burn the midnight oil
To work very late into the night on something.
Example: She's been burning the midnight oil to finish her thesis.
C120 words · Advanced
Business Idioms vocabulary — C1
Business idioms for workplace pressure and process, with phrases like burn the midnight oil, move the goalposts and a bottleneck slowing everything down.
20 questions
Words in this set
20a win-win situation
An arrangement or outcome that benefits everyone involved.
Example:
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.
Example:
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.
Example:
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.
Example:
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.
Example:
Every time we meet the target, management seems to move the goalposts.
think on your feet
To react quickly and effectively to unexpected situations.
Example:
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.
Example:
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.
Example:
Before the launch, we need to get our ducks in a row.
up in the air
Not yet decided or settled.
Example:
Our holiday plans are still up in the air.
a linchpin
The person or thing that holds everything else together.
Example:
She was a linchpin and nobody realised until she left.
a bottleneck
The point where a process slows everything down.
Example:
Approval is a bottleneck and always has been.
a going concern
A business that is trading and expected to continue.
Example:
They bought it as a going concern rather than for the land.
a paper pusher
Someone whose job is dull administrative work.
Example:
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.
Example:
Nobody on the shop floor had been asked a single question.
a talking shop
A group that discusses things without ever deciding.
Example:
The forum became a talking shop within a year.
a closed shop
A place where only certain people are allowed in.
Example:
Promotion there is a closed shop and always was.
an exit strategy
A plan for leaving a situation cleanly.
Example:
Nobody had thought about an exit strategy before signing.
a hard sell
Something difficult to persuade people to accept.
Example:
A pay freeze in that year was a hard sell.
a soft launch
A quiet release of something before the full one.
Example:
They did a soft launch in two cities and learned a lot.
