This document provides definitions for 97 common business phrases and idioms. It gives the meaning and examples for each phrase, including "800 pound gorilla" which refers to the largest, most powerful company in an industry, and "at the 11th hour" which means very late or at the last minute. Other phrases explained are "on a shoestring" with limited funds, "bring to the table" with whatever you can offer, and "carve out a niche" finding a specialized market.

3. Advanced BUSINESS
Phrasal Verbs and Phrases
Beginner I-II Level
1. 800 pound gorilla - The biggest, most powerful group or company.
Example: "If we follow our plan to make this new software, we're going to
have a lot of competition, including from the 800 pound gorilla, Microsoft."
2. (A rising tide that) lifts all boats - Something that helps all people or all
groups.
Example: "We're only number three, but the current economic growth will
lift all boats, so we're sure to make a profit this year."
3. An old hand - A person who has long experience, especially in one
place.
Example: "He can help us set up a company in Beijing. He's been working
in China for many years and speaks Chinese fluently. He's an old China
hand."
4. At the 11th hour - Very late, at the very last minute.
Example: “As usual Tim turn in the report at the 11th
hour.”
5. On a shoestring - With limited money.
Example: "They started their company on a shoestring and built it up to one
of the largest companies in the world!"
6. Bring to the table - Whatever you can possibly offer.
Example: "I will meet with Teacher Joe's new company to show him what
we can bring to the table."
7. Carve out a niche - Find a special market that you can control.
Example: "To succeed in this competitive world, you have to focus on part
of it. Try to carve out a niche and be number one in that area."
8. Deep pockets - Have a lot of money.
Example: "If there is a price war, we won't win because we don't have deep
enough pockets."
9. Down time - When equipment in
facilities is not available,
10. (Draw) a line in the sand - Propose final conditions that cannot be
changed.
Example: "We have to draw a line in the sand so they will see that this is
really our final offer."
11. Free ride - Get benefit at no cost.
Example: "Of course we should make them pay for our travel expenses.
Why should we give them a free ride?"
12. From day one - From the beginning.
Example: "Teacher Joe has been providing the best English-learning web
site from day one!"
13. Get your foot in the door - Have a small opportunity that can become
a big opportunity in the future, if you do good work.
Example: "Right now, I just want to get my foot in the door, so they can see
what I can do. Next year I hope to start moving up in the company."
14. I need it yesterday - An informal way to say it is needed immediately.
Example: "Can I send that report to you later this afternoon?"
"No! I need that report yesterday!"
15. A two-way street - Both people or groups can contribute or benefit from
the situation.
Example: "We want to help you, but we need your help too. It should be a
two-way street."
16. It will never fly - It won't be successful.
Example: "We don't have to worry about their idea competing with ours. It
will never fly."
17. It's a jungle out there - It's a difficult market with many, tough
competitors”
Example: "Do you think a new company can survive
Without a unique product? It's a real jungle out there!"

4. 18. Jump through hoops - Trying very hard. (like a dog doing tricks!)
Example: "He's a tough boss. All of his subordinates have to jump through
hoops to prove their loyalty to the company."
19. Put your cards on the table - Be completely honest.
Example: "I think it's time to put all of our cards on the table. Here's what
we need..."
20. Learning curve - How much time needed to learn something new
Example: "This new software has a long learning curve, so we have to give
our staff enough time to learn how to use it well."
21. Level playing field - Equal conditions for all people or groups.
Example: "The WTO agreement helps to level the playing field, which gives
us the chance to compete anywhere in the world."
22. The lion's share - The largest part.
Example: "If we want the lion's share of the profit, we'll have to do the lion's
share of the work."
23. Number crunching - Analyze numbers.
Example: "I'll go back to my office and do some number crunching, then tell
you the results tomorrow."
24. Pipe dream - Something that is unrealistic.
Example: "Do you think we can really live on the moon some day, or is it
just a pipe dream?"
