on-going phrases / idioms/ sayings

ahead of the pack

To be more successful than the competition

Back to square one

To start something over again because a previous attempt failed

Ballpark number/figure

A very inexact estimate

Big picture

Everything that is involved with a particular situation

By the book

To do things exactly according to the rules or the law

Corner the market

To dominate a particular market

Cut-throat

Very intense, aggressive, and merciless competition

Easy come, easy go

Something gained easily is also lost easily

Game plan

A strategy or plan for achieving success

Get down to business

Stop making small talk and start talking about serious business topics

Get something off the ground

ground To start something (e.g. a project or a business)

Go down the drain

Something is wasted or lost

Go the extra mile

To do more than what people expect

Hands are tied

Not being free to behave in the way that you would like

In a nutshell

Using as few words as possible

In full swing

At a stage when the level of activity is at its highest

In the driver’s seat

To be in charge or in control of a situation

Keep one’s eye on the ball

To give something one’s full attention and to not lose focus

Learn the ropes

Learn the basics of something (e.g. a job)

Long shot

Something that has a very low probability of happening

No-brainer

Something that is really obvious or easy

No strings attached

Something is given without involving special demands or limits

Not going to fly

Something isn’t expected to work out

On the same page

To be in agreement about something

Out in the open

Something that is public knowledge and not secret anymore

Put all one’s eggs in one basket

To rely on only one thing to bring success

Put the cart before the horse

To do or think about things in the wrong order

Raise the bar

To set standards or expectations higher

Red tape

Official rules and processes that seem excessive and unnecessary

Rock the boat

To do or say something that will upset people or cause problems

Safe bet

Something that is certain to happen

Same boat

To be in the same difficult situation as someone else

See eye to eye

To agree with somebody

See something through

To continue until something is finished

Sever ties

To end a relationship

Shoot something down

To reject something (e.g. an idea or a proposal)

Smooth sailing

A situation where success is achieved without difficulties

Stand one’s ground

To not change one’s opinion or position

Take the bull by the horns

To directly confront a difficult situation in a brave and determined way

Talk someone into something

To convince someone to do something

Talk someone out of something

To convince someone not to do something

The elephant in the room

An obvious problem or controversial issue that no one wants to discuss

Think outside the box

To think of creative, unconventional solutions instead of common ones.

Time’s up

Time for something or someone has ended.

Touch base

To make contact with someone.

Twist someone’s arm

To convince someone to do something that he or she does not want to do

to deal with

To handle, work on

to take over

o get control or responsibility for something

to Look into

To investigate, learn more about

to look up to

To respect

to look for sth

To search

To look through

To search many things

to catch on

To finally understand, to understand something that other people already understand

to get ahead

To move up in position, improve your career

to drop in (ON sb) (OR for sth e.g. for a drink)

To make an unexpected visit

drop off

A sharp decrease

drop off sth

To deliver

to fill in

To write or type an item on a form

to fill in

To do a job or hold a position temporarily

to bring up an issue

To say or introduce a topic or issue

to break down

to explain something or divide something into parts down

to hold up

To cause a delay

to turn down

To handle, work on

to think through

o consider carefully and thoroughly

to spell out

To say something in a simple way

to point out

To indicate or show something

to cut down

To reduce, make something less

to Cut out

To completely remove or erase

to call off / to cancel

To cancel

to chip in for sth

To give some help

Put off

To postpone, delay

to put in

to apply effort

To step in

to take over a position

to turn to

to seek advice or herlp

To count on

to depend on

to set up

to plan or make

to run this by

to talk to or inform

the best of both worlds

means you can enjoy two different opportunities at the same time.

‘Speak of the devil’

this means that the person you’re just talking about actually turns up at that moment.

Once in a blue moon

an event that happens infrequently.

When pigs fly

something that will never happen.

A piece of cake’

something is very easy

‘Let the cat out of the bag’

to accidentally reveal a secret

'To feel under the weather'

to not feel well

'To add insult to injury'

To make a situation worse

'To break a leg'

To wish someone good luck (often said to actors before they perform on stage)

'A penny for your thoughts'

A way of asking what someone is thinking

'At the drop of a hat'

Without any hesitation

'Barking up the wrong tree'

Looking in the wrong place or accusing the wrong person

'Best thing since sliced bread'

A good invention or idea.

