- (Have a) crack at : To make an attempt at solving a problem.
Ex: “We’re going to have another crack at the Chinese market.”
- Bite the bullet: to make a tough decision
Ex: “We’re going to have to bite the bullet and lay off a few people for the company to stay afloat.”
- Belt tightening: reducing expenses
Ex: “The company’s going through a period of belt tightening, which means we have less to spend on marketing.”
- To bail out: to give money to someone or something to survive
Ex: “They will discuss how to bail the company out of this slump.”
- Ball park figure/estimate: an approximate amount
Ex: “Can you give me a ballpark figure for the amount of tax we’ll have to pay this year?”
- Cut corners: make savings on time, quality or cost.
Ex: “If we cut too many corners, we risk sacrificing quality.”
- Dig (your) heels in: refuse to do something or being persuaded
Ex: “We won’t be able to solve this problem as long as they continue to dig their heels in.”
- Dog-eat-dog: extremely competitive
Ex: “Sorry you didn’t get the promotion, but it’s a dog-eat-dog environment here.”
- Foot the bill: pay for
Ex: “Who should foot the bill for housing the homeless.”
- Get your wires crossed: misunderstand information
Ex: “I think we got our wires crossed. You’re talking about the Spanish market rather than the German one, aren’t you?”
Have you heard any of these idioms/phrasal verbs before? Please let us know in the comment section.