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 third part of the most common business idioms list. Enjoy it!
IDIOM
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WHAT IT MEANS
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EXAMPLES
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hands are tied
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If you do not have any control over a situation, your
"hands are tied."
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I would love to get you a job at my company, but my hands are
tied. Management isn't hiring any additional employees this year.
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have someone's work cut out
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If you have a lot of work to do or a particularly difficult
assignment, you "have your work cut out for you."
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She has to sell $35,000 worth of products by the end of the
month. She has her work cut out for her.
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hit the nail on the head
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To "hit the nail on the head" means to do or say
something 100% correctly.
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I agree with John 100%. I think he really hit the nail on the
head.
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in a nutshell
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"In a nutshell" means in a few words.
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In a nutshell, this book is about how to motivate employees.
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in full swing
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If a project is "in full swing," it means that it
has been completely started and that it is progressing or moving as fast as
it ever will.
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Construction on the new site is in full swing now.
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in the black
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If a company is "in the black," it means that they
are making a profit.
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We're not having a great year, but at least we're in the
black.
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in the driver's seat
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To be ¨in the driver´s seat¨ means to be in control.
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I'm not used to being in the driver's seat. I should probably
buy some management books.
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in the red
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If a company is "in the red," it means that they are
not profitable and are operating at a loss.
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When I started my own business, we were in the red for the
first two years. We didn't see a profit until the third year.
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keep your eye on the ball
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To "keep your eye on the ball¨ means to focus and
concentrate on what you want to achieve.
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I know we can do it. We just need to keep our eye on the ball
and not lose our focus.
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last straw
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The "last straw" means the last annoyance,
disturbance, or betrayal which causes someone to give up, lose his or her
patience, or become very angry.
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Our boss was unhappy with Brian's performance for a while, but
when he came to work three hours late without calling, it was the last straw.
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learn the ropes
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To "learn the ropes¨means to learn the basics of
something.
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I like my new position.
I´m starting to learn the ropes. |
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long shot
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A "long shot" is something that has a very low
probability of happening.
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Winning the lottery is a long shot, but millions of people
still buy lottery tickets.
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loophole
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A legal "loophole" occurs If a law is unclear or
omits information. This lack of legal clarity allows people or corporations
to take advantage of the situation and pay less in taxes or gain some other
advantage.
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Some people complain that millionaires avoid paying taxes by
finding loopholes in tax laws.
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lose ground (opposite is to "gain ground")
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To "lose ground" means to lose some type of an
advantage (market share, for example) to a competitor.
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Apple lost some ground to Samsung last quarter.
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lose-lose situation (also called a "no-win
situation")
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A "lose-lose situation" is when someone has to
choose between various options and all the options are bad.
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It's a lose-lose situation. If they lay off more workers,
they'll get bad press. If they don't lay off more workers, they won't be able
to compete.
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nine-to-five
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A "nine-to-five" is a job during normal working
hours. The term came into existence because many work days start at 9 AM and
end at 5 PM.
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She was tired of working a nine-to-five job, so she took her
savings and started a restaurant.
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no brainer
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If a decision is really obvious or really easy to make, the
decision is a "no brainer."
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Taking the new job was a no brainer. They offered me more
money, a better schedule, and more vacation days.
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no strings attached
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If something is given without expecting anything in return, it
is given with "no strings attached."
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They will let you try the product for free with no strings
attached. If you don't like it, there is no pressure to buy it or give them
anything in return.
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no time to lose
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If there is "no time to lose," it means that there
is a lot of pressure to complete something quickly.
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I told them I'd send the email by the end of the day and it's
already 4:45. I need to get to work. There's no time to lose.
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not going to fly
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If a solution isn't effective, people say that it "isn't
going to fly."
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I don't think that idea's going to fly. Let's keep generating
ideas.
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off the top of one's head
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If someone says something "off the top of his or her
head," it means that he or she gives a response without thinking about
it for a long time or doing any research on the subject.
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I have no idea how many branches they have. Off the top of my
head, I'd say about 20.
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on a roll
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If someone is "on a roll," it means that he or she
has had several successes in a row.
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Our profits have been above our projected numbers for five
months in a row. We're really on a roll.
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on the ball
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To be "one the ball" means to be alert and aware of
things.
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My new personal assistant is working out well. He's really on
the ball.
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on the same page page
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If two people are "on the same page," they are in
agreement about something.
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Let's go over the details of what we agreed on just to make
sure that we're on the same page.
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on top of something
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To be "on top of something" means to be in control
of a situation and aware of changes.
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I read a lot to stay on top of the latest changes in my
industry.
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