Idioms

Definition: to promote or sell (something)

Examples:

He was on the TV news last night, but he didn’t have anything interesting to say. He was just there to plug his book.

At job fairs, it’s hard to plug our company to potential recruits when we have such a bad reputation.

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Definition: to keep something secret, to keep something hidden

Examples:

Our development department is working on a new product. We can’t tell anyone, we have to keep it under wraps.

My boss is going to promote someone. I hope it is me, but I don’t know yet — he is keeping his decision under wraps until tomorrow.

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Definition: to cut back on expenses

Examples:

Sales are down, we need to tighten our belt until business is better.

You should tighten your belt, if you spend money like that, you’ll go out of business quickly.

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Definition: two things are the same; the net effect is zero

Examples:

The company is going to cut our pay, but increase our health insurance. So my paycheck will be smaller, but I won’t pay as much when I go to the hospital. I think it’s six of one, and a half dozen of the other.

If we import from country X, the price is higher, but the customs duty is smaller. If we buy from country Y, the price is lower, but the customs duty is higher. Either way, the total cost is the same, so I don’t care. It’s six of one, and a half dozen of the other.

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Definition: to start roughly, to start badly

Examples:

The business is very successful now, but in the early days, we didn’t know if it would succeed or not. It got off to a really shaky start.

When you meet the new boss, it’s important to make a good first impression. You don’t want the new relationship to get off to a shaky start.

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Definition: to disappear, to be invisible

Examples:

We were good friends for many years, but when he moved to South Africa, I lost track of him. I haven’t spoken to him in 10 years, and I don’t even know where he is now. He fell off my radar.

When our company was big, it got lots of press coverage. But now it’s small, and no one cares anymore. We fell off the radar.

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Definition: to learn a new skill; to get basic experience

Examples:

He is a big, famous Finance Guru at the World Bank now, but he cut his teeth managing the finances for small textile factories in Egypt.

He is a great addition to our manufacturing team, because earlier in his career, he cut his teeth doing quality control at Toyota.

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Definition: to buy something for a really good price; to buy something cheap

Examples:

These days, a lot of banks are in distress, so they can be bought relatively cheaply. They can be bought for a song.

I bought this house for song, when prices were cheap during the last real estate crash.

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Definition: To solve two problems with only one action

Examples:

Last week the logistics department figured out how to deliver the customer’s goods early, and save money on shipping too. They killed two birds with one stone.

If you want the promotion, you need to work smarter than everyone else. Figure out how to do things more efficiently, kill two birds with one stone.

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Definition: to count, or to evaluate

Note: Sometimes this is used philosophically (as in, to evaluate one’s life), and sometimes it is used literally (as in, to actually count the number of inventory items sitting on the shelf).

Examples:

On major birthdays, many people take stock of their lives, and ask themselves whether they are headed in the right direction.

Three of our company’s top managers resigned this week. Before we continue the same old strategy, we need to take stock of our business, and decide where we want to go in the future.

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Definition: to be profitable, to be making money

Examples:

Our new startup lost money for two years, but now we are profitable. We are finally in the black.

Our company has a long history of financial strength. In fact, we have been in the black every year since 1972.

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Definition: to overwhelm with excessively strong language or personality

Examples:

The salesman came on too strong at the meeting and made the customer angry.

The new employee has some really good skills, but he comes on too strong.  The other employees think he is arrogant and annoying.

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Definition: to approve something, to give approval to something

Examples:

This marketing plan is great, but you have to show it to the boss first. Until he gives the green light, we can’t do anything with it.

I want to hire a new sales rep, so I checked with the sales manager. He gave me the green light, and I made an offer to the top candidate yesterday.

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Definition: to be near a target, to be close to the target

Examples:

You haven’t told me your target price, but I think it is probably around $100,000. Am I in the ballpark?

The customer wants us to lower our price, he says we are way too expensive.  He says we aren’t even in the right ballpark.

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Definition:  to end a meeting

Examples:

It was late in the evening, so we adjourned the meeting until the next day.

We’re not making any progress, let’s adjourn the meeting and go back to work.

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Definition: an accountant, someone who works with numbers

Examples:

Our president is a good number-cruncher and understands the finances of our company.

I am an artist, but my brother is a finance guy. He is more of a number-cruncher.

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Definition: to reduce or cut

Examples:

When Ayse had a baby, she scaled back her hours to just work part-time.

Times are hard, and we are losing money.  It is time to scale back our spending — we need to spend less.

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Definition: a town dominated by one industry or company

Examples:

When the coal mine closed, the company town faced a severe economic crisis.

I come from a company town, where one company owns everything — the stores, the banks, the houses, and everything else.

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Definition: to not have enough (in quantity)

Examples:

At the factory, we ran short of an important part, and had to close the production line.

They ran short of gasoline at the gas station and had to close early.

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