This Business English Idiom Lesson (Chapter 4) contains definitions and examples of common idioms used in the workplace. Mastery of these idiomatic phrases, also called English expressions, will help you communicate like a native speaker. This is the fourth post in our Business English Idiom Series.

This post follows Chapter 3 in the idiom series. Please also check out “39 Business English Idioms Explained, Chapter 2” and if you want to start at the beginning, go to “Learn 20 Business English Idioms, Chapter 1.”

Let’s jump in now with Chapter 4 in our Business English Idiom Lesson Series. After you finish, be sure to take our free idiom test. 

Idioms for Business English, Chapter 4, Idioms 1–10

1. To keep something under wraps
to keep something secret, to not let people know about something:
We’re going to give Suzanna a big bonus next month, but don’t tell her. Let’s keep it under wraps for now.

2. To lay out a plan
to present a plan:
We had to lay out a plan for dealing with the Corona lockdown and the eventual return to normal business.

3. To pay a premium
to pay a higher price for something because it is perceived to have greater value. Also to pay more because of scarcity. Note: this phrase can also apply to payments for insurance.
You’ll pay a premium for coffee at that shop, but it is the best in town.

4. To play catch up
to make a big effort to overcome a late start; when you are behind and you have to take actions to get to the level of your competition:
Let’s face it, our competitors own that market right now. But we’re going to work really hard and play catch up.

5. To plug a product or service
to promote a product; to talk positively about it:
A famous celebrity plugged the product for years, and it really helped with sales.

6. To pull the plug
to stop a project that is not doing well; stop moving forwards; discontinue:
Even though it was an interesting idea to give away a mug with each book purchase, the boss pulled the plug as we ran out of mugs.

7. To put a lid on it / put a lid on something
to stop; to stop something from increasing; often used to discuss spending. Also to encourage someone to stop talking about something:
Expenses are getting out of control. We need to put a lid on spending.
Enough complaining! Let’s put a lid on it for now.

8. To rally the troops
to motivate others; to get others excited about; to move forward:
The new manager was good at rallying the troops to build company spirit. He planned sports events that were lots of fun.

9. To snap up
describes buying behavior; to buy quickly or in large quantities; a term that implies that a product is very popular and desirable:
Customers snapped up so many of the new T-shirts that we had to silkscreen a bunch more to meet demand.

10. To throw cold water over/on (an idea/plan)
to discourage an idea, plan or action:
I thought the new marketing campaign concept was great, but my colleagues just threw cold water on it. They hated the idea.

OK, you’re at the halfway point. Don’t “pull the plug” (#6) now! You’re not ready to “put a lid on it” yet, are you (#7)? I know it may feel like “an uphill battle” (#12), but you’re almost there!  Let’s continue with Business English Idiom Lesson Chapter 4, Idioms 11–20.

11. Under the table
secret dealmaking, as in money that is paid “off the books” or in cash (e.g., the deal is often illegal). The idiomatic opposite of “under the table” is “above board.”
They made their agreement under the table, so I don’t really know what was agreed to.

12. Uphill battle
a difficult challenge, usually a long process so hard that it feels like a fight:
It was really an uphill battle to get the extra vacation day approved.

13. Word of mouth
news spread by people talking to each other; gossip:
Often used as a marketing term to describe an advertising or marketing message that is spread from one person to another, which is a positive thing for the company because it means that people are talking about the company’s product or service:
The new restaurant’s reputation for delicious food spread so quickly by word of mouth that they didn’t need to spend a penny on advertising.

14. Up in arms
very angry; agitated and ready to fight:
The employees were up in arms when the health insurance costs went up.

15. Value added
value-added products or services are worth more because they have been improved or something was added:
When we added personal coaching hours to the online video course, we created a value added experience that enhanced the attractiveness of the product and therefore improved sales.

