English in the workplace can almost feel like another language! There are so many idioms and phrases that seemingly have nothing to do with business, yet they are heard in meetings around the world every day.
Here are the meanings behind 14 of these tricky (but really useful!) phrases.
Touch base
English uses many sports analogies, and touch base comes from baseball. In baseball, a runner must touch each base before they can score, and in business, you must make contact or communicate with others regularly to be successful. So you might say I have to touch base with my team first before making a decision.
Circle back
Circle back is another way to say return to a topic at another point in time. It’s often used when there might not be enough time to fully discuss something or when the discussion isn’t really moving forward anymore. On a Friday, you may hear Let’s circle back next week.
Good to go
The phrase good to go means that you’re ready to start doing something. You have everything you need and are ready to begin, in other words, You are good to go!
Sync
The word sync (and the phrase sync up) is short for synchronize, which means two or more things working together. In the business world, sync is used to refer to the process of re-connecting and re-aligning with colleagues, often in regularly scheduled meetings. It can be a verb (Did you sync about the proposal?) or a noun (Let's chat in our next sync).
Sunsetting
No one likes to talk about things like planned cancellations or endings, especially in the business world, which is why the term sunsetting has become a common alternative. If your company is phasing something out, you could say We’re sunsetting this product.
Loop someone in
When you loop someone in, it means you keep them informed. It’s often used when you’re going to let someone else know about a potential change or action. If you’re telling your colleague that you’ll update your boss, you can say I’m going to loop her in.
All hands on deck
Sometimes abbreviated to AHOD, the idiom all hands on deck means that everyone (all hands) must be available and ready to assist (on deck). So your boss might say We need all hands on deck for the presentation next month! Interestingly, this phrase was first used in sailing, which makes sense because deck literally means the floor of a ship where sailors gather in an emergency.
We’ll have to punt this
Ah, another sports reference! In American football, punting refers to a specific strategic play, but in business, we’ll have to punt this means you’ll have to give up or reprioritize something. If you hear We’ll have to punt this to next year, it means you’re putting the issue on hold for now.
Flesh something out
While the literal meaning of flesh is the part of a body between the skin and bones, the expression flesh something out is used when you want to make something more complete by adding details. For example, your manager might say, We need to flesh out our strategy for next quarter.
Think outside the box
This classic phrase think outside the box means to think in a creative or innovative way, which is a great quality to have both in business AND in language learning! If someone says We really need to think outside the box here, it’s time to get those creative juices flowing.
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel
This idiom includes a reference to one of the most important human inventions: the wheel! Saying there’s no need to reinvent the wheel means that sometimes it’s actually more useful to take a previously existing idea and build from it rather than change it completely. During a brainstorming session, you could say I think it’s a good idea, but there’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
Get your ducks in a row
Life in the business sphere can be hectic, so it’s often very useful to get your ducks in a row, or organize all your tasks and schedule so that you’re ready for whatever’s next. For example, if you still need to prepare before a presentation, you might say I have to get my ducks in a row before the conference on Thursday.
Bite the bullet
To bite the bullet sounds like it might hurt, which makes sense because this expression means to do something unpleasant usually because you have to. So You better bite the bullet and commit these English idioms to memory!
Put something on the back burner
The back burner refers to the back part of a stove, which is usually used less often, and for this reason, when you put something on the back burner, it means you put something on hold or consider doing it later. After a fruitless debate, you might hear your boss say We’ll put this discussion on the back burner for now.
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Now you can use these common English business idioms effectively in your next meeting… ahem, *sync*!
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