《TIMES》周刊精选短语.docx

《TIMES》周刊精选短语.docx

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《TIMES》周刊精选短语

《TIMES》周刊精选短语

allinthesameboat

tobesharingthesamedifficultcircumstances,often

withotherswhowouldnormallybecompetitors

EXAMPLE:

Whenbadweatherdiscouragedtouristsfromcomingtothepopularseacoastresorttown,themanagersofthedifferenthotelsinthetownknewtheywere

allinthesameboatanddecidedtoworkcooperativelywithoneanother.

Armedtotheteeth

equippedwitheverythingoneneedsforaction

EXAMPLE:

Theworriedcompanypresidenthadfullfinancialstatements,salesreports,newproductideas,lettersofpraisefrommajorcustomers,andproposalsforincreasedgrowthwhenhearrivedtomakehisannualreporttothehostileboardofdirectors;hewasarmedtotheteeth.

avantgarde

Verymoderninstyle;possiblyexperimentalorself-consciouslyartistic

FRENCHmilitaryterm“forwardguard,”soldierswholeadanattack

EXAMPLE:

TheyoungemployeesoftheNewYorkadvertisingagencyalways

woredramatic,avantgardeclothingsotheirclientswouldthinkthey

weremodernandknowledgeableaboutpopulartrends.

backtosquareone

Anexpressionusedtomeanthatitisnecessarytostopwhateverone

hasdoneonanewprojectandtostartagaincompletely.

EXAMPLE:

Whenourexperimentaldesignforanewsolarautomobilefailedtotallyonthefirstdayoftesting,ourengineeringdepartmentknewitwasbacktosquareone.

bagoftricks

Thetotalskills,knowledge,andoftensecretabilitiesthatapersonhas（atraditionalreferencetoamagician’sbag）.

EXAMPLE:

Tobeasuccessfulintoday’scompetitivebusinessenvironment,anexecutivehastouseeverythinginhisbagoftricks.

blowoffsteam

（verbphrase）

toreleasefrustrationorangerthathasbeenbuildingup;alsotocelebrateordosomethinginaloudornoisyway

EXAMPLE:

Afteraweekofnegotiationswiththeunion,theworkersdecidedtohaveapartyandblowoffsteam.

bluechip

（adj.）

atypeofstockhighlyvaluesdforitslongrecordofsteadyorlongtermearnings;alsoavaluableproperty

EXAMPLE:

Theinvestorbought100sharesofstockinabluechipcompany.

boneofcontention

（noun）

adisagreement,dispute,orargumentaboutsomething;astrongdifferenceofopinion;aconflict

EXAMPLE:

Aboneofcontentionwasthedivisionofpowersbetweenthenationalandprovincialgovernments.

brandx

amarketingclassificationdescribingaproductthatdoesn'thaveahighlyvisibleorrecognizednamelikeawell-knownproductor"brandname"

EXAMPLE:

Itwasdecidedtobuybrandxbecauseitwaslessexpensive.

breadandbutter

（noun）

theprimaryorleadingmeansoffinancialsupport,existence,orsurvival

EXAMPLE:

Bicyclemanufacturingprovidesthecompany'sbreadandbutter.

20/20hindsight

Beingabletoseehasalreadyhappened;ascontrastedwithbeingabletoseewhatwillhappeninthefuture.（HUMOROUS,USUALLYSARCASTIC）

EXAMPLE:

“Whenmypompousbrother-in-lawtoldmeallthebusinessmistakesImadelastyear,Icomplimentedhimonhis20/20hindsight.”

24/7

Referencetoanybusinessservicethatisoffered24hoursaday,7daysaweek

EXAMPLE:

“Mostwebhostingcompaniesprovide24/7technicalsupporttotheirclients,soclientscanbeconfidentthatanyemergencyatanytimecanbehandledpromptly.”

Acaptainofindustry

Animportantbusinessexecutivewhoisaninfluentialleader.SOMETIMESHUMOROUS

EXAMPLE:

“Whenthemayorbeganeatinglunchhereregularly,ourdowntownrestaurantbecamepopularwiththecity’smostillustriouscaptainsofindustry.”

afairshake

Areasonablechancetosucceed.

