to do something early or before the right time (“Next time, do more research instead of jumping the gun.”)

a low likelihood of something happening (“It’s a long shot, but maybe we can convince our boss to take Fridays off.”)

to do something unpleasant (“The boss was really punching a puppy when he laid off 15 people.”)

to look at something one layer at a time (“Let’s peel the onion to figure out where we messed up.”)

to do something by law or rule (“The company fired the CEO for not doing things by the book.”)

to be familiar with current information (“We have a new team member starting this week. Can everyone help him get up to speed on our accounts?”)

to get to the point without wasting time (“Stop talking about irrelevant statistics and cut to the chase.”)

to do something the easiest or quickest way (“Cutting corners on case studies will result in careless errors.”)

to do or say something risky (“She went out on a limb to defend my unconventional strategy.”)

a metaphorical barrier preventing advancement to a higher position (“I think there’s a glass ceiling because I don’t see any room for growth here.)

to enter an organization or industry (“A coffee meeting can help you get your foot in the door with prospective clients.”)

ideas that are feasible in a perfect world (“The manager’s blue-sky thinking always resulted in unrealistic expectations.”)