"Say it ain't so" Language Corner

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IDIOMS

across the board

- including everyone or everything

The computer company decided to give the workers an across-the-board increase in their salary.

adjourn a meeting

- to end a meeting

We adjourned the meeting until the next day.

ball park figure/estimate

- a rough estimate or figure

The contractor gave us a ball park figure for the cost of repairing the new building.

bang for the buck

- value for the money spent

We were able to get much bang for the buck when we advertised on the Internet.

blow a deal

- to ruin a business deal with someone

We are working hard so that we do not blow the deal with our new customer.

bring (something) to the table

- to have something to offer during a negotiation

We were able to bring a new offer to the table during the negotiations.

by a long shot

- by a big difference

Our company beat out the bids of the other companies by a long shot.

carve out a niche (for a product)

- to create a specialty

The company was able to carve out a niche for their product among university students.

corner the market

- to dominate a particular market with your product
The large company has cornered the market for cell phones in our city. or product or market that nobody else has

crunch numbers

- to do mathematical calculations

The accountant loves to crunch numbers and he is one of the top managers in our company.

cut corners

- to economize, to try to spend less money

We have been forced to economize on expenses during these severe economic times.

go belly up

- to go out of business because of financial problems

The small computer company went belly up several months ago.

a hard sell

- a way of selling something that is very aggressive and uses much pressure

The car salesman gave us a hard sell so we went to another car dealer.

have one's finger in the pie

- to be involved in something, to receive money for something

The new manager has his finger in the pie of many small businesses.

heads will roll

- someone will be punished

Heads will roll when our boss learns about the money that we have lost.

in the loop

- part of a group of people that is kept up-to-date with information about something

I began to work in the evenings and I was no longer in the loop at our company.