|
Saying |
Meaning |
|
20-20 hindsight |
perfect knowledge but too late |
|
(someone is) the 800 pound
gorilla |
most
important party to a
transaction/or in a group |
|
a
lick and a promise |
incomplete or limited
preparation |
|
a
rising tide that lifts all boats |
something that benefits all
(Pres. Kennedy) |
|
an
Old (China. Japan, etc. ) Hand |
someone with long experience in
the place |
|
at
loggerheads |
disagreement |
|
at
the 11th hour |
at
the last minute |
|
base-tending |
protecting one's assets |
|
begin on a shoestring |
start with limited finances |
|
bootstrapped |
develop by yourself without
outside support |
|
both
sides of the aisle |
from
politics, Involving both parties |
|
bring to the table |
what
you offer to a transaction |
|
cake
walk |
easily accomplished |
|
carve out a niche |
find
a special position to monopolize |
|
Catch 22 |
what
ever you do, it won't work
(Joseph Heller book) |
|
Chinese wall |
separation between two parts of
same unit |
|
computer virus or "bug" |
software corruption |
|
deep
pockets |
wealthy; has ability to pay |
|
do
you read me? |
do
you understand (military
communications) |
|
dog
and pony show |
financial presentation |
|
don't make waves |
don't disagree or contradict
policy |
|
down
in the dumps |
depressed |
|
downtime |
period when equipment isn't
available to perform |
|
draw
a line in the sand |
make
final conditions that cannot be
changed |
|
featherbedding |
a
job that is not necessary (union
term) |
|
fence-mending |
apology; smoothing bad relations |
|
free
ride |
obtaining benefit for no cost |
|
from
Day One |
from
the beginning |
|
from
scratch |
from
the beginning |
|
goal-tending |
protecting one's assets |
|
going great guns |
doing well |
|
hacker |
computer expert breaking into a
system |
|
hold
feet to fire |
force, bring pressure |
|
how
does that play in Peoria |
what
is reaction of average person at
grass roots |
|
I
need it yesterday |
jocular way to say it is needed
immediately |
|
in
the black |
profitable |
|
Indian Summer |
unusual warm weather after
summer is gone |
|
interface the system
architecture |
computer talk; tying into system |
|
100K |
$100,000; K for kilo, or 1,000 |
|
it
occurred on his watch |
it
happened when he was in charge
(military saying) |
|
it
should be a two way street |
both
sides should benefit/contribute |
|
it
will never fly |
it
won't work |
|
it's
a jungle out there |
a
difficult market with tough
competitors |
|
Jerry-built |
cheap goods (W.W.I pejorative
for (German) |
|
jump
through hoops |
trying very hard (from a dog
trick) |
|
keep
a low profile |
or
lie low |
|
lay
cards on the table |
be
perfectly honest |
|
learning curve |
speed at which one learns |
|
level playing field |
equal treatment |
|
lion's share |
largest portion |
|
marching orders |
instructions (from the military) |
|
nest-guarding |
to
protect |
|
not
amount to a hill of beans |
no
value |
|
number crunching |
accounting or financial analysis |
|
on a
roll |
doing well, moving forward |
|
on
the lam |
flee
from the law (criminal slang) |
|
on
the same wavelength |
mutual understanding |
|
overview |
review of situation |
|
pierce the corporate veil |
see
the true inside story |
|
pipe
dream |
unrealistic, from opium smoking |
|
plain vanilla |
simple basic version |
|
play
hardball |
deal
in a tough manner |
|
Politics make strange bedfellows |
mutual interests bring different
people together |
|
Pooh-poohing |
rejecting |
|
power lunch |
big
business dealing at lunch |
|
pushing the envelope |
expanding activities beyond
current restrictions |
|
put
on the map |
make
well-known |
|
put
the scotch to |
to
stop |
|
received over the transom |
unsolicited (old style of door
with window above) |
|
reinvent the wheel |
create something that already
exists |
|
right off the bat |
immediately |
|
robbing Peter to pay Paul |
taking from one to give to
another with no net gain |
|
rule
of thumb |
generally used but imprecise
measurement |
|
run
it up the flagpole (and see if
it gets a salute) |
test
to see if it gains approval |
|
sandbag |
hit
from behind unexpectedly |
|
save
our bacon |
save
from danger |
|
savvy |
smart, aware, knowledgeable |
|
sea
change |
a
large change |
|
sea
legs (to get one’s) |
to
gain stability |
|
seat
of the pants operation |
intuitive (flying without
instruments) |
|
set
on its ear |
disrupt |
|
shotgun approach |
strike out widely, as opposed to
targeted rifle shot |
|
slam
dunk |
from
basketball; a complete success |
|
smoke and mirrors |
tricks to hide the true
situation |
|
somewhere (sometime) down the
pike |
sometime later on (pike is an
old word for road) |
|
square peg in a round hole |
someone that doesn't fit or
perform appropriately |
|
step
up to the plate |
take
responsibility (from baseball) |
|
tailspin |
uncontrolled descent |
|
talk
until blue In the face |
persuasion with no result |
|
the
bottom line |
final result or basic meaning
(from accounting) |
|
the
flip side |
the
other side (from flipping over a
phonograph record) |
|
the
Genie is out of the bottle |
something that can never be
changed back |
|
the
name of the game (is...) |
the
basic purpose |
|
the
proof of the pudding is in the
eating |
find
out result with actual
performance |
|
the
whole nine yards |
no
idea why, but means all,
everything (football?) |
|
to
grandfather something |
grant exception to the rule due
to preexisting status |
|
tongue In cheek |
jokingly or not truthfully |
|
took
a haircut on that one (or, took
a bath) |
took
a loss |
|
tweaking, e.g. the economy |
slight adjustment |
|
unwind a deal |
undo, take apart |
|
wallpaper the meeting |
include people favorable to your
position |
|
what
can you bring to the party (or
table) |
what
is your contribution |
|
what
makes him tick |
what
is his motivation |
|
whistling past the graveyard |
trying to keep up one’s courage |
|
whose ox gets gored |
who
will be harmed by this plan |
|
zero-sum game |
if
someone wins, someone must lose |
Business
English Jargon and Slang
