A M E R I C A N

Business Idioms
 Idioms
An idiom, also known as idiomatic
expression, is a phrase or sentence,
whose meaning is completely different
from the literal meaning of the words
comprising the idiom or
idiomatic expression.
Idioms are previously considered informal
expressions but because of their widespread
use idiomatic expressions have
found acceptance in formal communications
as well.
 “For better or worse, the American
workplace is full of idioms. People don’t
begin the project. They get the project off
the ground. They don’t call each other to
discuss progress, they touch base. Later,
if the project is not going well, they don’t
end it. They pull the plug.”
 American Business Idioms
• at a premium • back-of-the-
- at a high price; at a envelope
relatively high price calculations
- quick calculations;
estimates using
approximate
numbers, instead of
exact numbers

When flat-screen televisions I don't need the exact numbers right

first came out, they were selling now. Just give me some back-of-the-
at a premium. envelope calculations.
 American Business Idioms
• belt-tightening • (to) bite the bullet
- reduction of - to make a difficult or
expenses painful decision; to
take a difficult step

When worldwide demand for When demand was down, U.S.

software decreased, Microsoft automakers had to bite the bullet and
had to do some belt-tightening. cut jobs.
 American Business Idioms
• bitter pill to swallow • blockbuster
- bad news; - a big success; a
something unpleasant huge hit
to accept

After Gina spent her whole summer

working as an intern for American Eli Lilly made a lot of money with the
Express, failing to get a full-time job prescription drug, Prozac. It was a real
offer from the company was a bitter blockbuster.
pill to swallow.
 American Business Idioms
• brownie points
- credit for doing a good
deed or for giving
someone a compliment
Sara scored brownie points with
her boss by volunteering to
organize the company's holiday
party.
• cash cow
- a product, service, or
business division that
generates a lot of cash for
the company, without
requiring much investment
With strong sales every year and a
great brand name, Mercedes is a cash
cow for DaimlerChrysler.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) cash in on
- to make money on; to
benefit financially from
Jamie Oliver, star of the TV
show The Naked Chef, cashed
in on his popularity by writing
cookbooks and opening
restaurants.
• (to) climb the corporate
ladder
- advance in one's career;
the process of getting
promoted and making it
to senior management
You want to climb the corporate
ladder? It helps to be productive and to
look good in front of your boss.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) compare apples to
oranges
- to compare two unlike
things; to make an invalid
comparison
• crunch time
- a short period when
there's high pressure to
achieve a result

Comparing a night at
EconoLodge with a night at the
Four Seasons is like comparing
It's crunch time for stem cell
apples to oranges. One is a
researchers in Korea. New government
budget motel, and the other is a
regulations may soon make their work
luxury hotel.
illegal.
 American Business Idioms
• dog-eat-dog world
- a cruel and aggressive
world in which people just
look out for themselves
Your company fired you shortly
after you had a heart attack?
Well, it's certainly a dog-eat-dog
world!
• (to) dot your i's and
cross your t's
- to be very careful; to
pay attention to details
When preparing financial statements,
accuracy is very important. Be sure to
dot your i's and cross your t's.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) drum up
business
- to create business;
to find new customers
Sales have been very slow
lately. Do you have any ideas
for drumming up business?
• (to) face the music
- to admit that there's
a problem; to deal
with an unpleasant
situation realistically
Enron executives finally had to face the
music and admit that they were
involved in some illegal activities.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) fast track a project
- to make a project a high
priority; to speed up the
time frame of a project
Let's fast track this project.
We've heard rumors that our
competitors are developing
similar products.
• (to) generate lots of
buzz
- to cause many people to
start talking about a
product or service,
usually in a positive way
that increases sales
Procter & Gamble generated lots of
buzz for its new toothpaste by giving
away free samples to people on the
streets of New York City.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) have a lot on one's • (the) hard sell
plate - an aggressive way of
- to have a lot to do; to selling
have too much to do; to
have too much to cope
with

There is also the variation: to Car salesmen are famous for using the
have too much on one's plate. hard sell on their customers.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) jump the gun • (to) jump through
- to start doing something hoops
too soon or ahead of - to go through a lot of
everybody else difficult work for
something; to face many
bureaucratic obstacles

The company jumped the gun We had to jump through hoops to get
by releasing a new product our visas to Russia, but we finally got
before the results of the them.
consumer testing were in.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) keep one's eye on
the prize
- to stay focused on the
end result; to not let small
problems get in the way
of good results
I know it's difficult going to class
after work, but just keep your
eye on the prize. At the end of
next year, you'll have your
MBA.
• (to) keep something
under wraps
- to keep something
secret; to not let anybody
know about a new project
or plan
I'm sorry I can't tell you anything about
the project I'm working on. My boss told
me to keep it under wraps.
 American Business Idioms
• mum's the word
- let's keep quiet about
this; I agree not to tell
anyone about this
Please don't tell anybody about
our new project. Remember:
mum's the word!
• my gut tells me
- I have a strong
feeling that; my
intuition tells me
It's true that I don't know him well, but
my gut tells me that James is the right
person for the sales director position
 American Business Idioms
• nothing ventured,
nothing gained
- If you don't try to do
something, you'll
never succeed.
•It's risky to spend so much
money developing a new brand,
but nothing ventured, nothing
gained.
• on top of trends
- modern; aware and
responding to the
latest tastes
The Gap is on top of trends. They
always have the latest styles in their
stores.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) pass the buck • (to) plug (a product)
• - to shift the blame; to • - to promote a
blame somebody else product; to talk
positively about a
product

