10. Business idioms CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION

CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION

10. Business idioms

Exercise 1: Choose the correct idiomatic word or expression in (a), (b), (c) or (d), for each of these sentences. 1 When a project goes wrong or fails, we can say that it: (a) puts its foot in it (b) goes belly up (c) sticks its oar in (d) gets its knickers in a twist 2 We sometimes say that people who compete for success in business or in a career are working for the: (a) horse race (b) dog race (c) rat race (d) camel race 3 The practice of transferring a difficult, incompetent or non-essential employee from one department to another is known informally as a: (a) weasel waltz (b) turkey trot (c) cat calypso (d) rabbit rumba 4 We might refer to a bad employer with a reputation for losing talented staff as: (a) a people churner (b) a people mixer (c) a people stirrer (d) a people beater 5 The sudden moment that you realise you have made a terrible mistake is known as: (a) an ohnosecond (b) a gordonbennettminute (c) a whoopsadaisyinstant (d) a hellsbellsmoment 6 If you do a lot of different types of work in an office for very low pay, you could be referred to (unkindly) as: (a) a pig in a poke (b) the cat's whiskers (c) a a gift horse (d) a dogsbody 7 When an employee telephones to say that s/he is not coming to work because s/he is ill, but in fact is only pretending to be ill, we say that s/he is throwing: (a) the book at someone (b) a wobbly (c) a punch (d) a sickie 8 If an employee gets very angry at work because of something bad or unpleasant that happens, we can say that they are experiencing: (a) office anger (b) work rage (c) shopfloor strops (d) workplace wobblies 9 If an employee is deliberately or accidentally excluded from decision-making processes, they might complain that they are being left: (a) out of their mind (b) out of the blue (c) out of their head (d) out of the loop 10 Work that offers the same money for less effort than another similar job is often known as: (a) a cushy number (b) a doddle (c) a pushover (d) child's play 11 When somebody is dismissed from their job, we can say that they have: (a) got the shoe (b) got the sandal (c) got the boot (d) got the slipper 12 If you criticize somebody in writing, we can say that you them. (a) pencil-smack (b) pencil-thrash (c) pencil-punch (d) pencil-whip 13 A general or broad view of a problem as a whole (which does not go into details) is known as: (a) a bird's-eye view (b) a helicopter view (c) a mountaintop view (d) a balloon view 14 The lazy practice of working only when a supervisor is present and able to see you is called: (a) lip service (b) hand service (c) nose service (d) eye service 15 If your job is unpleasant, you might say that you have: (a) a nose job (b) a job lot (c) a jobsworth (d) a mushroom job 16 If you consider your job to be silly, trivial and unimportant, you might describe it as: (a) a Tom and Jerry job (b) a Mickey Mouse job (c) a Homer Simpson job (d) a Donald Duck job 17 A lazy employee who only pretends to work is said to be: (a) swinging the lead (b) swinging a cat (c) swinging the balance (d) swinging both ways 18 A new product (especially a new car) that has some major defects is known as: (a) an orange (b) a raspberry (c) a melon (d) a lemon Exercise 2: Complete dialogues 1 - 16 with the most appropriate word or expression from the box. There are six words or expressions that you do not need. basket case bean counter busymeet cash cow dead wood dumbsizing ear candy empty suit glad-hand goldbricker graveyard shift happy camper idea hamster kiss up to mover and shaker seagull manager shape up or ship out stress puppy toxic employee trim the fat wiggle room wombat 1 A. Tim seems to enjoy being under a lot of pressure, but this doesn't stop him from complaining all the time. B. I know, but he's not the only _________ in this company. 2 A. I've told Tom that unless he improves his performance at work, he'll be fired. B. Good. It's about time somebody told him to _________. 3 A. Tom always dresses well and follows procedure, but he doesn't actually contribute much to the company. B. I agree. He's a typical _________. 4 A. The only way to get promoted in this job is to flatter and be very attentive to the senior managers. B. That's terrible! You shouldn't have to _________ people to get ahead in your job. 5 A. We need to get rid of some of our older and less productive staff. B. I agree. The _________ has to go as soon as possible. 6 A. Ms Rigden met a lot of people at the conference, didn't she? B. She certainly did. I think I saw her _________ almost everyone there. 7 A. The company brought in a so-called expert to deal with a big project, but he just made a lot of fuss, achieved absolutely nothing and then left. B. Well, he wasn't the first _________ we've had, and I'm sure he won't be the last. 8 A. My boss always tells me how well I'm doing, but he never offers me a pay rise. B. Well, I suppose a bit of _________ is better than nothing. 9 A. I can't believe we sat in that meeting and listened to the boss talk for over three hours. B. Me neither. What a complete _________! 10 A. We need to reduce the size of the company but we need to make sure it doesn't become unprofitable or inefficient. B. That's true. _________ is something we need to avoid at all costs. 11 A. Do you enjoy your work here? B. Oh, absolutely. I'm a regular _________. 12 A. We're expected to sign the contract by tomorrow. B. That's no good. We only received it yesterday. We need a bit of _________. 13 A. Have you seen Alan today? B. He's in a _________ all morning. He should be free at lunchtime. 14 A. Is the company doing well? B. No, not at all. As far as I'm concerned, it's a complete _________! 15 A. Business is dropping off and we could end up in financial trouble. B. I know. Perhaps it's time to _________. 16 A. Do you think there will be a lot of demand for our latest range of T-shirts? B. Oh absolutely. It's a _________. Everyone will want one!

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