# Business Idioms Advanced

https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/idioms-expressions-c1-work-and-business-idioms-vocab

- CEFR: C1 (Advanced)
- Theme: Idioms & Expressions
- Words: 20
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Business idioms for workplace pressure and process, with phrases like burn the midnight oil, move the goalposts and a bottleneck slowing everything down.

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## Word list

* **burn the midnight oil**: To work very late into the night on something. — “She's been **burning the midnight oil** to finish her thesis.”
* **a win-win situation**: An arrangement or outcome that benefits everyone involved. — “The new contract was **a win-win situation** for both companies.”
* **bite off more than you can chew**: To take on more work or responsibility than you can actually manage. — “Agreeing to organise three events in one week, he had clearly **bitten off more than he could chew**.”
* **touch base**: To make brief contact with someone to share updates or check progress. — “Let's **touch base** again next week to see how the project is going.”
* **read the room**: To notice the mood or attitude of the people around you before saying or doing something. — “He clearly hadn't **read the room** before making that joke in the meeting.”
* **move the goalposts**: To unfairly change the rules or targets of a task after it has already begun. — “Every time we meet the target, management seems to **move the goalposts**.”
* **think on your feet**: To react quickly and effectively to unexpected situations. — “She had to **think on her feet** when the client changed the request.”
* **rubber-stamp**: To approve something automatically, without properly examining or questioning it. — “The board just **rubber-stamped** the manager's decision.”
* **get your ducks in a row**: To organize everything properly and carefully before starting something important. — “Before the launch, we need to **get our ducks in a row**.”
* **up in the air**: Not yet decided or settled. — “Our holiday plans are still **up in the air**.”
* **a linchpin**: The person or thing that holds everything else together. — “She was **a linchpin** and nobody realised until she left.”
* **a bottleneck**: The point where a process slows everything down. — “Approval is **a bottleneck** and always has been.”
* **a going concern**: A business that is trading and expected to continue. — “They bought it as **a going concern** rather than for the land.”
* **a paper pusher**: Someone whose job is dull administrative work. — “He was hired as an engineer and became **a paper pusher**.”
* **the shop floor**: The part of a company where the actual work is done. — “Nobody on **the shop floor** had been asked a single question.”
* **a talking shop**: A group that discusses things without ever deciding. — “The forum became **a talking shop** within a year.”
* **a closed shop**: A place where only certain people are allowed in. — “Promotion there is **a closed shop** and always was.”
* **an exit strategy**: A plan for leaving a situation cleanly. — “Nobody had thought about **an exit strategy** before signing.”
* **a hard sell**: Something difficult to persuade people to accept. — “A pay freeze in that year was **a hard sell**.”
* **a soft launch**: A quiet release of something before the full one. — “They did **a soft launch** in two cities and learned a lot.”

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