It's your fault. Don't try to pass American Express often hires famous
the buck! people to plug their credit cards. No
wonder people pay attention to their
ads!
 American Business Idioms
• (to) pull one's weight
• - to do one's share of the
work
Don't rely on others to get your
job done. You need to pull your
own weight.
• (to) pull the plug
• - to put a stop to a project
or initiative, usually
because it's not going
well; to stop something
from moving forward; to
discontinue
After losing millions of dollars drilling for
oil in Nebraska and finding nothing, the
oil company finally pulled the plug on
its exploration project.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) put a stake in the
ground
• - to take the first step; to
make a big move to get
something started; to
make a commitment
•Our business in California has
grown steadily over the past
two years. Now is the time to
put a stake in the ground and
open a regional office there.
• (to) rally the troops
• - to motivate others; to
get other people excited
about doing something;
•After the lay-offs and salary cuts, the
airline president organized a meeting to
rally the troops and plan for the next
year.
 American Business Idioms
• reality check
• - let's think
realistically about this
situation
You think we can start selling
our products through our
website next month? Time for a
reality check! Nobody at our
company knows anything about
e-commerce.
• (to) scale back one's
hours
• - to reduce the
number of hours one
works
When Christine had a baby, she
decided to scale back her hours and
just work part-time.
 American Business Idioms
• Shape up or ship out! • (to) step up to the plate
• - improve your behavior • - to take action; to do
or leave; if you don't one's best; to volunteer
improve your
performance, you're
going to get fired

Martin finally had enough of We need somebody to be in charge of

Todd's negative attitude. organizing the company holiday party.
Who'd like to step up to the plate and
"Shape up or ship out!" he told start working on this project?
Todd.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) throw cold water • though the roof
over (an idea, a plan) • - very high; higher than
• - to present reasons why expected
something will not work;
to discourage

Pat presented her boss with a

plan to expand their business
into China, but he threw cold
water over her plan and told her
to just focus on developing
business in the United States.
No wonder people are complaining
about the cost of heating their homes.
Oil prices have gone through the roof!
 American Business Idioms
• (to) turn around one's
business
• - to make a business
profitable again; to go
from not making profits to
being profitable again
The telecom company was able
to turn around its business by
developing a popular new line
of services.
• (to) work down to the
wire
• - to work until the last
minute; to work until just
before the deadline
•The investment bankers need to turn
in their report at 9 a.m. tomorrow
morning, and they've still got many
hours of work left on it. They're going to
be working down to the wire.
 American Business Idioms
• (to) work out the (or • yes man
some) kinks • - an employee who
• - to solve the always agrees with
problems with the boss or does
whatever the boss
says

The company announced that

they will delay the launch of
their new product by two weeks. Don't expect Larry to argue with the
They still need to work out the boss. He's a yes man.
kinks with their packaging
process.
 Idiom-rich Conversation
Stacy: Look what I've got!
Denis: What's that? Oh! You have a new credit card. Let me take a look at it.
Stacy: Yap. Here it is
Denis: Easy Credit? What is Easy Credit? I've never heard of it before. How did you get
it?
Stacy: I got it at the drop of a hat. Last week I found an application form in the mail. I
filled it out next day and mailed it back. By the end of last week I received the
credit card.
Denis: That was quick. But I'm not surprised. I know all about the credit card craze going
around everywhere these days. Don't you have American Express already?
Why would you need one more credit card?
Stacy: Yes, I have an American Express card. But it doesn't' hurt to have one more.
Does it? Besides, the interest rate on Easy Credit is very low.
Denis: Of course, it does hurt, Stacy. The low interest rate promise is just a deception.
Don't you know that?
Stacy: Why is it a deception?
Denis: Let me tell you this: They will change the interest rate without even notifying you.
What's the interest rate on it?
Stacy: It's only 12 percent. Much lower than American Express.
 Idiom-rich Conversation
Denis: That interest rate will go up immediately if you happen to pay your bills little late.
Or, if they find something about your income, or for so many other reasons.
Stacy: I pay my bills in time. What'd you mean by the interest rate changes immediately?
Denis: You're being naive, Have you ever read the fine print in the back of your
application?
Stacy: No, I haven't.
Denis: Please do yourself a favor. Take a look at the fine print in the back of your
application. Do you have a copy of your application?
Stacy: No, I don't. Why is it so important to read the fine print? After all, I know what the
interest rate is.
Denis: Call up the credit company immediately and ask for your credit interest rate
contract. I hope they will send it to you soon. I have to go know. I'll talk to you
tonight. Before I call you, make sure you will call them to ask for the contract.
Stacy: You're making me nervous. I don't think I'm in trouble.
Denis: I hope you're not. Bye now.
Stacy: Okey. Bye now. I'll be home by seven.
Denis: I'll call you around 9 o'clock.
 Answer these Questions
1. What is the topic of this conversation?
2. Why does Denis warn Stacy against her
new credit card interest rate?
3. Do you think Stacy is not well-informed on
her credit card?
4. Why does Denis find Stacy's behavior
naive?
5. Do you see people usually have this
problem with their credit cards?
 Vocabulary
• take a look: idiom verb. to read, examine, or
look at something to get an idea

• at the drop of a hat: idiom. so quickly and

easily

• go around: idiom verb. to circulate around

• do yourself a favor: idiomatic verbal

phrase. take a right action for your own good
 Vocabulary
• call up: idiomatic verb. to make a telephone call

• ask for: idiom verb. Request

• make sure: idiom verb. be certain

• make someone nervous: idiomatic verb. to cause

someone to feel nervous

• leave off: idiom verb. to leave something unfinished at

some point