职场商务口语｜Lesson 03《Speak Business Engl...

Lesson 03 IDIOMS 英文解释

• (to) run some ideas by someone: to discuss some new ideas
• EXAMPLE: Our R&D department has some ideas about how to make our products safer. They'd like to meet this afternoon to run some ideas by us.
• NOTE: You will also hear the singular form: to run an idea by someone.
• (to) keep an open mind: to be ready to accept new ideas and experiences
• EXAMPLE: Cathy's new boss starts next Monday. She's heard he's very difficult to work with, but she's trying to keep an open mind.
• nothing is set in stone: nothing is decided yet; things can still be changed
• EXAMPLE: If you don't like the new product design, we can still change it. Nothing is set in stone yet.
• (to) brainstorm: to think up new ideas; to generate new ideas in a group
• EXAMPLE: When the company started losing market share, the president called a meeting to brainstorm ways to turn around the business.
• NOTE: There is also the expression "brainstorming session," in which a group gathers to come up with new ideas or to solve a problem.
• half-baked idea: a stupid or impractical idea or suggestion
• EXAMPLE: I can't believe we paid that consulting company so much money. We wanted them to help us grow our business and all they did was give us a bunch of half-baked ideas!
• tagline：a slogan; a phrase used to promote a product
• EXAMPLE: Meow Mix, a brand of cat food, has one of the best taglines in history: "Tastes so good, cats ask for it by name."
• (to) throw cold water over (an idea, a plan): to present reasons why something will not work; to discourage
• EXAMPLE: Pat presented her boss with a plan to expand their business into China, but he threw cold water over her plan and told her to just focus on developing business in the United States.
• NOTE: You will also hear the variation: to throw cold water on.
• on the right track：proceeding in a good way; going in the right direction
• EXAMPLE: After years of struggling, apple Computer is now on the right track by focusing on innovative products like the iPod.
• (to) generate lots of buzz: to cause many people to start talking about a product or service, usually in a positive way that increases sales
• EXAMPLE: Procter & Gamble generated lots of buzz for its new toothpaste by giving away free samples to people on the streets of New York City.
• NOTE: "Buzz" is a popular word for "attention."
• icing on the cake:an additional advantage; when one good thing happens, then another good thing happens along with it
• EXAMPLE: Alison won $2 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit against her employer. And here's the icing on the cake: her company will have to pay all of her legal fees too!
• NOTE: Icing is the creamy glaze put on top of a cake to decorate it and make it sweeter. The cake is already good enough — putting icing on top is something extra which makes it even better.
• an arm and a leg: a lot of money
• EXAMPLE: Jack always flies business class to Asia. The plane tickets cost an arm and a leg!
• (to) plug (a product): to promote a product; to talk positively about a product
• EXAMPLE: American Express often hires famous people to plug their credit cards. No wonder people pay attention to their ads!
• (to) twist somebody's arm: to convince somebody; to talk somebody into doing something
• EXAMPLE: Ben didn't want to go to the company Christmas party this year, but Amy twisted his arm and he ended up having fun.
• (to) run with an idea： to proceed with an idea
• EXAMPLE: After much discussion, the language school decided to run with the idea of offering a free class to each potential client.
• (to) flesh out something: to elaborate on something; to add more detail to a plan; to think in more detail about something
• EXAMPLE: I like your idea of moving our manufacturing facility to China, but your plan doesn't have any details. Please flesh out your plan and present it at our board meeting next month.
• (to) touch base with someone: to get in contact with; to make brief contact with
• EXAMPLE: "Hi, it's Andy calling from City Style magazine. I'm just touching base with you to see if you want to buy an ad."