Across the board
MEANING: including everyone or everything
EXAMPLE: The computer company decided to give the workers an across-the-board increase in their salary.
At a loss
MEANING: sell something and lose money
EXAMPLE: We were forced to sell the computers at a big loss.
Bail a company out
MEANING: help or rescue a company with financial problems.
EXAMPLE: The government decided to bail out the failing bank in order to maintain stability in the economy.
Ball park figure/estimate
MEANING: a rough estimate or figure
EXAMPLE: The contractor gave us a ball park figure for the cost of repairing the new building.
Bang for the buck
MEANING: value for the money spent
EXAMPLE: We were able to get a big bang for our buck when we advertised on the Internet.
Banker’s hours
MEANING: short work hours
EXAMPLE: My sister’s husband owns his own company and is able to work banker’s hours with his large staff.
Bean-counter
MEANING: an accountant
EXAMPLE: We asked the bean-counters to look over the figures in the new budget.
Big gun/cheese/wheel/wig
MEANING: an important person, a leader
EXAMPLE:
The new director was a big wheel in his previous company but is not so important now.
Bottom fall out/drop out
MEANING: to fall below an earlier lowest price
EXAMPLE: When the bottom fell out of the coffee market many companies had to stop doing business.
Bottom line
MEANING: the total, the final figure on a balance sheet
EXAMPLE: When they examined the bottom line of the company they decided not to invest in it.
Bottom out
MEANING: reach the lowest or worst point of something
EXAMPLE: The value of the stock has begun to bottom out and should soon begin to increase in value.
Boys/men in the backroom
MEANING: a group of men making decisions behind the scenes
EXAMPLE: The boys in the backroom told us that we must close down the factory as soon as possible.
Break even
MEANING: have expenses equal to profits
EXAMPLE: After only three months the company was able to break even and start making profits.
Budget squeeze/crunch
MEANING: a situation where there is not enough money in the budget
EXAMPLE: We have been going through a severe budget squeeze at our company and must begin to stop spending money in a wasteful manner.
Buy off
MEANING: use a gift or money to divert someone from their duty or purpose
EXAMPLE: The land developer tried to buy off the politician but he was not successful.
Buy out
MEANING: buy the ownership or a decisive share of something
EXAMPLE: The company was bought out by another large company in the textile industry.
By a long shot
MEANING: by a big difference, by far
EXAMPLE: The soap company was able to beat out the bids of the other companies by a long shot.
Calculated risk
MEANING: an action that may fail but has a good chance to succeed
EXAMPLE: They took a calculated risk when they introduced the new computer screen onto the market.
Captain of industry
MEANING: a top corporation officer
EXAMPLE: The president of our company was a captain of industry and after he retired he was appointed to many government boards.
Carry over
MEANING: save for another time
EXAMPLE: We were forced to carry over the sale to the Monday after the national holiday.
Carry over
MEANING: transfer (a figure) from one column or book to another
EXAMPLE: Our company is still facing difficult times and we will have to carry over last year’s losses to this year.
Carry the day
MEANING: win completely
EXAMPLE: The president’s new idea carried the day and everyone supported him energetically.
Carry through
MEANING: put into action
EXAMPLE: The steel company carried through their plan to restructure all of their operations.
Close out
MEANING: sell the whole of something, sell all the goods
EXAMPLE: They decided to close out the store and sell all of the remaining stock very cheap.
Close the books
MEANING: stop taking orders, end a bookkeeping period
EXAMPLE: They usually close the books at the end of February every year.
Cold call
MEANING: call a potential customer from a list of persons one has never seen
EXAMPLE: When he first started to work at his company he was asked to make cold calls using the telephone book.
Come on strong
MEANING: overwhelm with excessively strong language or personality
EXAMPLE: The salesman came on too strong at the meeting and angered the other members of the team.
Company man
MEANING: a person who always works hard and agrees with his employees
EXAMPLE: My father was a true company man and was always putting in an extra effort for his company.
Company town
MEANING: a town dominated by one industry or company
EXAMPLE: When the coal mine closed down the company town faced severe economic times.