16. Walking a tightrope between
in a sensitive situation, to behave carefully and deliberately. To avoid an error when a small misstep can produce a big problem ; choosing between two things (often opposing things). Note: a tightrope is a rope or a “high wire” such as in a circus:
It was difficult to do my job as it always seemed like I was walking a tightrope between one manager and another.

17. Warts-and-all
accepting something or someone despite problems or flaws; ignoring or accepting unattractive features:
I have some issues with my boss, but overall I like working for him, warts-and-all.

18. Weigh in on
to clearly and directly give one’s opinion about something:
Roger is making over $100,000 a year. I’d like to weigh in on the decision of what he gets paid for next year.

19. Worth a fortune
worth a large amount of money:
The coffee franchise was worth a fortune.

20. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours
to offer help in exchange for help. Watch out! This can sometimes have a “shady” (=disreputable) quality about it:
If you help me out with my social media strategy, I swear I will like every one of your posts!

OK… that’s it for the Business English Idiom Lesson Chapter 4. We hope you benefit from our series of 4 business English idiom lessons  And if you would like to further develop your business English, we have some suggestions for you. Please keep reading and take the free test.

Do you want to learn more Business English idioms NOW? Have you read Chapters 1, 2 and 3 in our idiom series? 

Go to Chapter 1 of our Business English Idiom series

Go to Chapter 2 of our Business English Idiom series

Go to Chapter 3 of our Business English Idiom series

How good is your knowledge of business English idioms? Would you like to try our FREE test?

Take our free business English idiom test online now and discover how well you understand the expressions (=uitdrukkingen) used in everyday professional English.

Are you looking for in-company training?

If English is the corporate language where you work, there may be some employees who need to speak and write at a more professional level. Visit our in-company training page to learn more about our approach and services.

Are you satisfied with your English / business English vocabulary? Do you want more English words and idioms? Do you want a big English vocabulary?

Vocabulary – words, phrases, idioms, collocations, phrasal verbs – no matter how you describe it, you need these language building blocks. And whatever your level, beginner to advanced, you need to keep adding and refreshing your vocabulary. Maybe you have forgotten some old words, or maybe you need to add new words that relate to your job….? You can build your vocabulary with a private customized course that focuses on the language that is the most important for you! Would you like to speak with a native speaker teacher in a free consultation appointment?

Are you interested in attending our online Business English Conversation Course?

Read more about our Live Online Business English Conversation Cafe.

Do you want to improve your business English vocabulary? Would you like a 1:1 private course with a native-speaker trainer?

With a private business English course, you can focus on the words and phrases that are most important for you and your job.

Would you like to test your English level?

Would you like to take a free English level test? You can do it online now.

The English Center of Amsterdam⁠ is your source for advanced English and business English training⁠ in the Netherlands – and everywhere Live Online – always with a top native-speaker business English trainer.

In 2022, we are seeing clients Live Online, on location, and in person.

Call +31 20 823 0569⁠. We are happy to speak with you in English or Dutch!

Contributors: Brenda de Jong-Pauley, Kerry Finlayson and Marike Duizendstra-Wolters
April, 2022

Christmas Movies: Our Short List

December, 2021

Christmas movies are the perfect way to enjoy some quiet time at home. Choose a holiday film, grab the remote, and don’t forget the popcorn! Please note that this post was written during a Covid lockdown

Four Christmas movies to make you smile

A famous Christmas song says, “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays;” and while that may be true, with a new Covid lockdown in the Netherlands announced a few days ago, many of us are feeling a bit bored and “cooped up.” (=feeling confined in a small space)

Still, we will all make the best of it, right? We have to keep safe and count our blessings, and one of the blessings of this season is an ample (=more than sufficient) supply of great holiday movies. As a bonus, movies are a great way to work on your English, eh?

Our little list of Christmas movies

Our holiday film list includes 4 of our favorite English language holiday films. I hope Santa brought you Netflix, Videoland, Pathe Thuis, Ziggo Film1 or Prime so that you can watch these feel good films. And many of these films are available for rent on YouTube, too.