'Bite off more than you can chew'

To take on a task too big

'Cross the bridge when you come to it'

Deal with a problem if it arises

Devil's Advocate

To present a counter argument

A chain is as good as its weakest link

The proverb has a literal meaning, although the 'weakest link' referred to is figurative and usually applies to a person or technical feature rather than the link of an actual chain.

A drop in the bucket

A very small proportion of the whole.

A fish out of water

Someone who is in a situation they are unsuited to.

A feather in one's cap

A symbol of honour and achievement.

A fly in the ointment

A small but irritating flaw that spoils the whole.

baby boomer

A person born during the temporary peak in the birth-rate that occurred in several countries following WWII, notably the USA and the UK.

bringing home the bacon

To earn money, particularly for one's family; to be successful, especially financially successful.

call a spade a spade

To speak plainly - to describe something as it really is.

can't hold a candle to

To compare badly to an known authority - to be unfit even to hold a subordinate position.

putting the cart before the horse

Reverse the accepted or logical order of things.

cat got your tongue

A question addressed to someone who is inexplicably silent.

Catch 22

A paradox in which the attempt to escape makes escape impossible.

chit chat

Casual smalltalk or gossip.

close, but not cigar

Fall just short of a successful outcome and get nothing for your efforts.

coin a phrase

To create a new phrase.

cookie cutter

Originally, a utensil for cutting shaped pieces out of dough. More recently, characterising a lack of originality.

From day one

This means “since the beginning.” You often hear the phrase from day one used in the workplace to talk about something that has been true since the very first day a project or business began.

Learning curve

A learning curve is used to describe the progress someone has to make to gain experience or learn a new skill set. A steep learning curve indicates the task may be difficult and therefore take more effort.

On a shoestring

When you do something on a shoestring, you’re working on a tight budget or with very little money.

The eleventh hour

The eleventh hour is used to describe something that’s done or happens at the last minute.

Run around in circles

To run around in circles means to keep doing something without achieving any real results. In other words, you’re doing a lot of unnecessary work but not getting anywhere.

Go the extra mile

To go the extra mile means to give more effort or do more than what’s expected of you.

funny business

This expression refers to dishonest/deceptive action. For example, if there’s a politician who was involved in corruption and using money illegally,

business as usual

This means the typical, ordinary way of doing things – nothing is different from normal activity.

Every cloud has a silver lining

Every bad things has something good or compensating about it

Down to the wire

To the last moment or final possibility (often used when a competition is very close or you are under time pressure)

To be fishy

To be ethically questionable

Come hell or high water

Regardless of the effort or cost

Knock on wood

Hopefully

Mum's the word

It is secret

Snowed under

To be very busy

Go out on a limb

To make a special effort and take a personal risk in order to support someone

the whole nine yards

Everything. All of it.

To hear something straight from the horse's mouth

To hear something from the authoritative source.

Taste of your own medicine

Means that something happens to you, or is done to you, that you have done to someone else

Take with a grain of salt

This means not to take what someone says too seriously.

Steal someone's thunder

To take the credit for something someone else did.

Sit on the fence

This is used when someone does not want to choose or make a decision.

Put wool over other people's eyes

This means to deceive someone into thinking well of them.

Miss the boat

to miss a chance

Let sleeping dogs lie

Meaning - do not disturb a situation as it is - since it would result in trouble or complications.

Last straw

The final problem in a series of problems.

Jump on the bandwagon

Join a popular trend or activity.

It takes two to tango

Actions or communications need more than one person

Elvis has left the building

The show has come to an end. It's all over.

Don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched

This idiom is used to express "Don't make plans for something that might not happen".

Play it by ear

Playing something by ear means that rather than sticking to a defined plan, you will see how things go and decide on a course of action as you go along.

A Doubting Thomas

a skeptic who needs physical or personal evidence in order to believe something.

A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand

Everyone involved must unify and function together or it will not work out.

Apple of My Eye

Someone who is cherished above all others.

Buy A Lemon

To purchase a vehicle that constantly gives problems or stops running after you drive it away.

Cast Iron Stomach

Someone who has no problems, complications or ill effects with eating anything or drinking anything.

Crack Someone Up

to make someone laugh

Dead Ringer

100% identical. A duplicate.