Cut back
MEANING: use fewer or use less
EXAMPLE: The company has been cutting back on entertainment expenses for over a year now.
Cut corners
MEANING: economize
EXAMPLE: We have been forced to economize on stationary expenses during these severe economic times.
Cut off
MEANING: interrupt or stop
EXAMPLE: The speech of the president was cut off when the electricity went off in the building.
Cut one’s losses
MEANING: do something to stop losing money or something
EXAMPLE: We should sell the old machinery as soon as possible and try and cut our losses.
Deliver the goods
MEANING: succeed in doing well what is expected
EXAMPLE: The new owner of the company is not very popular but he is able to deliver the goods.
Double-check
MEANING: check something again to confirm
EXAMPLE: We were unable to double-check the costs of the new products before the price list was printed.
Face value
MEANING: the official worth or trust of something
EXAMPLE: Although the face value of the postage stamp was very low it sold at the auction for much money.
Fair play
MEANING: justice, equal and right action to someone
EXAMPLE: The company is very good to work for as they always use fair play when they are bargaining with their employees.
Figure out
MEANING: find an answer by thinking about something
EXAMPLE: Everyone in our company is trying to figure out what our boss is going to do with the new equipment.
Fill the bill
MEANING: be just what is needed
EXAMPLE: That new machine should fill the bill as to what we need to finish the job.
Finger in the pie
MEANING: involved in what is happening, receiving money for something
EXAMPLE: The new manager has his finger in the pie in all aspects of our company’s business.
Gain ground
MEANING: go forward, make progress
EXAMPLE: Our company has been gaining ground in our attempt to be the best in the industry.
Get a break
MEANING: get an opportunity or good deal
EXAMPLE: We were able to get a break on the price of the paint and saved a lot of money.
Get off the ground
MEANING: make a successful beginning, go ahead
EXAMPLE: We were unable to get the new product off the ground and will have to wait until next year.
Give someone the green light
MEANING: give permission to go ahead with a project
EXAMPLE: Our boss gave us the green light to begin work on the new sales promotion.
Go public
MEANING: sell shares of a privately owned company to the public
EXAMPLE: The stock of the Internet company rose very quickly when they went public.
Go through with
MEANING: finish, do as planned or agreed
EXAMPLE: We have decided not to go through with our plans to launch the new product until we have solved all of its problems.
Hard sell
MEANING: sell something by being very aggressive
EXAMPLE: The car salesman gave us a hard sell so we decided to go to another dealer.
Heads will roll
MEANING: someone will be punished
EXAMPLE: Heads will roll when our boss learns about the money that we have lost recently.
In black and white
MEANING: in writing
EXAMPLE: The company refused to deal with the customer’s complaints until they saw them in black and white.
In charge of
MEANING: in control of, responsible for
EXAMPLE: My sister has been in charge of buying supplies at her company for many years.
In short supply
MEANING: not enough, in less than the amount or number needed
EXAMPLE: Experienced computer programmers are in short supply at our company.
In stock
MEANING: have something ready to sell or use
EXAMPLE: They didn’t have any computer printer ribbons in stock at the store.
In the black
MEANING: successful or making money
EXAMPLE: The new company has been in the black for over a year now.
iI the long run
MEANING: in the final result
EXAMPLE: The company has been losing money recently but in the long run they should do very well.
In the market for
MEANING: ready to buy something
EXAMPLE: We have been in the market for a new computer for a long time but still we haven’t bought one.
In the red
MEANING: losing money, unprofitable
EXAMPLE: The company began to go into the red when the price of oil began to rise rapidly.
In the works
MEANING: in preparation, being planned or worked on
EXAMPLE: The camera company has a new automatic camera in the works but nobody knows about it yet.
Jack up
MEANING: make a price higher
EXAMPLE: The steel companies decided to jack up the price of steel at the beginning of the year.
Keep books
MEANING: keep records of money gained and spent
EXAMPLE: The new assistant to the sales manager has no experience keeping books and has made many mistakes.
