Business English Expressions
20 More Useful Business Idioms from www.teachjoe.us!
21. level playing field - equal conditions for all people or groups
Example:
"The WTO agreement helps to level the playing field, which gives us the chance to compete anywhere in the world."
22. the lion's share - the largest part
Example:
"If we want the lion's share of the profit, we'll have to do the lion's share of the work."
23. number crunching - analyze numbers
Example:
"I'll go back to my office and do some number crunching, then tell you the results tomorrow."
24. pipe dream - something that is unrealistic
Example:
"Do you think we can really live on the moon some day, or is it just a pipe dream?"
25. play hardball - deal in a tough way
Example:
"If he tries to block this deal in any way, we'll just have to start playing hardball."
26. power lunch - big business dealing while eating lunch
Example:
"The top executives met with their bankers at the best restaurant in town. It was a real power lunch!"
27. push the envelope - move beyond current limits
Example:
"Teacher Joe is always pushing the envelope by giving us new activities such as dictations, jokes and interesting discussion topics."
28. put on the map - make well-known
Example:
"They've had some good products in the past, but nothing special. This new device is so good that it finally puts them on the map."
29. savvy - smart and knowledgeable
Example:
"He's a savvy investor so there is a high probability this project will be successful."
30. sea change - a large change
Example:
"Globalization has brought about a sea change. Those who don't change will end up sinking!"
31. flying by the seat of your pants - intuitively (flying an airplane with no instruments)
Example:
"Who knows if they will succeed or not? Without a clear business plan, they are just flying by the seat of their pants."
32. shotgun approach - strike widely rather than focussing
Example:
"Taking a shotgun approach is a big risk. We may not hit any target at all. If we can identify one good target, we can develop a more precise marketing plan."
33. step up to the plate - take responsibility
Example:
"We've done all that we can to prepare. Now it's time to step up to the plate and do it!"
34. talk until you are blue in the face - try to persuade someone with no results
Example:
"You can talk until you are blue in the face, but I will never believe that Teacher Joe is the funniest English teacher in the world."
35. the bottom line - the final result
Example:
"Although we worked hard on this deal, the bottom line is we didn't make the sale, so it was a complete failure."
36. the name of the game is... - the basic purpose
Example:
"The name of the game is service. If we focus on that, the customers will always come back."
37. take a haircut - take a loss
Example:
"We really took a haircut on that one! We're going to have to negotiate a better deal next time."
38. tweak something - make a slight adjustment
Example:
"By tweaking the economy, the government hopes to avoid a recession."
39. unwind a deal - take apart or undo something
Example:
"We have to unwind this deal, then we can start over again."
40. a zero sum game - a situation where someone wins so someone else must lose
Example:
"I don't think this is a zero-sum game. If the customer wins, we win too."
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