Teacher MarBusiness Idioms and Expressions in English
(1) across the board - MEANING: including everyone or everything
EXAMPLE:
> The computer company decided to give the workers an across-the-board increase in their salary.
(2) at a loss - MEANING: sell something and lose money
EXAMPLE:
> We were forced to sell the computers at a big loss.
(3) bail a company out - MEANING: help or rescue a company with financial problems.
EXAMPLE:
> The government decided to bail out the failing bank in order to maintain stability in the economy.
(4) ball park figure/estimate - MEANING: a rough estimate or figure
EXAMPLE:
> The contractor gave us a ball park figure for the cost of repairing the new building.
(5) bang for the buck - MEANING: value for the money spent
EXAMPLE:
> We were able to get a big bang for our buck when we advertised on the Internet.
(6) banker's hours - MEANING: short work hours
EXAMPLE:
> My sister's husband owns his own company and is able to work banker's hours with his large staff.
(7) Bean-counter - MEANING: an accountant
EXAMPLE:
> We asked the bean-counters to look over the figures in the new budget.
(8) big gun/cheese/wheel/wig - MEANING: an important person, a leader
EXAMPLE:
> The new director was a big wheel in his previous company but is not so important now.
(9) bottom fall out/drop out - MEANING: to fall below an earlier lowest price
EXAMPLE:
> When the bottom fell out of the coffee market many companies had to stop doing business.
(10) bottom line - MEANING: the total, the final figure on a balance sheet
EXAMPLE:
> When they examined the bottom line of the company they decided not to invest in it.
(11) bottom out - MEANING: reach the lowest or worst point of something
EXAMPLE:
> The value of the stock has begun to bottom out and should soon begin to increase in value.
(12) boys/men in the backroom - MEANING: a group of men making decisions behind the scenes
EXAMPLE:
> The boys in the backroom told us that we must close down the factory as soon as possible.
(13) break even - MEANING: have expenses equal to profits
EXAMPLE:
> After only three months the company was able to break even and start making profits.
(14) budget squeeze/crunch - MEANING: a situation where there is not enough money in the budget
EXAMPLE:
> We have been going through a severe budget squeeze at our company and must begin to stop spending money in a wasteful manner.
(15) buy off - MEANING: use a gift or money to divert someone from their duty or purpose
EXAMPLE:
> The land developer tried to buy off the politician but he was not successful.