BUSINESS IDIOMS

to be "ahead of the pack"

• To be the last in a competition

• To be more successful than your competitors

• To fail in meeting the deadlines of a project

"back to square one"

• back to where one started, with no progress

• make new decisions

• change the main goals of a project

ballpark number/figure

• a park or stadium in which ball games are played

• an exact figure

• a number you believe is near the correct number

the big picture

• analyze a situation part by part

• the entire perspective on a situation

• to give a general opinion about a situation

go by the book

• do things exactly as the rules say

• read the rules before acting

• read a lot of books to be a good administrator

corner the market

• to have a positive influence on a particular market

• to buy the best shares of a company

• to gain control of the whole supply of a particular kind of goods

cut-throat

• competing in a strong and unfair way

• to find different ways of solving problems

• to fire the new employees

easy come-easy go

• find easy ways to solve problems

• something that is achieved easily is also lost as easily

• if you bet money you can lose it

in the red

• spending and owing more money than is being earned

• to dress in red when you have an important meeting

• you have to increase sales

in no time

• there are no time limits to finish a task

• there is not enough time to do something

• to do something very quickly or very soon