So pop some popcorn, grab a blanket and settle in for some holiday cheer.

We have selected a wildly mixed group so we hope there is something here for everyone. And if you don’t find what you’re looking for here, check out this Rotten Tomatoes list of 65 Top Rated Christmas Movies.

Read more about our Live Online Business English course

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) a beautiful, wholesome, holiday film

The Rotten Tomatoes algorithm ranks this old movie as the number one holiday movie of all time, and their critics say that It’s a Wonderful Life is one of a handful of films worth an annual viewing (=you should watch it every year.)

After George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he had never been born, an angel pretends to drown, knowing that George will save him. The angel then proceeds to show George how much good he has done in his life. (This is a reference to Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol.”)

This movie is a slice of small town life in an America that is long past. But the lessons are eternal and the story has a happy ending.

YouTube Trailer: It’s a Wonderful Life

 

2. A Christmas Carol (1951) – a Christmas ghost story for the entire family

While there are older and newer adaptations – Scrooge (1935), Scrooged (1988), and The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) – this 1950s version is my favorite. It is properly spooky and dramatic but also wonderfully vintage, with a very authentic look and feel.

A Christmas Carol, a story written by Charles Dickens in 1843, is about a mean-spirited and selfish old man, Ebenezer Scrooge, who hates Christmas. One cold Christmas Eve, Scrooge is unkind to the people who work for him. Then he refuses to give even a penny to charity, and finally, he’s rude to his nephew who invites him to his house for Christmas.

When Scrooge gets home, he is very alone. He tries to sleep, but is visited by the ghost of his old business partner Jacob Marley – and then by three more ghosts! They are the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future.

The ghosts’ show Scrooge his life – past, present and future – thus teaching him the error of his ways. When he wakes up on Christmas Day, he is full of excitement and buys the biggest turkey in the shop for the Cratchit family before spending the day with his nephew, full of love, charity and the joys of Christmas. A very happy ending!

YouTube Trailer: A Christmas Carol

3. Bad Santa (2003) – A funny (but naughty) Christmas movie for older teens and adults

“Once a year, the chronically depressed, misanthropic, alcoholic wreck-of-a-man safe-breaker, Willie T. Soke, wakes up from his annual slumber to team up with his partner-in-crime, the ill-tempered dwarf, Marcus. Theirs is a simple but ingenious plan: Willie, as a department store Santa, and Marcus, as his trusted elf-helper, use this cover to crack safes for nearly eight years now, in the most wonderful time of the year. However, this time, the scheme is on the verge of falling apart, as Willie’s professional incompetence along with a hawk-eyed mall security chief in Phoenix, threaten to blow their cover–and to top it all off, Willie finds the time to befriend a lonely picked-on kid, Thurman. Is now the moment for some unorthodox Christmas spirit?”

Plot summary by Nick Riganas, reproduced from IMDB 

FYI, the IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is a good online resource – a database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online. It began as a fan-operated movie database but is now a subsidiary of Amazon.

YouTube Trailer Bad Santa

4. Home Alone – a modern, timeless Christmas movie for all ages

A very clever 8-year old boy has to protect his house from two burglars when he’s accidentally left behind during Christmas vacation.

“It is Christmas time and the McCallister family is preparing for a vacation in Paris, France. But the youngest in the family, Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), got into a scuffle with his older brother Buzz (Devin Ratray) and was sent to his room, which is on the third floor of his house. Then, the next morning, while the rest of the family was in a rush to make it to the airport on time, they completely forgot about Kevin, who now has the house all to himself. Being home alone was fun for Kevin, having a pizza all to himself, jumping on his parents’ bed, and making a mess. Then, Kevin discovers two burglars, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), about to rob his house on Christmas Eve. Kevin acts quickly by wiring his own house with makeshift booby traps to stop the burglars and to bring them to justice.”

