go the extra mile
To make more effort than is expected or required to help someone.
Example: The staff always go the extra mile for their customers.
B216 words · Upper-intermediate
Business Idioms vocabulary — B2
Business idioms for describing how people work and manage teams under pressure, with phrases like go the extra mile, run a tight ship and red tape.
16 questions
Words in this set
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In agreement with someone else about a plan or understanding of a situation.
Example:
Let's make sure we're on the same page before the meeting starts.
cut corners
To do something in the quickest or cheapest way, often lowering the quality.
Example:
The builders cut corners and the roof started leaking within a year.
raise the bar
To set a higher standard that others must then try to meet.
Example:
Her performance really raised the bar for the rest of the team.
keep your nose to the grindstone
To continue working hard and steadily without stopping to rest.
Example:
He kept his nose to the grindstone until the whole report was finished.
close the deal
To successfully complete a business agreement.
Example:
After weeks of talks, they finally closed the deal.
wear many hats
To perform many different roles or jobs, especially in a small organization.
Example:
At a startup, you have to wear many hats.
in over your head
Dealing with something too difficult for your ability, and feeling overwhelmed.
Example:
He admitted he was in over his head managing the new team.
get down to brass tacks
To start discussing the important, practical details of a matter.
Example:
Let's stop chatting and get down to brass tacks.
run a tight ship
To manage an organization or team in a strict, efficient and well-organized way.
Example:
The new captain runs a tight ship.
a cog in the machine
One small unimportant part of a large organisation.
Example:
He felt like a cog in the machine by the second year.
red tape
Official rules that slow everything down.
Example:
Six months of red tape for a licence that lasts a year.
a paper trail
The written record showing what was done.
Example:
There was no a paper trail at all, which was the whole problem.
sign on the dotted line
To agree formally by signing a contract.
Example:
Nobody should sign on the dotted line without reading it twice.
the powers that be
The people in authority, without naming them.
Example:
The powers that be decided the office would move.
a shot in the arm
Something that gives new energy to a struggling effort.
Example:
The grant was a shot in the arm for the whole department.
