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Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.
- Peter Drucker
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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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