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Employment Idioms

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  • The project will be hard work, but we’re in it for the long haul. What does IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL mean?
    A long period of time.
  • “The boss fired the employee for not doing things by the book.” What does BY THE BOOK mean?
    To follow the rules exactly
  • Next time, do more research instead of jumping the gun. What does "JUMP THE GUN" mean?
    to do something early or before the right time
  • It’s time to get the ball rolling on the 2026 project. What does GET THE BALL ROLLING?
    to get started
  • “The teacher rejected our original project idea, so it’s back to the drawing board.” What does "BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD" mean?
    to start again after a plan or idea was not successful
  • “My boss and I don’t always see eye to eye on reporting techniques.” What does SEE EYE TO EYE mean?
    to agree
  • “The team must raise the bar if we want to win a customer service award.” What does RAISE THE BAR mean?
    to raise standards or expectations
  • “Put that assignment on the back burner and focus on studying for your test.” What does ON THE BACK BURNER mean?
    something is low priority
  • “Ultimately, it’s the principal's choice since they call the shots.” What does CALL THE SHOTS mean?
    To be in a position of power/To make the major decisions
  • “I have a lot on my plate since my supervisor quit last week.” What does HAVING A LOT ON YOUR PLATE mean?
    to have a lot of responsibilities
  • “I can’t think of any ideas off the top of my head; I’ll have to do more research.” What does OFF THE TOP OF ONE'S HEAD mean?
    to know something immediately
  • Field trips are a nice change of pace from our regular school day.” What does "CHANGE OF PACE" mean?
    to do something different from a normal routine
  • “She has her work cut out for her when it comes to training the new team.” What does HAVE YOUR WORK CUT OUT mean?
    to have something very difficult to do
  • “We have a new team member starting this week. Can everyone help him get up to speed on project? What does UP TO SPEED mean?
    to be familiar with current information
  • “Stop looking at past examples and think outside the box.” What does "THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX" mean?
    to go beyond a normal idea/come up with new ideas/think about something in a new or different way
  • She went out on a limb to convince our boss to hire me. What does "OUT ON A LIMB" mean?
    to do or say something risky
  • The firefighter was injured in the line of duty. What does IN THE LINE OF DUTY mean?
    While doing one’s job, especially in emergency or dangerous situations.
  • “Stop talking about irrelevant statistics and cut to the chase.” What does CUT TO THE CHASE mean?
    to get to the point without wasting time
  • “The employees made small talk about their weekends while waiting outside the board room.” What does SMALL TALK mean?
    a discussion about everyday topics (e.g., weather)
  • “It may be a good idea, but the bottom line is that it’s not going to make any money.” What does THE BOTTOM LINE mean?
    the most important part
  • Please redo the presentation since you missed the mark the first time. What does "MISS THE MARK" mean?
    to fail to achieve an intended goal
  • “The team is finally working well together. A new hire may rock the boat.” What does ROCK THE BOAT mean?
    to disturb a situation
  • “It’s a long shot, but maybe we can convince our boss to take Fridays off.” What does LONG SHOT mean?
    a low likelihood of something happening
  • “The team needs to ramp up their work in order to meet their deadlines.” What does RAMP UP mean?
    to increase
  • After receiving negative feedback, she was ready to throw in the towel. What does "THROW IN THE TOWEL" mean?
    to quit or accept failure
  • “Cutting corners on your essay will result in careless errors.” What does CUTTING CORNERS mean?
    to do something the easiest or quickest way
  • “My coworker is in hot water after sending a rude email.” What does IN HOT WATER mean?
    to be in trouble
  • “Our manager is burning the midnight oil to meet every deadline.” What does BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL mean?
    to consistently work beyond normal business hours/ working late into the night
  • The paramedics were at the ready when the call came in. What does AT THE READY mean?
    Prepared to respond immediately.
  • “There will be random testing on this, so stay on your toes.” What does "STAY ON YOUR TOES" mean?
    To stay alert/To be ready
  • “Just look up the answer online; it’s not rocket science.” What does IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE mean?
    something is not complicated to understand
  • “We’ll need to crunch the numbers to make sure we can afford this.” What does CRUNCH THE NUMBERS mean?
    to do a lot of calculations or to solve a problem
  • “That’s what I was thinking — you hit the nail on the head.” What does HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD mean?
    to find exactly the right answer
  • “New employees usually have a learning curve.” What does LEARNING CURVE mean?
    the slow rate of gaining experience or new skills
  • You must communicate with your manager frequently so that you are on the same page What does ON THE SAME PAGE mean?
    to have a shared understanding with others
  • Don’t expect to get a raise at work if you’re constantly slacking off. What does SLACKING OFF mean?
    not working hard/to work lazily
  • “The changes to the new employee policy are confidential, so we’re going to keep some employees in the dark.” What does it mean TO BE IN THE DARK?
    to be uninformed
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