WELCOME... THIS IS VOCABULARY!!! MOST COMMON BUSINESS IDIOMS, PART 2!!!

Hi everybody and welcome to this new entry of Montcada in English. As many of you know English is the main language in 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. This is the second part of the most common business idioms list. Enjoy it!

IDIOM	WHAT IT MEANS	EXAMPLES

diamond in the rough	A "diamond in the rough" is something or someone that has a lot of potential but first requires a lot of work.	He was a diamond in the rough. He was really intelligent and had great ideas, but his management and English skills weren't very good.
easy come, easy go	"Easy come, easy go," is an expression used to communicate that something gained easily is also lost easily. We use this expression after something has been lost.	A lot of people who inherit money waste it on stupid things. I guess it's easy come, easy go.
fifty-fifty	"Fifty-fifty" means something is divided equally -- 50% for one person, 50% for the other person.	My business partner and I split everything fifty-fifty.
from the ground up	If you start a business, project, or something else from zero, you start it "from the ground up."	Bill Gates built Microsoft from the ground up.
game plan	A ¨game plan¨ is a strategy or plan.	They're not sure what their game plan is for the upcoming election.
get back in/into the swing of things	To "get back in/into the swing of things" means to get used to doing something after you have had a break from that activity.	Our company shuts down operations for three weeks during the holiday season. When I go back to work in January, it's always difficult to get back in the swing of things.
get down to business	To "get down to business" means to stop making small talk and start talking about serious topics related to business.	Well, everyone's here, and I know everyone is very busy. So, let's get down to business and talk about the proposal.
get something off the ground	To "get something off the ground" means to start a project or business.	We're very glad that the planning process is over. We're looking forward to getting the project off the ground.
get the ball rolling	To "get the ball rolling¨means to start something (a work project, for example).	We really need to get the ball rolling on this project. The deadline is in June, and it's already April.
get/be on the good side of someone	If someone likes you, you are "on the good side" of that person.	I always remember my coworkers' birthdays and get them a card or small gift. I like to get on people's good side.
get/have foot in the door	To "get or have your foot in the door" means to take a low-level position with a company with the goal of eventually getting a better position with the same company in the future.	My son just took a low-paying internship position with a large company. He was happy to get his foot in the door at a well-known, respected company.
give someone a pat on the back	To "give someone a pat on the back" means to tell someone that he or she did a good job.	The boss gave Brian a pat on the back for coming up with such a good idea.
give something/someone the thumbs down	To "give something or someone the thumbs down" means to deny approval.	I can't believe she gave us the thumbs down. I thought it was a great idea.
give something/someone the thumbs up	To "give something or someone the thumbs up" means to approve.	They gave our new proposal the thumbs up. We're going out to celebrate tonight.
go broke	To "go broke" means to go bankrupt or to lose all the money a person or business had.	There was too much competition and their expenses were too high. They eventually went broke.
go down the drain	When you waste or lose something, it is said to "go down the drain."	He dropped out of college in his third year and never continued his studies. All of his hard work and money went down the drain.
go the extra mile	To "go the extra mile" means to do more than what people expect of you.	We go the extra mile for our customers. If someone is dissatisfied with a purchase, we refund their money and offer them a discount on their next purchase.
go through the roof	If something is ¨going through the roof,¨ it means it is increasing very quickly.	We're really happy that our number of Facebook followers has gone through the roof.
gray area	If something is in a ¨gray area¨ it means that it is something undefined that is not easily categorized.	I asked our lawyers if it was legal, and they said it wasn't clear. It's in a gray area.
ground-breaking	If something is ¨ground-breaking¨ it means it is new and innovative.	The iPhone was a ground-breaking piece of technology when it was released in 2008.