IDIOM MEANING EXAMPLE

1. Ahead of the pack To be more successful than the If we want to stay ahead of the pack, we’ll have to
competition increase our marketing budget.
2. Back to square one To start something over again To make this software finally work, we have to go
because a previous attempt failed back to square one.
3. Ballpark A very inexact estimate To give you a ballpark figure, how much the border
number/figure wall to Mexico is going to cost, I’d say about 30
million dollars.
4. Big picture Everything that is involved with a Working on all these details, we have lost sight of
particular situation the big picture.
5. By the book To do things exactly according to the We told our auditors that we do everything by the
rules or the law book.
6. Corner the market To dominate a particular market Amazon more or less corners the online retailing
market.
7. Cut-throat Very intense, aggressive, and Competition in the food retailing business is cut-
merciless competition throat.
8. Easy come, easy go Something gained easily is also lost I lost 500 Euros in a poker game last night, but
easily that’s life – easy come, easy go.
9. Game plan A strategy or plan for achieving What is our game plan for dealing with our new
success competitor?
10. Get down to Stop making small talk and start Now that everyone’s here, let’s get down to
business talking about serious business topics business and start with the presentation.
11. Get something off To start something (e.g., a project or Now that we have finished the planning phase,
the ground a business) we’re eager the get the project off the ground.
12. Go down the drain Something is wasted or lost All our efforts in entering this new market went
down the drain.
13. Go the extra mile To do more than what people expect To give our customers the best shopping
experience, we go the extra mile.
14. Hands are tied Not being free to behave in the way I’d love to help you, but my hands are tied.
that you would like
15. In a nutshell Using as few words as possible In a nutshell, we will run out of cash in three
months’ time.
16. In full swing At a stage when the level of activity is Construction of our new production site is in full
at its highest swing now.
17. In the driver’s seat To be in charge or in control of a Being offered the position of managing director, I’ll
situation soon be in the driver’s seat.
18. Keep one’s eye on To give something one’s full attention We should not diversify our product offering too
the ball and to not lose focus much, but rather keep our eyes on the ball.
19. Learn the ropes Learn the basics of something (e.g. a I’m learning the ropes in my new position.
job)
20. Long shot Something that has a very low Winning the lottery is a long shot.
probability of happening
21. No-brainer Something that is really obvious or Making money working for an investment bank is a
easy no-brainer.
22. No strings attached Something is given without involving They will let you try the product for free with no
special demands or limits strings attached.
23. Not going to fly Something isn’t expected to work out This product is definitely not going to fly.
24. On the same page To be in agreement about something Let’s go over the contract details once more to
make sure we’re on the same page.
25. Out in the open Something that is public knowledge Our financials our out in the open anyway.
and not secret anymore
26. Put all one’s eggs in To rely on only one thing to bring It’s not smart to invest in American tech stocks only
one basket success and put all one’s eggs in one basket.
27. Put the cart before To do or think about things in the Trying to find an investor without having a business
the horse wrong order plan is like putting the cart before the horse.
28. Raise the bar To set standards or expectations The iPhone raised the bar for smartphone makers.
higher
29. Red tape Official rules and processes that The new law is going to create a lot of red tape.
seem excessive and unnecessary
30. Rock the boat To do or say something that will upset Don’t rock the boat until the negotiations are
people or cause problems finished.
31. Safe bet Something that is certain to happen It’s a safe bet that computer processor speed will
more than triple within the next 10 years.
32. Same boat To be in the same difficult situation as None of us has any money left, so we’re all in the
someone else same boat.
33. See eye to eye To agree with somebody My boss doesn’t see eye to eye with me about our
marketing campaign.
34. See something To continue until something is I want to see this project through before taking on
through finished another one.
35. Sever ties To end a relationship We had to sever ties with several suppliers due to
poor product quality.
36. Shoot something To reject something (e.g. an idea or a You shouldn’t shoot down your co-workers ideas
down proposal) during a brainstorming session.
37. Smooth sailing A situation where success is Once our largest competitor went out of business,
achieved without difficulties it was smooth sailing.
 38. Stand one’s ground To not change one’s opinion or They tried to cut my travel budget, but I stood my
position ground.
39. Take the bull by the To directly confront a difficult situation My mid-level managers constantly delayed
horns in a brave and determined way projects, so I took the bull by the horns and fired
several of them.
40. Talk someone into To convince someone to do I was reluctant to redesign our website, but my
something something employees talked me into it.
41. Talk someone out of To convince someone not to do We wanted to take on more debt, but our CFO
something something talked us out of it.
42. The elephant in the An obvious problem or controversial We should have discussed our pending litigation,
room issue that no one wants to discuss. but no one wanted to talk about the elephant in the
room.
43. Think outside the To think of creative, unconventional Our current approach will get us nowhere. We
box solutions instead of common ones. have to think outside the box.
44. Time’s up Time for something or someone has I think his time’s up as the CEO.
ended.
45. Touch base To make contact with someone. I will touch base with you later today.
46. Twist someone’s arm To convince someone to do My boss thought the budget was a little high, so I
something that he or she does not had to twist his arm to get him to agree to it.
want to do.
47. Up in the air Something is undecided or uncertain Our international expansion plan is still up in the
air.
48. Uphill battle Something that is difficult to achieve Gaining market share in this country will be an
because of obstacles and difficulties uphill battle due to tough competition.
49. Upper hand To have more power than anyone Due to my experience, I had the upper hand in the
else and so have control argument.
50. Word of mouth Something is given or done by people Many local stores rely on word of mouth to get new
talking about something or telling customers.
people about something

Now, create a scenario where you present a situation including 25 business idioms. Remember to present the
workshop in both English and Spanish.