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1、The Most Common Business Idioms IDIOM WHAT IT MEANS EXAMPLES 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
2、one of our top performers. ahead of the curve To be ahead of the curve means to be more advanced than the competition. Were 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
3、 competition. If we want to stay ahead of the pack, were going to have to work really 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. In a little nervous about giving this presen
4、tation. Theres 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 totally different, so it looks l
5、ike we have to go back to square one. back to the drawing board To go back to the drawing board means to start something over again, and go back to the planning stage of something. The prototype wasnt successful. We have to go back to the drawing board. IDIOM WHAT IT MEANS EXAMPLES backroom deal A b
6、ackroom 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 A ballpark number is a very inexact estimate. Im not sure what a Super Bowl commercial costs, but to give you a ballpark fig
7、ure, Id say about three million dollars. behind someones back To do something behind someones back means to do something without someones knowledge and in a way that is not fair. She didnt think it would be fair to go behind his back and talk to management, so she confronted him directly. behind the
8、 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. Eve
9、n though we all have very specific tasks to do, our manager makes sure we dont lose sight of the big picture. blue collar A blue collar worker is someone who works with his or her hands (manufacturing, construction, maintenance, etc.). The opposite is a white collar worker. A white collar worker is
10、someone who works in an office (customer service, management, sales, etc.) Blue collar (and white collar) can also be used to describe a job, position, or a place. Its a blue collar town with a lot of farmers and factory workers. by the book To do things by the book means to do things according to c
11、ompany policy or law. It means to follow the rules 100%. There are a lot of regulatory industries that audit us on a regular basis. Its important that we do everything by the book. IDIOM WHAT IT MEANS EXAMPLES call it a day To call it a day means to decide to stop working for the day. Well, John, it
12、s 7:00 and Im 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) If someone caves or caves
13、 in it means that the person gives in to something or agrees to something that he or she 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 sche
14、dule. Its nice to go on business trips because its 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 mi
15、llion dollars, but they 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 very large percentage of market share. cut corners To cut corners means to take shortcuts and find an easier or cheaper way to do
16、 something. We dont cut corners on our luxury products. They are all made to high standards with materials of the highest quality. cut ones losses If you stop doing something that is unproductive and wont ever generate results, you cut your losses. Advertising through that company was expensive and we didnt see an increase in sales. So, we decided to cut our losses and stop doing business with them. ID