25. Play hardball - Deal in a tough way.
Example: "If he tries to block this deal in any way, we'll just have to start
playing hardball."
26. Power lunch - Big business dealing while eating lunch.
Example: "The top executives met with their bankers at the best restaurant
in town. It was a real power lunch!"
27. Push the envelope - Move beyond current limits.
Example: "Teacher Joe is always pushing the envelope by giving us new
activities such as dictations, jokes and interesting discussion topics."
28. Put on the map - Make well-known.
Example: "They've had some good products in the past, but nothing
special. This new device is so good that it finally puts them on the map."
29. Savvy - Smart and knowledgeable.
Example: "He's a savvy investor so there is a high probability this project
will be successful."
30. Sea change - A large change.
Example: "Globalization has brought about a sea change. Those who don't
change will end up sinking!"
31. Flying by the seat of your pants - Intuitively. (Flying an airplane with
no instruments)
Example: "Who knows if they will succeed or not? Without a clear business
plan, they are just flying by the seat of their pants."
32. Shotgun approach - Strike widely rather than focusing.
Example: "Taking a shotgun approach is a big risk. We may not hit any
target at all. If we can identify one good target, we can develop a more
precise marketing plan."
33. Step up to the plate - Take responsibility.
Example: "We've done all that we can to prepare. Now it's time to step up
to the plate and do it!"
34. Talk until you are blue in the face - Try to persuade someone with no
results.
Example: "You can talk until you are blue in the face, but I will never believe
that Teacher Joe is the funniest English teacher in the world."
35. The bottom line - The final result.
Example: "Although we worked hard on this deal, the bottom line is we
didn't make the sale, so it was a complete failure."
36. The name of the game is... - The basic purpose.
Example: "The name of the game is service. If we focus on that, the
customers will always come back."
37. Take a haircut - Take a loss.
Example: "We really took a haircut on that one! We're going to have to
negotiate a better deal next time."
38. Tweak something - Make a slight adjustment.
Example: "By tweaking the economy, the government hopes to avoid a
recession."
39. Unwind a deal - Take apart or undo something.
Example: "We have to unwind this deal, and then we can start over again."
40. A zero sum game - A situation where someone wins so someone else
must lose.
Example: "I don't think this is a zero-sum game. If the customer wins, we
win too."
41. 24/7. - 24 hrs a day 7 days a week.
Example: “This plant runs 24/7.”

5. 42. A tough Break - When something unfortunate happens.
Example: "It was a tough break when Barb quit. She was one of our top
performers."
43. Being Ahead of the Curve - To be more advanced than the
competition.
Example: "We are investing big time in R&D so we can stay ahead of
curve."
44. Being Ahead of the Pack - To be more successful than the
competition.
Example: "If we want to stay ahead of the Pack we should focus on
Innovation."
45. Red Tape - Excessive administrative control and paperwork.
Example: "Nowadays there is a lot of red tape involved in obtaining an
exporting license."
46 To Ask Around - To ask a number of people for information or help.
Example: "I have no Idea, but I will ask around and see if anyone else is
interested in signing up for Business English Lessons."
47. To back someone up - Support or help someone.
Example: "I will bring up poor sales performance at the meeting,
but you have to back me up on the new decisions I made on
segmentation strategies."
48. To call someone back - To communicate again with someone.
Example: "My boss was trying to contact me while I was on my way home;
once I got there I had to call him back."
49. To call something off -To decide that something planned will not
happen. (Cancel)
Example: "The meeting was called off because or sales manager couldn’t
make it on time!"
50. To not care for -To not like something of someone. Or not consider
something important.
Example: "During recession companies don’t care for updating equipment
because it is not a very promising business environment."
51. Check something out - Make sure something works or is true.
Example: "Before I was hired the company checked out everything about
me, to make sure I was right for the job...”
52. Pitch In - To Help, or have some input in a specific task.
Example: "I was hoping Clara would pitch in some ideas in our new
project."