Plot summary by John Wiggins, Reproduced from IMDb

YouTube Trailer: Home Alone

———————————–

Didn’t see the right film for you? No worries! Go to Rotten Tomatoes right now and cruise through their extensive list of 65 holiday Christmas movies – real cinematic gems. I am sure you will find the right movie for you. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, soulful solstice and a happy, healthy new year from the English Center Team– Brenda, Kerry, Marike, Michael, Ian, Noelle, Tina, Carolyn and all the English Center Teachers

PS Are you looking for some Netflix series?

Would you like to read a famous Christmas poem? 

Do you want to improve your English in a fun, social way? Check out our Amsterdam Business English Cafe and get two for the price of one, just until January 7, 2022. Hurry! 

Read more about our Live Online Business English cafe.

Do you want to improve your business English vocabulary? Would you like a 1:1 private course with a native-speaker trainer?

With a private business English course, you can focus on the words and phrases that are most important for you and your job.

Would you like to test your English level?

Would you like to take a free English level test? You can do it online now.

The English Center of Amsterdam⁠ is your source for advanced English and business English training⁠ in the Netherlands – and everywhere Live Online – always with a top native-speaker business English trainer.

Call +31 20 823 0569⁠. We are happy to speak with you in English or Dutch!

Brenda de Jong-Pauley, December, 20

24 more business English idioms to help you “get ahead” in business English communications. This third-in-our-series list will enrich and expand your language with common, colorful expressions that native speakers use everyday.

This alphabetical business English idioms list is Chapter 3 in our idiom series. It follows the previous idiom post, “39 Business English Idioms Explained, Chapter 2.” If you have not already seen Chapters 1 and 2, and if you want to start at the beginning, go to “Learn 20 Business English Idioms, Chapter 1.”

Since we have already reviewed the question of “what are business English idioms” in chapters one and two, let’s jump right in with the chapter 3 list!

1. Quick buck
Quick or easy earnings; same as “fast buck.” Can suggest unethical behavior.
Example: Those stock traders are ruthless. They’re just out to make a quick buck.

2. Reality check
To think realistically about the situation
Example: Let’s have a reality check and see if the company needs to cut back on employee hours. With our decreased profits, the ROI is just not there.

3. Redtape
Obstructive official routine or procedure; time-consuming bureaucracy
Example: In order to get the project greenlighted, there was loads of red tape to get through. All of those phone calls and meetings were exhausting!

4. Rule of thumb
A useful principle having wide application but not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable in every situation
Example: The rule of thumb at my office is to wear casual clothes on Fridays.

5. Scale back
Reduce the number of hours or the size of the project, etc
Example: We are scaling back operations until production picks up again.

6. Scratch someone’s back
To do something for someone with the intent that he/she does something for you
Example: Listen, I will scratch your back if you scratch mine. I’ll put a good word in for you this time, and when it’s my turn to lead the project, you do the same. Okay?
Note: this can sound shady (=disreputable).

7. Selling like hotcakes
To sell quickly and in large numbers
Example: The new laptops were selling like hotcakes!

8. Short on cash
Having little or a limited amount of money
Example: Sorry, but there’s no way we can give raises this year; the company is short on cash.

9. Sparks fly / make sparks fly
Interaction that becomes heated, angry or confrontational
Example: You should have seen the sparks fly at the meeting with the heads of the department! Some of the managers were really furious.

10. Spend a fortune
To spend a large amount of money
Example: It seems like they spent a fortune on the company party. There was an open bar, live entertainment, and great food.

11. Test the waters
To try it; to experiment
Example: I wanted to test the waters before I started working on this project, so I mentioned my concept at the board meeting. Then I just watched to see how they reacted.

12. Thick-skinned
Insensitive to criticism
Example: My colleague is so thick-skinned that he never gets upset, no matter how harshly he is criticized.

