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Workplace Idioms

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  • “My boss and I don’t always see eye to eye on reporting techniques.”
    To agree
  • “Company outings are a nice change of pace from our regular work week.”
    To do something different from a normal routine
  • “The company merger is confidential, so we’re going to keep some employees in the dark.”
    To be uninformed
  • “Let’s all communicate constantly so we are on the same page.”
    To have a shared understanding with others
  • “Don’t expect a promotion if you’re constantly slacking off.”
    To work lazily
  • “The team is finally working well together. A new hire may rock the boat.”
    To disturb a situation
  • “New employees usually have a learning curve.”
    the rate of gaining experience or new skills, a lot of new information to learn
  • “Always read the fine print before signing a contract.”
    details of a contract that are usually overlooked
  • “Put that report on the back burner and focus on new business.”
    Low priority, not as important
  • “It’s a long shot, but maybe we can convince our boss to take Fridays off.”
    a low likelihood of something happening
  • “That’s what I was thinking — you hit the nail on the head.”
    To find exactly the right answer
  • “We handed off the assets so the ball’s in your court now.”
    to have the responsibility or to take action
  • “It’s time to get the ball rolling on the project."
    To get started
  • “He’s in the office 24/7 due to his heavy workload.”
    24 hours a day, seven days a week
  • “The employees made small talk about their weekends while waiting outside the board room.”
    A discussion about everyday topics
  • "Cutting corners on your project will cause careless errors"
    To do something the easiest or quickest way
  • “Stop talking about irrelevant things and cut to the chase.”
    To get to the point without wasting time
  • “There will be random testing on this, so stay on your toes.”
    To stay alert
  • “Just look up the answer online; it’s not rocket science.”
    Something is not complicated to understand
  • “It may be a good idea, but the bottom line is that it’s not profitable.”
    The most important part
  • “Next time, do more research instead of jumping the gun.”
    To do something early or before the right time
  • “I have a lot on my plate since my supervisor quit last week.”
    to have a lot of responsibilities
  • “The team must raise the bar if we want to win a customer service award.”
    To raise standards or expectations
  • “I can’t think of any ideas off the top of my head; I’ll have to do more research.”
    to know immediately
  • “If we lose our funding for more research, it’ll be back to square one.”
    Back to the beginning
  • “She went out on a limb to defend my different plan
    To do or say something risky
  • “The new business pitch will be hard work, but we’re in it for the long haul.”
    A long period of time
  • “The client rejected our original concept, so it’s back to the drawing board.”
    To start again after a plan or idea was not successful
  • “My coworker is in hot water after sending a rude email.”
    To be in trouble
  • “Stop looking at past examples and think outside the box.”
    To go beyond a normal idea, think of something different or creative
  • “The company fired the CEO for not doing things by the book.”
    to do something by law or rule
  • “We have a new team member starting this week. Can everyone help him get up to speed?"
    To be familiar with current information, to understand what is going on
  • “Please redo the presentation since you missed the mark the first time.”
    To fail to achieve an intended goal
  • “Knowing someone who works at the job you want can help you get your foot in the door"
    to enter an organization or industry
  • “After receiving negative feedback, she was ready to throw in the towel.”
    To quit or accept failure
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