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English Business Idioms

Knowing English Business Idioms is a great way to get ahead in business today.

Idioms – definitions and examples

Ballpark number/figure

  • means a very inexact estimate
  • The ballpark refers to a baseball field, which is big and and hard to estimate due to its size.
    • To give you a ballpark figure, the work is going to cost, I’d say about 230.000 euro

Big picture

  • Everything that is involved with a particular situation.
  • Since a big picture is … well… big, you have to stand back to see all of it at once. If you go too close, you may only see part of it.
    • While working on all these finer details, we have lost sight of the big picture

By the book

  • To do things exactly according to the rules or the law.
    • We confirmed to our lawyer that we do everything by the book, the accountant has nothing to worry about.

Cut- throat

  • Very intense, aggressive, and merciless competition.
  • If you literally cut someone’s throat, they would die. So, the idea is that if something is cut-throat, it is ruthless.
    • Competition in the retail trade is so cut-throat, it’s very difficult for local traders.

Keep one’s eye on the ball

  • To give something one’s full attention.
  • Again, this is a common expression used in baseball. We say it to the batter who needs to watch closely the ball in order to hit it.
    • We should not diversify our product range, instead we should keep our eyes on the ball and concentrate on our core market.

Raise the bar

  • set standards or expectations higher.
    • The iphone definitely raised the bar in the smartphone industry.

Red tape

  • bureaucracy, official rules and processes that seem excessive.
    • There seems to be so much red tape involved in exporting to an un-EU country.

Sever ties

  • To end a business relationship.
  • Sever means to cut and we often refer to ties as connections. So, severing ties means severing relationships.
    • We had to sever ties with our supplier when we heard they had been using child labour.

Now that you have learned out English Business Idioms, take a look at other Business English related posts.
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