Business idioms

Pencil in

By Yumi on May 27 2019

If you are putting something or someone on your schedule or to-do list with the knowledge that it may change later, you can say you will pencil it in.

You can use "it" to specify an event and "you" if you are talking to the person you are making the plans with. 

Here are some examples of how to use this phrase:

Circle back

By Pamela on May 17 2019

If a conversation is going in a new direction and you want to return to a previous point, you can circle back.

In business, it’s very common for discussions to be directed away from the main point as new ideas, issues, or related topics come up. If you would like to refocus everyone’s attention to the main point of a discussion, you can circle back to it.

That train has left the station.

By Di on April 8 2019

Have you ever asked to add something to a project that's already finished? You might have heard, "I'm sorry, but that train has left the station." That means you can't change it now because it's been finalized.

Most of the time, this phrase is used in informal conversation.

Here are some examples:

Draw up

By Di on April 1 2019
Hands drawing up a contract

The words "draw" and "up" take on a new meaning when you put them together. The idiomatic phrase "draw up" is usually used to talk about plans or contracts. It means to prepare a written document with details of a plan or arrangement. 

Draw up can be used in any tense. Here are some examples of how to use it:

Behind the scenes

By Di on March 18 2019
Set-creation behind the scenes at a theater

When you go to the theater to see a show, you see the actors and the scenery, but you don't see all the people backstage who run the lights and sound, handle the props, or built the set (scenery). All of those people work behind the scenes, behind the scenery you can see on stage.

Cut a deal

By Di on March 4 2019
Man holding out his hand for a handshake to cut a deal

When two people or organizations negotiate an agreement so that each one profits, they cut a deal. You each have to give up, or "cut", some of what you want so that you can both make some profit, even if it's not as much as you wanted.

Here are a couple of examples:

Go belly up

By Matthew on December 22 2015

When things go belly up, they fail or die. This is a common idiom used in business for when a company goes bankrupt. You can use it in other situations, too.