Business Idioms (Cont.)

(English Idioms & Sayings) Business Idioms (Cont.)

fill the bill

- to be just what is needed
The new machine should fill the bill for what we need to finish the job.

float (someone) a loan

- to loan someone money
I asked the bank to float me a loan so that I could buy a new car.

gain ground

- to go forward, to make progress
Our company is gaining ground in its attempt to be the best in the industry.

get a break

- to get an opportunity or good deal
We were able to get a break on the price of the paint and we saved much money.

get a raise

- to get an increase in one's salary
My sister works hard and she recently got a raise in her new job.

get off the ground

- to make a successful beginning
We were unable to get the new product off the ground but we will try again next year.

give (someone) the green light

- to give someone permission to go ahead with a project
Our boss gave us the green light to begin work on the new sales campaign.

go belly up

- to go out of business because of financial problems
The small computer company went belly up several months ago.

go over the books

- to check and analyze the accounting records of a company
We hired an outside accountant to go over our books.

go public

- to become a public company and to sell the company stock to the public
The stock of the Internet company rose very quickly after the company went public.

go through with (something)

- to do something as planned or as agreed, to finish something
We will not go through with our plans to build the new product until we solve several problems.

hang out one's shingle

- to open one's own business (usually as a professional in some field)
My friend decided to hang out his shingle as a dentist soon after he finished school.

a hard sell

- a way of selling something that is very aggressive and uses much pressure
The car salesman gave us a hard sell so we went to another car dealer.

have a stake in (something)

- to have part ownership of a company or other business
The large oil company has a stake in the new oil exploration company.

have one's finger in the pie

- to be involved in something, to receive money for something
The new manager has his finger in the pie of many small businesses.

have the floor

- to have permission to speak in a meeting
The president had the floor for almost an hour during the meeting.

heads will roll

- someone will be punished
Heads will roll when our boss learns about the money that we have lost.

hold a meeting

- to conduct a meeting
We plan to hold a meeting next week to discuss the problems with our new product.

in black and white

- in writing
The company refused to deal with the customer's complaints until they were in black and white.

in charge of (someone or something)

- to be in control of someone or something, to be responsible for someone or something
My sister has been in charge of buying supplies at her company for many years.

in short supply

- to not have enough of something, to be less than the amount or number needed
Experienced computer programmers are in short supply in our company.

in stock

- to have something ready to sell or use
The store does not have any printer ribbons in stock.

in the black

- to be successful, to be making money, to be profitable
The new company has been in the black for many years now.

in the long run

- over a long period of time
The company has been losing money recently but in the long run they should make a profit.

in the loop

- to be involved or to take part in a job or in information sharing with one's colleagues etc.
I began to work in the evenings and I was no longer in the loop at our company.

in the market for (something)

- to be ready to buy something, to want to buy something
We have been in the market for a new computer for a long time.

in the red

- to be losing money, to be unprofitable
The company has been in the red since the price of oil began to rise rapidly.

in the works

- to be in preparation, to be in the process of being planned or developed
The camera company has a new camera in the works but nobody knows about it.

jack up the price of (something)

- to make a price higher
The steel company decided to jack up the price of steel at the beginning of the year.

keep books

- to keep records of money that is gained or spent
The new sales manager does not know how to keep books and he has made many mistakes.

keep track of (something)

- to keep a count or record of something, to stay informed about something
We have been making a great effort to keep track of the number of visitors to our store.

a kickback

- an amount of money that is paid illegally for favorable treatment
The construction company was giving kickbacks to the local politicians.

knock down the price of (something)

- to lower the price of something
I bargained hard so that I could knock down the price of the stereo.

land an account

- to acquire an account
The salesman landed a large account on his first day of work.

lay (something) on the table

- to present a matter for discussion
I went to the meeting and laid my concerns about the new product on the table.

lead time

- the time available to prepare for an event or put a product on the market to sell
The lead time to get a book published is very long.

line of products

- a group/category of products that are similar to each other
Our company will introduce a new line of products in the autumn.

liquid assets

- property or belongings that can easily be converted into cash
The company had to sell some of its liquid assets in order to raise cash.

make a cold call

- to visit or telephone a potential but unknown customer from a list of people
When he first started to work at his company the salesman was asked to make cold calls from the telephone book.

make a go of (something)

- to produce good results, to succeed at something
Although the man works very hard in his small business he cannot make a go of it and may soon go out of business.

make a motion

- to make a suggestion or proposal at a meeting
The manager made a motion to finish the meeting early and continue the next morning.

make an offer

- to make a financial proposal for a product or service
We want to buy the house and we plan to make an offer on Saturday.

make money hand over fist

- to make a lot of money
The small ice cream shop has been making money hand over fist since it first opened.

mean business

- to be serious
Our boss means business when he tells everyone to work harder.

move to (do something)

- to propose to do something (usually at a meeting)
I moved to have another meeting next week when we can discuss the problem.

a number cruncher

- an accountant, someone who works with numbers
Our president is a good number cruncher and he understands the finances of our company.

on credit

- without paying cash
We usually buy most of our furniture on credit.

on hand

- to be in one's possession, to be ready
We did not have enough supplies on hand and were unable to finish the job.

on the block

- to be for sale, to go on sale
After we bought the company we began to put some of the equipment on the block.

out-of-pocket expenses

- the direct expenses that one must personally pay
My out-of-pocket expenses were very high during the business trip.

out of stock

- not available for immediate sale
The toys are out of stock and we will have to wait several weeks before we get them.

out of the loop

- to not be involved or taking part in a job or in information sharing with one's colleagues etc.
I was out of the loop during the negotiations and did not know what was going on.

outsource (something)

- to use outside sources rather than those within a company or its facilities
The manufacturing company outsourced many of their products.

overnight (something)

- to send a document or package somewhere for delivery the next day
We decided to overnight the new contract to our supplier.



Learning English through Idioms and Sayings