Keep track of
MEANING: keep a count or record, stay informed
EXAMPLE: They have been making a great effort to keep track of the number of visitors to their store.
Kickback
MEANING: money paid illegally for favourable treatment
EXAMPLE: The construction company was taken to court for giving kickbacks to the local politicians.
Make a go of
MEANING: produce good results, succeed
EXAMPLE: Although he works very hard in his small business he has been unable to make a go of it and may soon go out of business.
Mean business
MEANING: be serious
EXAMPLE: Our boss means business when he tells everyone to try and work harder.
Number-cruncher
MEANING: an accountant, someone who works with numbers
EXAMPLE: Our president is a good number-cruncher and understands about the finances of our company.
On hand
MEANING: in one’s possession, ready
EXAMPLE: We didn’t have any supplies on hand and were unable to finish the job.
(Buy) On credit
MEANING: buy something without paying cash
EXAMPLE: My friend had no money so he decided to buy the furniture on credit.
On the block
MEANING: for sale
EXAMPLE: As soon as they purchased the company they began to put some of the equipment on the block.
Pay off
MEANING: make a profit, be successful
EXAMPLE: The furniture manufacturer was unable to pay off their loan and had to go out of business.
Piece/slice of the action
MEANING: a share in the activity or the profits of something
EXAMPLE: The inventor wanted a large piece of the action of the profits from the new computer that he had invented.
Red ink
MEANING: debt (red ink on a financial statement)
EXAMPLE: The automobile company has been drowning in red ink since the US dollar began to rise.
Run short
MEANING: not have enough in quantity
EXAMPLE: They ran short of gasoline at the gas station and had to close early.
Saddled with debt
MEANING: burdened with debt
EXAMPLE: Our sister company is saddled with a great amount of debt and should be sold as soon as possible.
Sell like hotcakes
MEANING: sell very quickly
EXAMPLE: The children’s toys were selling like hotcakes at the end of the year.
Sell out
MEANING: sell all of a product
EXAMPLE: Every year at least one company sells out all of their products which frustrates many customers.
Strike while the iron is hot
MEANING: take advantage of an opportunity
EXAMPLE: We decided to strike while the iron was hot and began to market the product around the time of the Olympics.
Sweetheart deal
MEANING: a deal made between friends so that both may make a big profit
EXAMPLE: We were able to make a sweetheart deal with our landlord and got the rent greatly reduced.
Take a nosedive
MEANING: collapse, fail, decrease in value
EXAMPLE: The stock market took a nosedive when the earnings of the oil company began to weaken.
Take on
MEANING: to give a job to or hire someone
EXAMPLE: The company took on many new workers during the busy holiday season.
Take over
MEANING: take control or possession of something, take charge or responsibility
EXAMPLE: The government decided to take over the bank after it declared bankruptcy.
Take public
MEANING: sell shares in a company to the general public
EXAMPLE: We decided it was necessary to take our company public in order to raise money to expand our facilities.
Take stock
MEANING: count the items of merchandise or supplies in stock, take inventory
EXAMPLE: The department store closes down for 3 days every March in order to take stock.
Throw cold water on
MEANING: discourage, forbid
EXAMPLE: The managers threw cold water on the plans to close down the factory for one week in August.
Throw money at something
MEANING: try to solve a problem by spending money on it
EXAMPLE: The president of our company is willing to throw a lot of money at the problem in the hope of solving it.
Tight spot
MEANING: a difficult situation
EXAMPLE: The computer manufacturing company has been in a tight spot since the shortage of computer chips appeared.
Turn over
MEANING: to buy and then sell something to customers
EXAMPLE: The turn-over at that discount store is very rapid.
Work out
MEANING: plan, develop
EXAMPLE: I spent the weekend trying to work out the budget estimates for next year.
Write off
MEANING: remove from a business record, cancel a debt
EXAMPLE: It was impossible for the bank to collect the money so they were forced to write off the loan.
FUENTE:
http://www.internationalaccess.com.ar/blog/page/7/
Business Idioms
Moderador: Moderadores
Business Idioms
aRGENTeaM 21 años