53. Come across -Unexpectedly finding something.
Example: "I came across a very interesting article while reading paper last
weekend"
54. To count on - Relying on someone or something to help you achieve a
goal.
Example: "The Company is counting on our expertise in product
development in order to innovate in the packaging industry.”
55. To cut back on -To reduce the amount of something.
Example: "Due to the low oil prices, the Government should cut back on
some social programs in order to balance out the internal deficit."
56. To cut in - Interrupt a conversation.
Example: "John was giving his speech, and suddenly his boss cut him in to
talk about a major accident in one of our facilities!"
57. To do something over - Redo, do again.
Example: "The report was a mess, the boss made me do it over."
58. To do away with - Eliminate, get rid of.
Example: "The Company did away with our training program, due to our
terrible financial situation."
59. To drop by -To pay a casual visit.
Example: "When I was interviewing prospects for the Job. Mr. Spencer
Dropped by and said HELLO."
60. To end up with - To have eventually.
Example: "The Company expanded through acquisitions over Latin
America, in five years we ended up having 12 plants in 4 different
countries.”
61. To figure out - To discover or understand something.
Example: "People at Gillette figured out how to offer inexpensive shaving
solutions to people."
62. To fill something out - Complete a form.
Example: "The Bank Manager asked me to fill out an application in order to
obtain a credit card."
63. To fill in for someone - Momentarily take someone’s place.
Example: “I had to fill in for Susan during the weekends while she was on
Vacation."
64. To find out: - Obtain info about a specific subject.
Example: “I found out about this Freight Forwarder on the internet”
65. To get something Back - Return something.
Example: “Last week we borrowed stationary from the Marketing

6. department, once we receive ours, we will get back to them what we
borrowed."
66.To get back at someone -Revenge, Punish someone who did
something to you.
Example: "She will most likely find a way to get back at Phil, for what he
implied in the meeting regarding her job Performance."
67. Get over something - To return to your usual state of happiness after
something bad happens.
Example: "After a difficult year, our team experienced low morale.
Fortunately, we got over it, and people are more motivated now than ever
before."
68. Meet up - To get together in order to work on something.
Example: "Our team meets up every evening at 7:00 to analyze Business
Cases.”
69. To give In - To stop trying after not being successful.
Example: “After trying out several programs, most executives just give in
and forget about learning Business English.”
70. To go against - To oppose, to contradict.
Example: "What you are proposing goes against our company’s vision and
culture. I am afraid we can’t negotiate a deal."
71. To go over - Review, skimming a text.
Example: “Don’t worry I will go over your Power Point slides and let you
know if I have any comments on them.”
72. Turn in - To hand in something to someone.
Example: "I turned in the final version of next year’s budget to our CFO."
73. To let someone Down - Fail or disappoint someone.
Example: "Our Transportation service provider let us down, because they
didn’t have enough units to cover all our shipments.”
74. To let someone in - Allow someone to enter a room.
Example: “After mapping out the strategy for next year, the CEO Let the
Investors In the room, in order to explain the details.”
75. Look forward to - To be pleased or excited about something in the near
future.
Example: "I look forward to seeing your HR Vice president to discuss how I
can help his staff become excellent communicators in English."
76. Look into - Investigate.
Example: "The Quality Control manager said he was going to look into what
happened with this batch, why was it rejected by the customer."
77. Look out for -Take care of someone or something.
Example: “There is a lot of uncertainty in the company because of the
Downsizing Taking place. However our boss said he was going to look out
for us.”
78. Look over something - To examine, to supervise.
Example: "My job at this company is to look over, administrative procedures
and identify possible problems and propose improvements to the process."
79. Look up to someone - To view someone with respect and admiration
Example: "Every employee at Apple looked up to Steve Jobs; he was such
a good role model for them!"
80. Make something up -To say or write something that is not true.
Example: "I made up an excuse so I wasn’t offered a promotion. I have 3
kids and I am not willing to relocate."