13. Throw in the towel
To quit; to give up
Example: I decided to throw in the towel on my old job. It was so bad that I just had to quit.

14. To beat someone to the punch
To do something before somebody else has a chance
Examples: I really wanted to explain that point in the meeting, but my colleague opened his big mouth and beat me to the punch.

15. To be hit hard by something
To suffer financial losses; to have your market sharply contract
Example: The travel and hospitality sectors have been hit very hard by the Covid pandemic.

16. To blow up
To become very angry
Example: I am afraid that my boss is going to blow up when I tell her I did not close the deal.

Also when your mobile or social media account is getting lots of messages, posts, calls and notifications
Example: OMG, after my last post, my Twitter account totally blew up!

17. To blow it
To mess something up; to spoil your chances of achieving success because of what you say or do, or don’t do
Example: I think I priced that job way too high. I think I blew the sale.

18. To come up with
To think of a new idea or approach
Example: I don’t know who came up with the idea of a company breakfast once a month, but it sure sounds like fun!

19. To drop the ball
To make a mistake; to fail to perform one’s responsibilities
Example: My boss totally dropped the ball, and now we will never get that big contract we were all working on.

20. To flog something
To aggressively promote or sell something
Example: Multilevel companies are terrible; you have to flog products to your friends and family.

21. To get ahead
To advance in one’s career
Example: To get ahead at my company, you have to work hard, produce sales and keep really long hours.

22. To get laid off / to be made redundant
To lose one’s job, but not through firing
Example: I am afraid I will be laid off because of the corporate reorganization.

23. To get wind of
To find out about something that is not well known
Example: I got wind of the reorganization and decided to quit before I got laid off.

24. To have seen better days
To be in a period of decline
Example: Our office building has seen better days. It is old and rundown.

OK… that’s it for this Chapter 3 idiom list. We hope you enjoy using these business English idioms. And if you would like to further develop your business English, we have some suggestions for you. Please keep reading and take the free test.

Do you want to learn more Business English idioms NOW? Have you read all the chapters in our idiom series?

Go to Chapter 1 of our Business English Idiom series.

Go to Chapter 2 of our Business English Idiom series. 

Go to Chapter 4 in our Business English Idiom Series.

Test yourself, it’s free! Are you good at business English idioms? Find out now.

Take our free business English idiom test online now and discover how well you understand the expressions (=uitdrukkingen) used in everyday professional English.

Are you looking for in-company training?

If English is the corporate language where you work, there may be some employees who need to speak and write at a more professional level. Visit our in-company training page to learn more about our approach and services.

Are you satisfied with your English / business English vocabulary? Do you want more English words and idioms? Do you want a big English vocabulary?

Vocabulary – words, phrases, idioms, collocations, phrasal verbs – no matter how you describe it, you need these language building blocks. And whatever your level, beginner to advanced, you need to keep adding and refreshing your vocabulary. Maybe you have forgotten some old words, or maybe you need to add new words that relate to your job….? You can build your vocabulary with a private customized course that focuses on the language that is the most important for you! Would you like to speak with a native speaker teacher in a free consultation appointment?

Are you interested in attending our Amsterdam Business English Cafe?

Read more about our Live Online Business English cafe.

Do you want to improve your business English vocabulary? Would you like a 1:1 private course with a native-speaker trainer?

With a private business English course, you can focus on the words and phrases that are most important for you and your job.

Would you like to test your English level?

Would you like to take a free English level test? You can do it online now.

The English Center of Amsterdam⁠ is your source for advanced English and business English training⁠ in the Netherlands – and everywhere Live Online – always with a top native-speaker business English trainer.

In 2020 and 2021, we are seeing most of our clients online via Zoom, Google Meet, etc.

Call +31 20 823 0569⁠. We are happy to speak with you in English or Dutch!

Contributors: Brenda de Jong-Pauley, Kerry Finlayson and Marike Duizendstra-Wolters
August 2021, Updated April 2022. 

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