Work

20 words

1. 1

   cut cornersidiom/kʌt ˈkɔːnəz/

   to do something badly or cheaply, usually to save time or money

   “If a company cuts corners on safety, accidents may happen.”

2. 2

   go the extra mileidiom/ɡəʊ ði ˈekstrə maɪl/

   to do more than what is expected or required

   “Our receptionist always goes the extra mile to make visitors feel welcome.”

3. 3

   get your foot in the dooridiom

   to obtain an initial opportunity that allows you to start a career or make progress in a company/industry

   “I did a short internship to get my foot in the door of the advertising industry.”

4. 4

   glass ceilingnoun/ˈɡlɑːs ˈsiːlɪŋ/

   an invisible barrier that prevents certain groups from rising to upper positions

   “Many argue that the glass ceiling still stops qualified women from reaching senior roles.”

5. 5

   take the initiativeidiom/teɪk ði ɪˈnɪʃətɪv/

   to act without being told; to do something before others do

   “Young employees who take the initiative often get noticed for promotion.”

6. 6

   call the shotsidiom/kɔːl ðə ʃɒts/

   to be the person who makes the important decisions; to control what happens

   “In that small company, the founder still calls the shots.”

7. 7

   hit the ground runningidiom/hɪt ðə ɡraʊnd ˈrʌnɪŋ/

   to start a new activity and make an immediate strong start

   “We hired her because she can hit the ground running and needs little training.”

8. 8

   learn the ropesidiom/lɜːn ðə rəʊps/

   to learn how to do a job or task, especially when you are new to it

   “During my first month at the firm I was mainly learning the ropes.”

9. 9

   take the bull by the hornsidiom

   to deal with a difficult situation in a direct and confident way

   “When sales dropped, the manager took the bull by the horns and restructured the team.”

10. 10

    keep your nose to the grindstoneidiom

    to work hard and steadily for a long time without stopping

    “If you keep your nose to the grindstone now, you'll finish the project on time.”

11. 11

    dead-end jobnoun/ˌdɛdˈɛnd ˈdʒɒb/

    a job with no prospects for promotion or improvement

    “He left his dead-end job to retrain as a technician.”

12. 12

    on the same pageidiom/ɒn ðə seɪm peɪdʒ/

    to agree with someone or to have the same understanding about something

    “Before we start, let's make sure we're all on the same page about the deadline.”

13. 13

    red tapeidiom/red teɪp/

    official rules and procedures that cause unnecessary delay and complexity

    “The project was delayed by red tape at the planning office.”

14. 14

    think outside the boxidiom/θɪŋk ˈaʊtsaɪd ðə bɒks/

    to think creatively in an original or unusual way

    “To solve this problem we need to think outside the box.”

15. 15

    call it a dayidiom/kɔːl ɪt ə deɪ/

    stop working for the day

    “We'd been working for eight hours, so we decided to call it a day.”

16. 16

    in the loopidiom/ɪn ðə luːp/

    to be kept informed about something, to be part of communication on an issue

    “Make sure the team lead is in the loop about any change to the schedule.”

17. 17

    pick up the slackidiom/pɪk ʌp ðə slæk/

    to do work that someone else has not done or not done well; to make up for a shortfall

    “When John was off sick, Maria picked up the slack so the project stayed on schedule.”

18. 18

    wear many hatsidiom/weə(r) ˈmɛni hæts/

    to have several different jobs or responsibilities

    “In a small startup you often wear many hats — marketing one day, customer service the next.”

19. 19

    hit the nail on the headidiom/hɪt ðə neɪl ɒn ðə hɛd/

    to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem; to be exactly right about something

    “When she said the project failed due to poor planning, she hit the nail on the head.”

20. 20

    bring to the tablephrasal verb/brɪŋ tuː ðə ˈteɪbl/

    to provide something useful, such as skills or ideas, to a discussion or group

    “What skills will you bring to the table if we hire you?”