20 ideas for new products, but she didn’t like any
of them – so we had to go back to the drawing board.”
a) ask other people for advice
b) start again from the beginning
c) reuse a good idea from the past

Idiom 2:
“Our sales estimates were way off the mark. We’d projected sales of $15M,
but the actual numbers were closer to $9M.”
a) too optimistic
b) higher than average
c) very wrong/inaccurate

Idiom 3:
“The text for the article is almost perfect. I just want to tweak one or two
sentences.”
a) remove
b) make small adjustments
c) make longer

Idiom 4:
“I need to submit a weekly report on this project, so please keep me in the
loop.”
a) informed / updated
b) working hard
c) in the office

Idiom 5:
“Three people from my department are on vacation, so I’ve got a lot on my
plate at the moment.”
a) I have a lot of responsibilities
b) I wish I was on vacation, too
c) I have nothing to do

Idiom 6:
“The rule of thumb is to reinvest no more than 30%, but it’s OK if you go over
that number occasionally.”
a) minimum amount
b) strict limit
c) general practice

Idiom 7:
“Bob said I missed the deadline, but I want to set the record straight – I
submitted my work on time, but he didn’t check his e-mail.”
a) correct a mistake and say the truth
b) express a different opinion
c) get permission

Idiom 8:
“We have until December to prepare these documents, so let’s put them on
the back burner for now. We have other, more urgent projects.”
a) send them back to their origin
b) give them low priority
c) finish them quickly

Idiom 9:
“That program never produced any significant results, so the director finally
decided to pull the plug.”
a) get personally involved
b) improve the technology
c) stop, discontinue

Idiom 10:
“Yesterday’s meeting lasted four hours… but in a nutshell, we decided to
close our office in India and open a branch in China.”
a) in an argument
b) in the end
c) in summary

Idiom 11:
“Laura didn’t go to the meeting. Could you send her a summary of the
discussion to bring her up to speed?”
a) help her work faster
b) give her the most recent information
c) find out what her perspective is

Idiom 12:
“Don’t make any changes without talking to Peter. He’s the one calling the
shots on this project.”
a) communicating with the supervisor
b) making the important decisions
c) working very hard

Discuss your answers to the following questions.

1. Can you think of an example of a rags to riches tale?

2. What is a company that you consider to be ahead of the pack in
your field?

3. Can you remember a time that a brand or celebrity went viral and
their sales or social media followers went through the roof? What
happened to cause this?