WELCOME... THIS IS VOCABULARY!!! MOST COMMON BUSINESS IDIOMS, PART 1!!!

Hi everybody and welcome to this new entry of Montcada in English. As many of you know English is the main language for business world nowadays. It is well known that for negotiations is important to speak in a correct and polite way but sometimes there are some expressions that are used to explain in a more colloquial way without being informal, a specific situation. Those common expressions are known as Idioms.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, an idiom is “a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light)”. It can be also “a form of expression natural to a language, person, or group of people” or “The dialect of a people or part of a country”.

There are many idioms used in the business world. If you don’t understand them, it’s easy to get lost in a conversation. I must say that I could not have done this post without the help of the specialized website www.businessenglishresources.com . Thanks for sharing this wonderful resources.

Well, get down to business. Below is a chart of some of the most common idioms used at work.  Although most of these idioms are used in both British and American English, the chart was designed to include the most common business idioms in American English. I will divide this unit in 5 parts. I hope you enjoy it and you will find it useful.

IDIOM	WHAT IT MEANS	EXAMPLES
24/7	"24/7" means 24 hours a day, seven days a week.	The convenience store on the corner is open 24/7.
a tough break	When something unfortunate happens, it can be called a "tough break."	It was a tough break for us when Caroline quit. She was one of our top performers.
ahead of the curve	To be "ahead of the curve" means to be more advanced than the competition.	We're investing a lot of money in research and development so we can stay ahead of the curve.
ahead of the pack	To be "ahead of the pack" means to be better or more successful than the competition.	If we want to stay ahead of the pack, we're going to have to work really hard and continue to innovate.
ASAP	"ASAP" is an acronym for "as soon as possible."	I need to finish these reports. My boss needs them ASAP.
at stake	"At stake" means at risk.	I'n a little nervous about giving this presentation. There's a lot at stake.
back to square one	To go "back to square one" means to start something over again.	Our programmers identified what they thought the problem was with the software. After working for several hours, it turns out that the problem is something totally different, so it looks like we have to go back to square one.
back to the drawing board	To go "back to the drawing board" means to start something over again, and go back to the planning stage of something.	The prototype wasn't successful. We have to go back to the drawing board.
backroom deal	A ¨backroom deal¨ is an agreement or decision that is made without the public knowing about it.	I think they got the government contract because of a backroom deal.
ballpark number	A ¨ballpark number¨ is a very inexact estimate.	I´m not sure what a Super Bowl commercial costs, but to give you a ballpark figure, I´d say about three million dollars.
behind someone's back	To do something "behind someone's back" means to do something without someone's knowledge and in a way that is not fair.	She didn't think it would be fair to go behind his back and talk to management, so she confronted him directly.
behind the scenes	What happens in secret or not in front of the general public is said to happen "behind the scenes."	They make it look so effortless, but they do a lot of hard work and planning behind the scenes.
big picture	Everything that is involved with a particular situation is called "the big picture."	Even though we all have very specific tasks to do, our manager makes sure we don't lose sight of the big picture.
blue collar	A ¨blue collar worker¨ is someone who works with his or her hands (manufacturing, construction, maintenance, etc.) The opposite is a ¨white collar worker.¨ A white collar worker is someone who works in an office (customer service, management, sales, etc.) ¨Blue collar¨(and ¨white collar¨) can also be used to describe a job, position, or a place.	It's a blue collar town with a lot of farmers and factory workers.
by the book	To do things "by the book" means to do things according to company policy or law. It means to follow the rules 100%.	There are a lot of regulatory industries that audit us on a regular basis. It's important that we do everything by the book.
call it a day	To "call it a day" means to decide to stop working for the day.	Well, John, it's 7:00 and I'm getting hungry. How about we call it a day?
catch someone off guard	To ¨catch someone off guard¨ means to surprise someone by doing something that he or she was not expecting.	Mike was caught off guard when they asked him to direct the meeting.
cave (or cave in)	If someone "caves" or "caves in" it means that the person gives in to something or agrees to something that he or she previously did not want to accept.	The employees complained about the change in policy, but the supervisor refused to cave in.
change of pace	¨A change of pace¨is something different from a normal routine or schedule.	It´s nice to go on business trips because it´s a change of pace.
come up short	To "come up short¨ means to try to achieve something but fail. We often say that someone has ¨come up short¨ when someone fails to achieve a goal, but not completely.	The charity fund raiser was supposed to raise three million dollars, but they came up short.
corner a market	To "corner a market" means to dominate a particular market.	Apple has cornered the market on mp3 players. They have a very large percentage of market share.
cut corners	To "cut corners" means to take shortcuts and find an easier or cheaper way to do something.	We don't cut corners on our luxury products. They are all made to high standards with materials of the highest quality.
cut one's losses	If you stop doing something that is unproductive and won't ever generate results, you "cut your losses."	Advertising through that company was expensive and we didn't see an increase in sales. So, we decided to cut our losses and stop doing business with them.
cut-throat	"Cut-throat" is used to describe something that is very intense, aggressive and merciless.	In business school, the competition was cut-throat.