81. Pass something out - Distribute something to a group of people.
Example: "The consultants passed their business cards out to everyone at
our department."
82. Put off – Bring Forward - Postpone - schedule to an earlier date.
Example: "We had to put off the meeting until Friday because the
production manager wasn’t in town."
“We’d like to bring forward the meeting with Government Officials in order to
speed up the assignment of US dollars to finance operations.”
83. To put something together - Assemble something.
Example: "We had to put together a presentation on the last minute
because the client was in town and wanted to meet up."
84. Run into someone - Unexpectedly meeting someone.
Example: "We ran into Paul at the world symposium last year, he seemed
to be doing well in the US."
85. Send something back - Return something to its origin.
Example: "Our quality control team sent the products back, because the
labeling didn’t meet our expectations."
86. To set something up - To establish or arrange an event or new way of
thinking.
Example: "During our annual meeting branch managers set up production
goals for the next year.”
“The meeting was set up at 6:00 am tomorrow.”
87. Shop around - To compare prices and features of a product or service.
Example: “Had to shop around before I could find a good deal on a printer
for the office.”

7. 88. Sort something out - Clarify, make something understandable.
Example: "After the sales team sorted the issues out, the defined a course
of action for next month."
89. Translate into - Bring about something, Cause- effect relationship.
Example: "Our strong marketing campaign translated into a 15% increase
in sales last quarter."
90. To think something over - To analyze an issue.
Example: “I want the company to send me to the US for a year, but my
boss said he was going to think it over."
91. To try something out - Experiment something new.
Example: "Many high tech companies have tried our products out and
decided to purchase them regularly."
92. To use up - To consume all of something.
Example: "Polar used up the entire malt inventory last week, the will stop
production until further notice."
93. Bail Out - Financially aiding an organization or Government.
Example: "The EU Bailed Greece out, under very strict conditions that
many consider difficult to meet."
94. Book up - Make reservations
Example: "We booked up most rooms in this hotel for our annual event!"
95. Bring Off - Accomplish, achieve successfully.
Example: "We managed to bring off the event, it turned out great."
96. Burn Out - Overwhelmed for having so much work to do.
Example: "Last quarter we stayed behind for several hours in order to get
the statements done on time, we were burned out."
97. Call Back - Return the call.
Example: "Carl said he’d call back tomorrow."
98. Cash in ON - Making profits illegally by charging commissions.
Example: "PT Brazil’s ruling political party was involved in the
PETROBRAS scandal because, it was cashing in on the company’s service
providers who bribed executives in order to get new contracts!"
99. Close down - When a business stops operations
Example: “Due to the difficult business environment I decided to close
down my office, until further notice.”
100. Contract out- To hire outsiders to perform a specific service.
Example: "Companies usually contract out catering companies to take care
of dining services."
101. Copy in Someone -To add info to someone’s mail.
Example: "When the reports are done, make sure you copy me in!"
102. Draw Up - Design a basic draft of a contract.
Example: "We drew up the contract in our first meeting, next week we will
work on the details of our negotiation."
103. Drum up - To obtain something by attracting people’s attention to your
cause.
Example: "I am trying to drum up support for the EBS program in every
company a visit.”
104. Fall through - Didn’t work out for some reason.
Example: "The new agreement fell through even before contracts were
signed."
105. Get Ahead - Advance in your career.
Example: "In order to get ahead in this organization, you must improve
communication skills in English."
106. Hack into - To enter a computer system without permission.
Example: “Sony’s computer systems were hacked and caused the
company considerable loss.”
107. Hire out - Employ temporary workers.
Example: "Farmers hire out temporary Mexican worker for summer in order
to harvest tomatoes."
108. Knuckle down - To work very hard on a specific task.
Example: “My students knuckled down the last week prior to the final
presentations in order to get good grades and increase their GPAs.”
109. Lay off - To dismiss workers, force them to leave the jobs.
Example: “We laid off about 600 people during the last year.”
