Business Idioms in America > 8:30 a.m. Joan Austen is driving on |-95* from her home in Greenwich, Connecticut to her office in Manhattan. She calls her office and talks to her executive assistant Maria Perez. +e Maria: Good morning, Austen Advertising, Maria Perez speaking. How can I help you? Joan: Hi, Maria. It's Joan. I'm stuck in traffic. A truck flipped over in the other lane and is blocking traffic. I can’t believe it. I leave home two hours early to beat the traffic and look what happens. Maria: Are you even moving? Joan: Barely. Everyone is rubbernecking. (honking her horn) C'mon, people! Put a fire under it! (to Maria) Did Rick Meyers call? Maria: He did. Ten minutes ago. Joan: What's the bottom line? Maria: You sealed the deal. Joan: Really? Maria: He said you hit it out of the park. He loves your new idea. He said, and I quote, "Austen Advertising really went to bat for us.” Joan: I should hope so. We pulled out all the stops to bring his campaign in under budget. What about Mario Biagi? Did he call? Maria: Yes. Suffice it to say, Mr. Pizza is not a happy camper. He wants you to work up some new ideas by tomorrow. Joan: By tomorrow? Great. Back to the drawing board. Tell everyone we're going to have a working lunch, okay? Order lots of veggie wraps and hold the mayo on mine. And cancel my eight o'clock. Tell Bert Howe I got hung up in traffic. Ask him if we can hook up tomorrow at the same time. Maria: Done and done. *L-95 Interstate Highway 95. The main north-south artery that connects all major east coast cities from Boston to Miami.Business Idioms in America 1.A > De’ 1) stuck in traffic (to be) - to be in a vehicle but not moving due to heavy traffic/accident 2) beat the traffic (to) - to avoid rush-hour by leaving early 3) rubberneck (to) to slow down and look at an accident 4) put a fire under it (to) to hurry up; to get moving 5) bottom line (the) - the message; the conclusion 6) seal the deal (to) - to come to an agreement 7) hit it out of the park (to) - to hit a homerun; to think of a great idea; to succeed beyond expectation 8) go to bat for someone (to) - to support a friend/colleague/cause 9) pull out all the stops (to) - to do whatever is necessary to succeed 10) bring something in under budget (to) - to complete a project, etc., below the budgeted cost 11) happy camper (to be not a) ~ a person who is not happy 12) work up something (to) to develop ideas; to brainstorm 13) go back to the drawing board (to) - to rethink; to start over 14) working lunch (a) - working during lunch 15) hold something (to) to not include; to leave off/out be Me olyBusiness Idioms in America 1.B > Practice Task Fill in the blanks using the idioms on the previous page. Bob got up early because he wanted 2. When you are___ -oeoeeeE eo but to sit and wait it out. 3. Ali celal alae He just learned that he is going to be let go. 4. After Joan and Alexander _ = ———— thy celebrated with dinner and a Broadway show. 5. Yurica is always the homeless. 6. When people slow down _ Bee _____, they often cause fender benders. 7. When Carol ordered a hamburger, she told the server the onions. 8. To meet the deadline, the team had 9. Maria never fails _ eee a project ae eee 10. Joan wanted Rick __ Lo Pane Pann ___ a new slogan by tomorrow. 11. Carla has arranged to have with the new client. 12. After the prototype failed, the team had 13. In business, making a profit is 14. Bob's last idea was terrible, but this time he 15. Steve told the lazy internBusiness Idioms in America C » The Story Continues Task % Read the rest of the conversation, then answer the questions. Maria: Anything else, Joan? Joan: Nothing for now. I'll see you when I get in. Maria: Have you thought about what we talked about? Joan: Thought about what? Maria: You know, my raise. Joan: — Right. Sorry, I have so much on my plate, it slipped my mind Maria: You said I'm in line for one. Joan: I did. But we're facing a budget crunch. The move to a bigger office is going to eat into our cash flow. Maria: So that means no raise? Joan: — Not necessarily. Let's circle back to it when I get in, okay? Questions 1. How many idioms can you identify in the passage above? 2. Did Maria get what she wanted? Explain. 3. What is the traffic like in your country? Do you prefer to drive to work, take public transportation, go by bike or on foot? Explain 4. In your country, how often do employees get a raise? What is the procedure for getting a raise? Explain. 5. Verbally summarize this lesson. Time yourself. You have 2 minutes.BD PS BB ose tbe t 3 U0) Business Idioms in America Task % Match the expressions in column A with the definitions in column B. fender bender (a) __ tailgater (a)____ D.UL__ backseat driver (a) ___ pinch hit (to) ___ in the ballpark (to be) __ on fire (to be) ___ put the pedal to the metal (to) ___ beat around the bush (to) march to the beat of one's own drummer (to) pound the pavement (to) _ budge not an inch (to) (S)___ my way or the highway ___ You do the math. __ asleep at the wheel (to be) the wheels fell off something when... take one for a ride (to) get the show on the road (to) ___ traffic jam (a)___ bottleneck (a) A) B) c) D) a driver following dangerously close behind to substitute for someone to be within range; approximate to go around in circles; to miss the point to go and look for work/customers an ultimatum: ship up or shape out to take advantage of someone; to cheat a delay caused by heavy traffic to be an individual; to go your own way a narrow point in a road slowing traffic to be paying no attention; negligent to begin; to buckle down the point when everything went wrong ‘The conclusion is obvious. to move not at all; to refuse to change to have a series of successes/hits to hit the gas; to take action quickly someone always telling you what to do without invitation or request driving under the influence (of alcohol) a minor car accidentBusiness Idioms in America Ae Ustate Mea a ly Task % Write a sentence using each idiom 1) stuck in traffic (to be) 2) beat the traffic (to) 3) rubberneck (to) a 4) puta fire under it (to) 5) bottom line (the) 6) _ seal the deal (to) 7) hit it out of the park (to) 8) go to bat for someone (to) : 9) pull out all the stops (to) 10) bring something in under budget (to) -11) 12) 13) happy camper (to be not a) work up something (to) go back to the drawing board (to) Business Idioms in America 14) working lunch (a) 15) hold something (to) 1.F » More Wi feRigc Toate Task % Write a short passage using as many idioms as you can from this lesson, The topic is your choice, Make it business-related if possible.