Why Idioms are Essential in Any Business Conversation?
2 July 2020 2020-07-03 14:46Why Idioms are Essential in Any Business Conversation?
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The world of business communication has become loaded with idiomatic expressions. As a working professional in an English environment you are expected to have a good command of business idioms and expressions. Whether you are taking part in a daily meeting or a business negotiation or attending a cocktail party on the occasion of launching a new product, understanding business idioms has become a must.
There are various situations during a business meeting when you could get easily lost and confused if you do not understand business idioms. Hereinafter we will provide such an example.
Idiom: blue sky thinking
Meaning: original or creative thinking to find a new solution or concept
Example: Our sales are falling. Our products are old and the package is unfashionable. We really need some “blue sky thinking”.
Understanding the above idiom during a meeting is crucial. Otherwise it could cause confusion and get you sidetracked. In order to help you find your way through the jungle of business idioms, we have a compiled of list of the 50 very commonly used ones and we have also provided explanations for their meaning.
| Ahead of the pack | To be more successful than the competition |
| Back to square one | To start something again because a previous attempt failed |
| Ballpark number/figure | A very inexact estimate |
| Big picture | Everything that is involved with a particular situation |
| By the book | To do things exactly according to the rules or the law |
| Corner the market | To dominate a particular market |
| Cut-throat | Very intense, aggressive and merciless competition |
| Easy come, easy go | Something gained easily is lost easily |
| Game plan | A strategy or plan for achieving success |
| Get down to business | Stop making small talk and start talking about serious business topics |
| Get something off the ground | To start something (a project or a business) |
| Go down the drain | Something is wasted or lost |
| Go the extra mile | To do more than what people expect |
| Hands are tied | Not being free to behave in the way you would like |
| In a nutshell | Using as few words as possible |
| In full swing | At a stage when the level of activity is at its the highest |
| In the driver’s seat | To be in charge or in control of a situation |
| Keep one’s eye on the ball | To give something one’s full attention and to not lose focus |
| Learn the ropes | Learn the basics of something (e.g. a job) |
| Long shot | Something that has a very low probability of happening |
| No-brainer | Something that is really obvious or easy |
| No strings attached | Something is given without involving special demands or limits |
| Not going to fly | Something is not expected to work out |
| On the same page | To be in agreement about something |
| Out in the open | Something that is public knowledge and not secret any more |
| Put all one’s eggs in one basket | To rely on only one thing to bring success |
| Put the cart before the horse | To do or think about things in the wrong order |
| Raise the bar | To set standards or expectations higher |
| Red tape | Official rules and processes that seem excessive and unnecessary |
| Rock the boat | To do or say something that will upset people or cause problems |
| Safe bet | Something that is certain to happen |
| Same boat | To be in the same difficult situation as someone else |
| See eye to eye | To agree with somebody |
| See something through | To continue until something is finished |
| Sever ties | To end a relationship |
| Shoot something down | To reject something (e.g. a proposal) |
| Smooth sailing | A situation where success is achieved without difficulties |
| Stand one’s ground | To not change one’s opinion or position |
| Take the bull by the horns | To directly confront a difficult situations in a brave and determined way |
| Talk someone into something | To convince someone to do something |
| Talk someone out of something | To convince someone not to do something |
| The elephant in the room | An obvious problem or controversial issue that no one wants to discuss |
| Think outside the box | To think of creative, unconventional solutions instead of common ones |
| Time’s up | Time for something or someone has ended |
| Touch base | To make contact with someone |
| Twist someone’s arm | To convince someone to do something that he or she does not want to do |
| Up in the air | Something is undecided or uncertain |
| Uphill battle | Something that is difficult to achieve because of obstacles and difficulties |
| Upper hand | To have more power than anyone else and so have control |
| Word of mouth | Something is given or done by people talking about something or telling people about something |