110. Note down - Write down important information.
Example: "we noted down key points in the meeting on the back of our
business cards."
111. Pencil In - To schedule a tentative appointment
Example: "I will pencil in our meeting on Friday, call me the day before just
in case."
112. Phone up - Act of making a phone call.
Example: "After the first contact with your customer, you need to phone
them a couple of times during the week"
113. Talk Over - Talking about a specific subject. Discuss.
Example: "we talked over our strategy for next month with our sales
manager."
114. Keep up with - Staying leveled or equal to someone or something.

8. Example: "I can’t keep up with this production schedule; we will have to hire
out."
115. Deal with - Interact or negotiate with someone.
Example: "Top Managers are dealing with a situation with the Worker’s
Union."
116. Do without -To manage without something.
Example: "We had to do without internet connection for 2 days because the
ISP was down!"
117. Work on - Put effort on a specific task.
Example: "I worked on the Business Assessment project for a whole week,
and now, the boss put off the meeting until next month."
118. Come up with - To manage to create or find something.
Example: "They've had some good products in the past, but nothing
special. Until they came up with this groundbreaking idea.”
119. Run something by – Having someone check your work.
Example: "Before sending the final offer, I ran it by my boss just to make
sure I had it right."
120. Bottomed Out at -The lowest point In a Line Graph.
Example: "Car Sales bottomed out at 3000 units last month!"
121. Get along With -To have a good relationship with another person.
Example: “I think she gets along with everyone at work. “
122. Make up for -Compensate by doing something extra.
Example: “When I go back to work, I will work on Saturdays for a month to
make up for the days I missed.”
123. Stress out - Making someone uncomfortable due to a undesirable
situation.
Example: “Having the Internal auditing people in our department for a
whole week, stressed everyone out!”
124. Takeover -Take possession of a job or responsibility.
Example: "Mr. Thompson took over as CEO last spring."
125. Turn up - Show up.
Example: "Megan, turned up late to the meeting again. I’m writing her up."
126. Finish off - Get done with.
Example: "The team finally finished off improvements on the design of the
new product."
127. Being into Something - Having interest in something
Example: "My son is really into computers, at age 10 he wrote his own
application."
128. Give up on - To quit.
Example: "in the 1980s thousands of people gave up on agriculture and
moved to Venezuela’s major cities."
129. Break up - Take apart.
Example: “The Company was broken up into 2 major divisions.”
130. Level Off - To make something stay at the same level
Example: "Sales leveled off for 3 consecutive months last quarter."
131. Turn Down - To reject someone or something.
Example: “The proposal was turned down once their conditions were
analyzed by our consultants.”
132. Stay around - To keep close or remain in business.
Example: "Polar Brands have been around for decades, therefore they
enjoy brand loyalty"
133. Catch up With - Succeed in reaching a person or something.
Example: "I’ve been very busy. It is hard for me to catch up with
coursework."
134. Staying up on Something -To make an effort to get the latest
information about something.
Example: "I always try to stay up on world events"
135. Turn out (To be) - As a result of.
Example: “The New Logistics Service Provider turned out to be better than
expected."
136. Keep on – Continue.
Example: "As a Sales Rep, you must keep on trying to build brand loyalty in
order to be successful."
137. Show around - Having people visit a specific area.
Example: "I was asked to show around the facilities to the International
consultants."
138. Bring up - To confront a specific topic.
Example: “Our teacher always brings up the importance of phrasal verbs to
business communications."
139. Get used to - Accustomed to.
Example: "Latin American Managers are less risk adverse because they
got used to managing under chaotic scenarios."
140. Contract out -Hiring an outsider to perform certain tasks.
Example: "We hired out a community manager to update information on
social media channels for our products.”

9. 141. Sign up for - To enroll in service of program.
Example: "I signed up for Business English training in order to be prepared
for next year’s budgeting presentations in Houston."
142. Pick on someone - Teasing someone.
Example: "My co-workers always pick on the new intern, because he got a
funny haircut.”
