Lesson 16 IDIOMS?英文釋義

• in the red:?losing money; when expenses are greater than revenues
• EXAMPLE: We need to do something to start making profits. If we're?in the red?for one more quarter, we're going to go out of business.
• NOTE: This expression comes from the accounting practice of marking debits (subtractions to the account) in red and credits (additions to the account) in black. The opposite of "in the red" is "in the black," meaning profitable.
• (to) cut back on:??to reduce
• EXAMPLE: We need to save money by?cutting back on?business travel. Please conduct most of your meetings by videoconference from now on.
• (to) save a bundle:?to save a lot of money
• EXAMPLE: By outsourcing their call center operations to India, the credit card company?saved a bundle.
• bottom line:??profits; financial results, the final result; the main point
• EXAMPLE1: Falling prices for televisions and other electronic equipment have hurt Sony's?bottom line.
• EXAMPLE2: The?bottom line?is that your company is not big enough to supply us with all of the packaging we need.
• NOTE: In accounting, the bottom line (the last line) of the income statement shows net income (the profit after deducting all expenses). This is one of the most important numbers for a company.
• last resort:??if there are no other alternatives left; the last solution for getting out of a difficulty
• EXAMPLE: There must be some way to create more demand for our products. We should only lower our prices as a?last resort.
• belt-tightening:?reduction of expenses
• EXAMPLE: When worldwide demand for software decreased, Microsoft had to do some?belt-tightening.
• the lesser of two evils:??when you have two unattractive options and you choose the one that is better; the better of two bad options
• EXAMPLE: Both shuttle services offering rides to the airport are bad. You'll just have to choose?the lesser of two evils.
• out of the question:?impossible
• EXAMPLE: We couldn't possibly afford to open an office in Europe right now. It's?out of the question.
• between a rock and a hard place:?in a very difficult position; facing two choices which are equally unacceptable or difficult
• EXAMPLE: I wish I could offer you a better discount, but my boss would be angry. I'm caught?between a rock and a hard place.
• the name of the game:?the central issue; the most important thing; the main goal
• EXAMPLE: If we're going to operate more effectively, better communication is?the name of the game.
• (to) pull something off:??to accomplish a difficult task; to successfully do something difficult
• EXAMPLE: We need to prepare and mail out 50,000 media kits by tomorrow. I don't know how we're going to?pull it off!
• SYNONYM: to carry something off
• (to) bat around some ideas:?to discuss ideas; to discuss options
• EXAMPLE: We need to come up with a creative marketing plan. Let's meet on Monday morning to?bat around some ideas.
• until one is blue in the face:??for a very long time, with no results
• EXAMPLE: You can argue with the customer service people?until you're blue in the face, but they won't give you your money back.
• (to) see eye to eye:?to be in agreement; to have the same opinion
• EXAMPLE: Our manufacturing and our marketing people fight with each other all the time. They don't?see eye to eye?on anything.
• let's just agree to disagree:?we don't agree, but let's not argue further; let's accept our differences of opinion and move on
• EXAMPLE: I don't want to get in a fight with you about this.?Let's just agree to disagree.