22 Business English Idioms You Absolutely Need To SPEAK ENGLISH! (AMERICAN ENGLISH)

Today you're going to learn 22  idioms that you can use at work.

And all of these idioms are going to help you  sound professional, so you can take your career to  

the next level and make sure you watch until the  end, because #20 will really impress your boss.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

Our first idiom?

To see eye To eye.

To see eye to eye.

This means that you agree, agree with  someone, or that there is agreement.

You could say it's important that the team  sees eye to eye on the project's objectives.

You can commonly use this in the negative to say  

we didn't see eye to eye on the project  objectives, which means you didn't agree.

We don't see eye to eye.

Our next idiom is very similar,  it's to be on the same page.

This is when you have a shared  understanding or agreement.

So to see eye to eye is always with agreement,  

but to be on the same page is when  you have the same understanding.

So similar but slightly different.

For example, we need to be on the same page  regarding the timeline for the project.

We commonly use this with GET.

We need to get the team on the same page.

So this sounds like right now the team isn't on  the same page and GET is used for that transition.

So we need to get the team on the same page.

Go from not a general understanding  to a general understanding.

We on the same page.

I love this one.

To hit the nail on the head.

This means that you describe exactly  what is causing a problem or a situation.

So we simply your description is 100% correct.

For example, you really hit the  nail on the head with your analysis.

Your analysis was 100% correct.

You could also use the something as the subject  and say your analysis hit the nail on the head.

Your analysis was 100% correct.

Now don't worry about writing all of these  

idioms down because I summarize  everything in a free lesson PDF.

So you can look for the link in the description.

Our next idiom to have a lot on ones plate.

This likely describes you.

It describes everyone.

I have a lot of my plate.

This means you're very busy or you  have a lot of tasks to complete.

You might say I can't take on  any more projects right now.

I already have a lot on my plate.

You could also say I have a lot  on my plate with the conference,  

so you could specify a specific task  and then say you have many individual  

tasks for that one item, the conference,  you have many different things to do.

I have a lot on my plate with the  conference to get the hang of.

This will make you sound very natural.

This is when you become skilled  with or familiar with something.

You could say it took a while, but I  finally got the hang of the new software.

So now you're familiar with the software,  you're skilled at using the software.

Or you could say using idioms was tricky at first,  

but I got the hang of them and hopefully  my videos are helping you do that.

So put in the comments.

I got the hang of idioms.

I got the hang of idioms because I'm sure you'll  

get the hang of them very  quickly next to cut corners.

This is a -1.

When you cut corners, it means you  do something in the quickest or the  

easiest way possible, but you sacrifice quality.

Now, hopefully your company says we can't  afford to cut corners with our safety measures,  

and that means your company is going to do  things properly, even if it takes longer,  

even if it's more expensive, because  they're not willing to sacrifice quality.

And if your company doesn't say that,  

they'll get a bad reputation and someone  might say don't use that company.

They cut corners, which is not a positive thing.

You can't cut corners in life.

A ballpark figure.

This is a sports reference, but  it's extremely common in business.

You need to know this 1A ballpark figure  is an approximation or a rough estimate.

So someone might ask, can you give me a  ballpark figure for the budget of the project?

They're asking you for an estimate.

So not a specific number, just an estimate.

The person could reply and say,  we don't have the budget yet,  

but if I had to ballpark it, if I  had to give you a ballpark figure,  

if I had to ballpark it, that's  what a native speaker would say.

If I had to ballpark it, I'd say $100,000.

So that's my estimate of the budget.

But it's not the exact number.

It's just a ballpark figure.

Take a guess.

Ballpark figure, our next one, maybe  you know this to be in the same boat.

Have you heard this one?

This is when you're in the same  difficult situation as someone else.

We're in the same boat when  it comes to global warming.

We're all in the same situation.

It doesn't matter if it happens in India  or Africa or New York, It affects us all.

We're all in the same boat.

I'm in the same boat.

Back to the drawing board.

This one is frequently used.

This is when you have to start a task or project  again because your previous attempt failed.

For example, the marketing  campaign didn't work as expected,  

so it's back to the drawing board to pull strings.

Oh, I love this one.

This is when you use your influence  to manipulate or control a situation.

For example, she managed to pull some  strings and get the project approved.

So this sounds like the project wasn't  approved, but she had influence.

Maybe she knew someone on the board  that was approving the project,  

so she used her relationship with that  person to get the project approved.

She pulled some strings to  get the project approved.

Someone might ask you, how did you  get VIP tickets to Taylor Swift and  

you can reply back and say I pulled  some strings, I pulled some strings.

