Business Idioms 51-75 Flashcards
In the driver’s seat
To be in control
In the red
A company that is not profitable and is operating at lost
Keep your eye on the ball
To focus and concentrate on what you want to achieve
Last straw
The last annoyance, disturbance, or betrayal which causes someone to give up, lose his or her patience, or become very angry
Learn the ropes
To learn the basics of something
Long shot
Something that has a very low probability of happening
Loophole
A legal one 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 taxes or gain some other advantage (go around)
Lose ground (opposed to “gain ground”)
To lose some type of an advantage (market share, for example) to a competitor
Lose-lose situation (or a “no-win situation”)
When someone has to choose between various options which are all bad
Nine-to-five
A job during normal working hours
No brainer
A decision is really obvious or really easy to make
No strings attached
Something given without expecting anything in return
No time to lose
When there is a lot of pressure to complete something quickly
Not going to fly
When a solution is not effective
Off the top of one’s head
Someone is giving a response without thinking about it for a long time or doing any research on the subject
On a roll
Someone has several successes in a row
On the ball
To be alert and aware of things
On the same page
When two people are in agreement about something
On top of something
To be in control of a situation and aware of changes
On your toes
To be alert
Out in the open
Something is public knowledge and not hidden from people
Out of the loop vs in the loop
To not know something that a select group of people knows vs to be part of a select group with knowledge that others do not have
Pink slip
Someone who has been fired
Play hardball
To be competitive in a cruel way and without showing mercy (to do anything possible to win)
Put all someone’s eggs in one basket
To rely on only one thing to bring you success