143. Rip off - Unfair pricing or conditions in a transaction.
Example: "Paying 50.000 a year for this service is a rip off! We can get a
better deal contracting out someone locally."
144. Turn into – Transformation.
Example: "Pequiven’s Core business is turning methane Gas into
fertilizers."
145. Bring About - Cause and Effect.
Example: "Irrational handling of the Economy has brought about
hyperinflation, unemployment and a dramatic drop in productivity!"
146. Go about -To approach the doing of something in a particular way. (To
Tackle)
Example: “How should I go about researching this Topic?"
147. Sell off - To sell something completely.
Example: "Due to the low profitability the company decided to sell off the
agricultural products division."
148. Peak at - Highest point.
Example: “Sales peaked at 3400 units in December.”
149. Being around - Existing nearby.
Example: the Ariel Brand has been around for 40 years
150. Account for - Makes up for.
Example: “Our products account for 70% of the total Market.”
151. Take up something - Assume a new challenge.
Example: “I recently took up cost accounting in order to improve my
Professional profile”
152. Wrap up - Final remarks.
Example: “I will wrap up key ideas during the last 15 minutes of my
presentation”
153. Count on - To offer support to someone.
Example: “You can count on the Marketing department when updating your
data on the webpage.”
154. Turn Over - To rotate.
Example: “This KPI has to do with how many times items rotate it is widely
used in the retail industry. “
155. To go Ahead - To continue.
Example: "Even though there are several obstacles to get to work, we must
go ahead and do as much as we can at home to keep on paste.”
156. Stand up to someone - To defend yourself against a powerful person
organization when they treat you unfairly.
Example: “Cristina was not involved in the corruption scheme, her boss
blamed her and she stood up to him and made it clear!”
157. Being Ahead of the Curve - Being competitive.
Example: "We are investing big time in R&D so we can stay ahead of
curve."
158. Put up with someone - Dealing with negative situations.
Example: “In the leading function, leaders must put up with employee’s
wrong doing”
159. Scare off - To frighten someone away.
Example: “The government’s economic policy scares off investors.”
160. Pull out of - Deciding not to participate.
Example: “My boss pulled out of the deal with the prospective partner”
161. Reach out to - Seeking support.
Example: “I always reach out to Ann when I need a ride back home”
162. Rush into something - Speeding up important decisions.
Example: “In this business environment we shouldn´t rush into launching
the new product without proper marketing research”
163. Turn something around- To change an unsuccessful business, plan
or system so that it becomes successful.
Example: “The new CEO has extensive experience in packaging, I am
confident he will turn the business around for better.”
164. Map out - Plan in detail the future of something.
Example: “When working on the company’s strategic Plan, top
management maps out strategies for a 2 to 5 year period.”
165. Rule Out - Discarding someone of something.
Example: “They ruled out some candidates during the Interview process.”
166. Carry Out - Done, Conducted, executed
Example: "The research was carried out by a team of French Scientists."
167. Lead into - Pave the way to.
Example: “The new training led into an Increase in job satisfaction levels.”
168. Place under - To put beneath something.
Example: "Competitive pricing strategies are all about slightly placing prices
under the competition."

10. 169. Bring someone in - Integrating a new member to a team.
Example: “We brought in Raul from HR to help us calculate labor costs.”
170. Decide against something - To not choose someone or something.
Example: “after months of interviews, we decide against Mr. Smith. He will
not be working for us.”
171. Shell out - To pay or give money for something usually unwillingly.
Example: "Having shelled out 3 Million $ for the new equipment, the
company wasn’t going to keep the old ones for a longer time."
172. Give someone a blank check - Allowing someone to do whatever he
or she wishes despite the risks.
Example: "Our Coo gave us a blank check to order whatever we needed for
maintenance at the plant."
173. Write Someone Up - To document a negative event regarding job
performance.
Example: "The Manager wrote me up for being late again."
