Common Business English Idioms Explained: Enhance Workplace Communication and Management Skills

Welcome to our next Business idioms lesson. As a reminder, you'll need to interact with the idioms by guessing their meanings from the context. Choose the option that you think is the best definition for the idiom, and then keep watching to find out if you are correct. Number 1. Our sales reps must be willing to go the extra mile and do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. Does go the extra mile mean A, offer an additional bonus, B, do more than is expected or required, or C, travel a long distance. Go the extra mile means B, do more than expected or required. Someone who goes the extra mile does extra work beyond what is required or expected. It doesn't necessarily mean working longer hours, but rather choosing to make above average efforts, companies like employees who go the extra mile.

Number 2. We're going to start celebrating staff birthdays to help boost morale at the office. Does boost morale mean A, increase positive feelings, B, unite the community, or C, improve productivity? Boost morale means A, increase positive feelings. The word morale refers to the general feelings of a group of people. If you say morale is low, it means that people in the group are pressed. To boost is to increase or raise, so boosting morale is to increase positive happy feelings in a group of people.

Number 3. The CEO came under fire for his statement that profits are more important than people. Does came under fire mean A, was criticized, B, lost his job, or C, started an argument? Came under fire means A, was criticized. This idiom usually means criticized by many people or criticized in the media. Don't confuse these expressions. He came under fire means he was criticized, but he got fired or he was fired means he lost his job.

Number 4. Our products for adults aren't doing so well, but our kids' products are selling like hotcakes. Does selling like hotcakes mean A, becoming popular in restaurants, B, selling at a high price, or C, selling fast and in large numbers? Something like hotcakes means C, selling fast and in large numbers. A cake is most delicious when it is hot, immediately after it is made. Hotcakes sell fast because a lot of people want to buy them. So a product that is selling like hotcakes is selling fast and in large numbers because demand for it is very high.

Number 5. Don't expect anyone to help you if you fall behind in your work. You need to pull your own weight. Does pull your own weight mean A, compete to be the best? B, do your own part or responsibility? Or C, report directly to the boss? Pull your own weight means B, do your part or responsibility. This idiom comes from the sport of rowing or crew. In rowing or crew, each person in the boat needs to pull their own weight. Each person in the boat adds weight, which slows the boat down, so every person needs to pull their own weight, contribute the power to move the boat to compensate for his weight.

Number 6. Our big sale backfired. We got a lot of customers that week, but most of them never came back. Does backfired mean A, damaged the reputation of the company? B, had financial disadvantages, or C, had unexpected negative results? Backfired means C, had an unexpected negative result. When you fire a gun, you want the bullet to go forward out of the front of the gun. If the gun malfunctions and the bullet goes back, it will injure you. So to backfire is to have unexpected negative consequences that were the opposite of what was intended.

Number 7. The new boss runs a tight ship. She yelled at me when I was two minutes late to a meeting. Does run a tight ship mean A, is in a rush all the time? B, gets angry over little things, or C, manages with lots of discipline. Runs a tight ship means C, manages with a lot of discipline. The captain of a ship needs to maintain discipline among the crew, the people working on the ship, in order for the ship to run efficiently. This idiom is also applied to management of businesses and groups in general. A person who runs a tight ship has high standards for the behavior of their employees and requires everything to be as perfect as possible.

Number 8. The software isn't ready yet. The programming team still needs to work out a few kinks. Does work out a few kinks mean A, finalize the packaging? B, contact some potential partners, or C, solve some small problems. Work out a few kinks means C, solve some small problems. A kink is a bend or twist in a wire. This is a problem. Wires need to be straight with no kinks. To work out the kinks means to resolve the small problems in some project or system.

Number 9. Do you have a few minutes to talk? I'd like to get the ball rolling on this new marketing project. Does get the ball rolling mean A, finalize plans? B, get advice, or C, start a process? Get the ball rolling means C, start a process. When a ball is in motion on the ground, it is rolling. A rolling ball has momentum, but someone needs to start this movement. Get the ball rolling is used to describe beginning a process or project.

Number 10. Although ebooks are gaining traction, printbooks still represent 80% of total sales. Does gaining traction mean A, starting to be successful? B, becoming cheaper and cheaper? Or C, easily available? Gaining traction means A, starting to be successful. Traction is friction. Imagine a car or truck that is stuck in the mud. The tires have no traction because the ground is slippery, so the truck will not go forward. If a product gains traction, it means it gains the ability to move forward. It is starting to be successful, beginning to gain popularity and acceptance.

Number 11. The retail sector is struggling, but Zara is bucking the trend with its third consecutive profitable year. Does bucking the trend mean A, becoming a market leader? B, going against the tendency, or C, profiting from innovation? Buck the trend means B, going against the tendency. A buck is a male deer. It uses the antlers on its head to fight, to resist, so to buck the trend means to go against the general trend or tendency.

Number 12. We've already built five training centers and seven more are in the pipeline. Does in the pipeline mean A, being proposed? B, expected to be completed, or C, requested by employees? In the pipeline means B, expected to be completed. The retail pipelines deliver the oil to its final destination, so the idiom in the pipeline means that something is in progress and expected to be completed in the future. Now try the quiz to put these expressions into practice and come back tomorrow for your next progress test.

These are the business English listening materials for speeches, meetings, negotiations, and phone calls collected by Qicai.com's editor Xiao Wu. We hope you gain useful insights after listening!