Captain of industry

Across the board

MEANING: including everyone or everything

EXAMPLE:

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

At a loss

MEANING: sell something and lose money

EXAMPLE:

We were forced to sell the computers at a big loss.

Bail a company out

MEANING: help or rescue a company with financial problems.

EXAMPLE:

The government decided to bail out the failing bank in order to maintain stability in the economy.

ball park figure/estimate

MEANING: a rough estimate or figure

EXAMPLE:

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

Bang for the buck

MEANING: value for the money spent

EXAMPLE:

We were able to get a big bang for our buck when we advertised on the Internet.

banker’s hours

MEANING: short work hours

EXAMPLE:

My sister’s husband owns his own company and is able to work banker’s hours with his large staff.

Bean-counter

MEANING: an accountant

EXAMPLE:

We asked the bean-counters to look over the figures in the new budget.

big gun/cheese/wheel/wig

MEANING: an important person, a leader

EXAMPLE:

The new director was a big wheel in his previous company but is not so important now.

bottom fall out/drop out

MEANING: to fall below an earlier lowest price

EXAMPLE:

When the bottom fell out of the coffee market many companies had to stop doing business.

Bottom line

MEANING: the total, the final figure on a balance sheet

EXAMPLE:

When they examined the bottom line of the company they decided not to invest in it.

Bottom out

MEANING: reach the lowest or worst point of something

EXAMPLE:

The value of the stock has begun to bottom out and should soon begin to increase in value.

boys/men in the backroom

MEANING: a group of men making decisions behind the scenes

EXAMPLE:

The boys in the backroom told us that we must close down the factory as soon as possible.

Break even

MEANING: have expenses equal to profits

EXAMPLE:

After only three months the company was able to break even and start making profits.

budget squeeze/crunch

MEANING: a situation where there is not enough money in the budget

EXAMPLE:

We have been going through a severe budget squeeze at our company and must begin to stop spending money in a wasteful manner.

Buy off

MEANING: use a gift or money to divert someone from their duty or purpose

EXAMPLE:

The land developer tried to buy off the politician but he was not successful.

Buy out

MEANING: buy the ownership or a decisive share of something

EXAMPLE:

The company was bought out by another large company in the textile industry.

By a long shot

MEANING: by a big difference, by far

EXAMPLE:

The soap company was able to beat out the bids of the other companies by a long shot.

Calculated risk

MEANING: an action that may fail but has a good chance to succeed

EXAMPLE:

They took a calculated risk when they introduced the new computer screen onto the market.

captain of industry

MEANING: a top corporation officer

EXAMPLE:

The president of our company was a captain of industry and after he retired he was appointed to many government boards.

Carry over

MEANING: save for another time

EXAMPLE:

We were forced to carry over the sale to the Monday after the national holiday.

Carry over

MEANING: transfer (a figure) from one column or book to another

EXAMPLE:

Our company is still facing difficult times and we will have to carry over last year’s losses to this year.

Carry the day

MEANING: win completely

EXAMPLE:

The president’s new idea carried the day and everyone supported him energetically.

Carry through

MEANING: put into action

EXAMPLE:

The steel company carried through their plan to restructure all of their operations.

Close out

MEANING: sell the whole of something, sell all the goods

EXAMPLE:

They decided to close out the store and sell all of the remaining stock very cheap.

Close the books

MEANING: stop taking orders, end a bookkeeping period

EXAMPLE:

They usually close the books at the end of February every year.

Cold call

MEANING: call a potential customer from a list of persons one has never seen

EXAMPLE:

When he first started to work at his company he was asked to make cold calls using the telephone book.

Come on strong

MEANING: overwhelm with excessively strong language or personality

EXAMPLE:

The salesman came on too strong at the meeting and angered the other members of the team.

Company man

MEANING: a person who always works hard and agrees with his employees

EXAMPLE:

My father was a true company man and was always putting in an extra effort for his company.

Company town

MEANING: a town dominated by one industry or company

EXAMPLE:

When the coal mine closed down the company town faced severe economic times.

Cut back

MEANING: use fewer or use less

EXAMPLE:

The company has been cutting back on entertainment expenses for over a year now.

Cut corners

MEANING: economize

EXAMPLE:

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

Cut off

MEANING: interrupt or stop

EXAMPLE:

The speech of the president was cut off when the electricity went off in the building.

cut one’s losses

MEANING: do something to stop losing money or something

EXAMPLE:

We should sell the old machinery as soon as possible and try and cut our losses.

Deliver the goods

MEANING: succeed in doing well what is expected

EXAMPLE:

The new owner of the company is not very popular but he is able to deliver the goods.

Double-check

MEANING: check something again to confirm

EXAMPLE:

We were unable to double-check the costs of the new products before the price list was printed.

Face value

MEANING: the official worth or trust of something

EXAMPLE:

Although the face value of the postage stamp was very low it sold at the auction for much money.

Fair play

MEANING: justice, equal and right action to someone

EXAMPLE:

The company is very good to work for as they always use fair play when they are bargaining with their employees.

Figure out

MEANING: find an answer by thinking about something

EXAMPLE:

Everyone in our company is trying to figure out what our boss is going to do with the new equipment.

Fill the bill

MEANING: be just what is needed

EXAMPLE:

That new machine should fill the bill as to what we need to finish the job.

Finger in the pie

MEANING: involved in what is happening, receiving money for something

EXAMPLE:

The new manager has his finger in the pie in all aspects of our company’s business.

Gain ground

MEANING: go forward, make progress

EXAMPLE:

Our company has been gaining ground in our attempt to be the best in the industry.

Get a break

MEANING: get an opportunity or good deal

EXAMPLE:

We were able to get a break on the price of the paint and saved a lot of money.

Get off the ground

MEANING: make a successful beginning, go ahead

EXAMPLE:

We were unable to get the new product off the ground and will have to wait until next year.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 959