174. Factor In - Take Into account, Include, to consider.
Example: “When budgeting, you need to factor in the high inflation rate”
175. Lead up to - Result in.
Example: “The investigation led up to the arrest of the VP of Finance for
being involved in cooking the books.”
176. Head Up - Being in charge.
Example: "I want Pedro to head up the Latin American Division"
177. Team up - To be more advanced than the competition.
Example: "We are investing big time in R&D so we can stay ahead of
curve."
178. Take off - Betterment, Improvement.
Example: “After we started concentrating efforts on our Core Business
Areas, Our business finally took off."
179. Lead off - To initiate the action of something.
Example: "Let me Lead off by saying how proud I am of your contribution to
this company."
180. Team up - Get together to work on something.
Example: "Our VP proposed teaming up with production engineers in order
to adapt to the new business Environment”
181. Roll out -Start production of a product.
Example: "Next month we expect a sharp increase in sales, once the plant
starts rolling out the new product."
182. Read the (fine-small) Print -The information typed in a smaller font
usually in contracts.
Example: "My lawyer says I should always read the fine print, because
there might be important information related to the service"
183. Pick someone’s Brain -To ask someone many questions so you can
learn from him or her.
Example: "The new guy is a genius; people look forward to talk about
different topics with him so they can pick his brains."
184. Head Hunt – Recruit.
Example: “Luis was head hunted by the company’s main competitor after
getting his MBA."
185. Breathe down Someone’s Neck- To make someone feel
uncomfortable by watching him very closely.
Example: "I am glad my boss retired, I was having a hard time
concentrating on my new project, because he was always breathing down
my neck."
186. To climb the corporate ladder - To ascend in a company by being
promoted to a higher position starting at the lower ones.
Example: "Having children could be an obstacle for women who want o
climb the corporate ladder!"
187. Slack off - To work unproductively and lazily.
Example: "I hope the big boss comes back soon, everyone has been
slacking off lately."
188. The Glass ceiling - A metaphor for a barrier that prevents people
(women or minorities) from climbing the corporate ladder.
Example: "When John was promoted despite the fact that Linda was better
qualified for the position, I understood that there really is a glass ceiling in
this company."
189. Elephant in the room - A touchy subject people would rather not talk
about, but is very difficult to ignore.
Example: "There was a big elephant in the room, when Mr. Thompson
walked all drunk into the conference room!"
190. Being on the same wavelength -To think in a similar way to others.
Example: "Group members were all on the same wavelength; therefore
they were able to finish the project on time."
191. To be swamped - To have too much work to do.
Example: "Alice was swamped. She had so many papers on her desk; she
didn’t know where to begin."

11. 192. The name of the game is... - The basic purpose of.
Example: "The name of the game is service. If we focus on that, the
customers will always come back."
193. Call the shots - To make the decisions.
Example: "The boss asked Alice to call the shots while he was gone."
194. Line of work - Job field, type of work.
Example: "I hope your family understands there is a lot traveling in your
new line of work."
195. Burn the Bridges - To hurt a relationship for not being able to come
back.
Example: "I want to talk to my boss before accepting the new offer,
because I don’t want to burn my bridges."
196. The ball is in your court - You now have control of the situation.
Example: "I didn’t quit my job yet, I decided to propose working under a
service contract. Right now the ball is in their court."
197. Run out of something - There is nothing left.
Example: “This week, we’ll run out of zinc, it will be impossible to roll out
the whole production Plan.”
198. Put aside - Save an amount of money.
Example: “Every year we put aside 15% of our revenues for marketing
expenses and promotions."
199. Bring Someone On - Encourage someone who is learning something
to improve at a faster rate.
Example: "After my internship at Dell, my boss brought me on a special
project in product development."
200. Write someone off - Dismiss, when you are fed up, done dealing with
that person.
Example: "I am sure they will work out their operational problems, they
used to be a very effective Logistics service provider. Let’s not write them
off just yet."