Doozy

Something outstanding

Dry Run

To rehearse something

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

Almost everything and anything has been included

Feeding Frenzy

An aggressive attack on someone by a group.

Flash In The Pan

Something that shows potential or looks promising in the beginning but fails to deliver anything in the end.

Get Your Walking Papers

to get fired

Graveyard Shift

Working hours from about 12:00 am to 8:00 am. The time of the day when most other people are sleeping.

Hell in a Handbasket

Deteriorating and headed for complete disaster.

to back up

to save something on a seperate drive/file/location.

to bail out

to financially help someone avoiding bankruptcy

to bring forward

to present or introduce (a subject) for discussion

burn out

To be exhausted from work

cash in on

to taker advantage or to exploit

to close down

if a business or organization closes down or someone closes it down, it stops operating

contract out to

to agree by contract to pay someone outside an organization to perform (a job)

copy in somebody

to inform someone of something (usually via email - ccing)

to draw up

to draft a contract or plan

to drum up

to encourage support for something or someone

to measure up to

o be good enough, or as good as someone or something else:

to meet up

an informal meeting or gathering

pencil in

to arrange for something to happen or for someone to do something on a particular date or occasion, knowing that the arrangement might be changed later

to stay behind

to stay in an space after a meeting has ended

to smarten up

o make (someone or something) smarter or more aware

to wind up

arrive or end up in a specified state, situation, or place.

you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs

o have to go through something seemingly not nice for a good result

young blood

new members that provide various new schemes and ideas for the organization

you can’t win them all

indicates the reality that it is not possible to always succeed

you’ve made your bed, now lie in it

to make a decision and to accept the consequences of those decisions

yes man

a person who only agrees with the crowd or a group of people in order to please them or look good in front of them

you are what you eat

if you eat good food you will be healthy, if you eat bad food you will be unhealthy

yesterday’s man

someone especially a politician whose career is finished

your sins will find you out

things you do wrong will become known.

yoke around neck

a trouble for someone.

when in Rome, do as the Romans

to copy popular culture in order to blend in

when it rains, it pours

to have a good or bad news enlarged by circumstances

whet one’s appetite

A reason which increases your interest in something.

when the chips are down

when a situation is urgent or desperate.

work like a beaver

work very energetically and hard.

silence is golden

it is often better to say nothing at all

shades of grey

refers to a situation where things are not really clear

as different as chalk and cheese

for two things to be completely different from each other

full of beans

to be optimistic or enthusiastic

from pillar to post

to move from one place to another with no purpose and direction

butter up

to flatter someone so as to get something in return from them

wet behind the ears

to be new at something or somewhere and so lack the necessary experience

kill the goose that lays the golden egg

to destroy something that is profitable to you mostly because of greed.

in a pickle

to be in a difficult situation

apple polisher

a person who tries to get favours from those in authority through flattery

chill to the marrow

to be very cold

break the mould

to do something different from what is expected

feel the pinch

experience financial hardship

keep your hair on

to request someone to stay calm and not get annoyed

just what the doctor ordered

exactly what was wanted or needed

blow your own trumpet

to say things that makes your own self or kin look good

spine-tingling

to be very horrific

page-turner

a thrilling book

household name

The character is a household name because people are able to identify with the struggles that he faces.

the last thing I want

I especially don’t want or didn’t want

memory like a sieve

poor memory

if it’s the last thing I do

indicates determination to achieve something

not the sharpest tool in the shed

someone who is not very clever, according to others

a trip to the sun

something which is very unlikely

touch off

to ignite a thought

in the cross hairs

in a position where one might receive severe criticism

out of sight, out of mind

to not stay an active issue when something is not immediately visible

if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours

to return a favour for a favour

no news is good news

to assume that since there is no news, it will not be bad news

money doesn’t grow on trees

to have to put an effort in earning money

learn to walk before you run

to progress gradually

still waters run deep

to have passion or furore underneath a calm expression

look before you leap

to make sure that everything is alright before doing something important which you cannot revert

many hands make light work

to come together for a cause

strike while the iron is hot

to take advantage of a situation

absence makes the heart grow fonder

to miss and love someone more when they are not around

familiarity breeds contempt

to start disliking something when one gets to know too much about it

there’s no time like the present

right now is the best time

a watched pot never boils

if you wait for something to happen it takes longer

discretion is the greater part of valour

to be quiet about it after helping someone out