Our next idiom to cross one's fingers.

This is used to hope for good  luck or a positive outcome.

For example, I'm crossing my fingers that  

the client likes our proposal and  notice that I'm doing the gesture.

We commonly do the gesture in North  America when we use this expression.

We also use this as a reply to say I hope so.

So someone might say you'll do a great job on  

the presentation and you can  simply say Fingers crossed.

But it's very common to do the gesture.

Does this gesture exist in your culture?

Let us know in the comments.

Say yes it does or no it doesn't.

I'm really curious to know, fingers crossed.

How about this idiom to be on the ball?

Do you know this one?

This means that you're alert and  quick to understand or respond.

So this is a +1.

Your boss might say our team needs to be  on the ball to meet the tight deadline.

So the team needs to very quick, very alert.

They need to be on the ball.

Our next idiom to throw in the towel.

I hope you never do this.

This means to give up or surrender.

So if you say English idioms are so confusing  I'm throwing in the towel, it means you're  

closing this video, you're unsubscribing  from my channel, and you're quitting.

So please don't throw in the towel.

She's throwing in the towel,  so put in the comments.

I won't throw in the towel.

I won't throw in the towel because sometimes  it might seem difficult, but keep at it.

I know you'll get the hang of  it #14 to have one's hands tied.

This means you're unable to take action  because of external circumstances.

So maybe you ask your boss for an extra day of  vacation and your boss says I'd like to help.

But my hands are tied due to company policy.

So the external situation or  circumstance is the company policy.

It forbids additional vacation days,  so your boss can't do anything.

Your boss's hands are tied.

So to deliver bad news, a native  speaker will come in Lee say sorry,  

my hands are tied, my hands are tied next to  burn the midnight oil, something I never do.

This is when you work late into the night.

For example, we had to burn the midnight  oil oil in order to meet the deadline.

So I said this is something I never do.

And that's because I believe that I'm more  productive if I sleep for eight hours.

So I would rather sleep for 8 hours and  then the next day I'll be very productive.

If I burn the midnight oil, I'm going to waste an  entire day because I'm not going to be productive.

That's just my personal opinion  next to throw someone under the bus.

Oh this is a good one.

This is when you blame someone else or sacrifice  

someone for personal gain  or to avoid being blamed.

So let's say two Co workers  worked on a project together,  

but then one Co worker publicly said the other  Co worker is the reason why the project failed.

Even though they made all decisions together.

That Co worker is going to be upset and they can  say I can't believe she threw me under the bus.

At the meeting.

Sheldon threw us all under the  bus number 17 to be on thin ice.

This is when you're in a  risky or dangerous situation.

So let's say your boss says to you  this is the third time you're late.

You're on thin ice.

That's not a good position to be, because it means  that you're in a risky or dangerous situation.

In this case, you're at risk of losing your job.

You're on thin ice, so management will say this  to you to let you know that you're in trouble.

You're on thin ice next to hit a snag.

This probably happens to people every single day.

This is when you encounter unexpected  problems, challenges, or difficulties.

So let's say you're about to launch a new  product and everything is going perfectly.

But then we hit a snag when the supplier  couldn't deliver the materials on time.

But don't throw in the towel because I'm sure you  can work through it #19 to keep one's eyes peeled.

This is when you stay alert and watchful for  something specific your Co worker could say.

Keep your eyes peeled for  any updates on the project.

Deadly line.

So your Co worker is telling you to  watch carefully for those updates.

Keep your eyes peeled #21 that your  boss is going to love to cut a deal.

This is when you reach an agreement.

So an agreement is a positive thing.

Your boss will be happy, but this usually  happens after a period of negotiation.

You could say it took us a while,  

but we finally cut a deal, got a  new deal #21 to be up in the air.

This is when things are uncertain,  undecided or unresolved.

For example, the conference is up in the air,  

so it's uncertain if you're even going  to have a conference or the status of it.

The planning of it, everything is  uncertain, undecided, unresolved.

It's up in the air.

Or you could say our plans are up in the air.

Nothing has been decided.

That's up in the air.

And finally #22 in the works.

In the works, this means in progress.

So currently being developed or finalized.

The conference is in the works.

We're working on it.

We're developing it, We're finalizing it.

Our plans are in the works.

So they're not up in the air anymore.

They're in the works.

And now you have 22 idioms  that you can use at work.

Do you want me to make more lessons  sharing the most common idioms?

If you do, then put more idioms.

Put more idioms in the comments and make  sure you share your favorite idioms in  

the comments and leave an example  sentence to practice that as well.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

And why don't you keep improving your vocabulary  with phrasal verbs with this lesson right now?