EXAMPLE:

“Althoughhewasalittleloudandvain,whichtroubledallofusabit,wedecidedtogivethenewemployeeafairshakebeforecriticizinghisbehavior.”

afarcryfrom

Agreatdistancefrom（OFTENFIGURATIVE）

EXAMPLE:

“Afterreadingtheresort’scolorfulbrochurewehadexpectedaluxuryhotel,buttheshabbyoldhotelwasafarcryfromourexpectations.”

burnthemidnightoil

（verbphrase）

toworkhardverylateintothenight--andasifworkingonlybythelightofanoillamp

EXAMPLE:

"Themanagerhadsomuchworkpilinguponherdesksheknewshewasgoingtohavetoburnthemidnightoiltofinishit."

businessispickingup

businessisincreasing,gettingbetterafteraslowsalesperiodasmoreorders,products,orservicesarenowbeingsold

EXAMPLE:

"Afterayearofpoorsales,theautomobileindustryisreceivingmanyordersforitsnewcars,andalltheemployeesarehappytoseethatbusinessispickingup."

creamofthecrop

thebest,verybest,orbesteverofsomething--thetopchoiceorpick

EXAMPLE:

"Attheartauction,VanGogh'spaintingswereconsideredtobethecreamofthecropandreceivedthehighestbids."

cutanddried

inaccordanceoragreementwithastandardformula,exactmethod,guidelines,orprocedure;routine

EXAMPLE:

Duringthe19thandearly20thcenturyonlymalesperformedinthePekingOperaandthewaystobecomeanactorwerecutanddried.

dogandponyshow

apresentationthathasnosubstanceandisjustashallowdemonstration,entertainment,or"show"usuallydonebyacorporationorbusinesstobringattentiontoitselforoneofitsproducts.

EXAMPLE:

"Thenewe-commercecompanyputonadogandponyshowforpotentialinvestors."

door-to-doorselling

amethodofpresentingandsellingproductsorservicesinwhichasalespersongoestotheresidencesorhomesofpotentialbuyers,knockingontheirdoorstosolicitbusiness

EXAMPLE:

"Manyhomeownersdislikedoor-to-doorsellingandconsiderittobedisturbingtotheirprivacy."

feasibilitytest

（noun）

aprocedureorbasisforevaluationorassessmenttoseeifsomethingiscapableofbeingaccomplishedorbroughtabout,orispossible

EXAMPLE:

"Abusinesswilloftendoafeasibilitytestonaproductbeforespendingmoneytomarketittoconsumers."

feelthepinch

afinanciallydifficult,tight,strained,orsqueezedcircumstanceorsituation

EXAMPLE:

"Experiencinglittledemandforitsproducts,thecompanybegantofeelthepinch."

filethirteen

anycontainertodiscardorthrowawayunwantedpaperwork;inanofficesettingacontainerforrubbish;thewastebasket

EXAMPLE:

"Thesalespersoncrumpledthecancelledorderandtosseditintofilethirteen."

fatcat

awealthyandprivilegedperson

EXAMPLE:

"Morethanonefatcathasbeenseenvisitingtheofficesofpoliticalcandidates."

AmonthofSundays

alongperiodofwaiting,especiallywhensomeoneisimpatientforthingstohappen

EXAMPLE:

“ItwasamonthofSundaysbeforetheengineeringdepartmentfinallyfinishedthedesignofourcompany’sambitiousnewproduct.”

Asquaredeal

afairandhonestbusinessagreementorarrangementbetweentwoormorepartieswithoutfalsepromisesorhiddensurprises

EXAMPLE:

“Aftermanyhoursofnegotiationsthemusicians,themusicpublishersandtheInternetcompaniesdevelopedadistributionagreementthateveryonefeltwasasquaredeal.”

Aceinthehole

ahiddenadvantagekeptforlaterusethatwillhelpapersonwin（aceisavaluableplayingcard）;alternatively,“anaceupyoursleeve”

EXAMPLE:

“WhenhetriedtogetajobattheXYZCorporation,Johndidquitewellintherigorousinterviewprocess,butheknewthathisaceintheholewasthefactthathiswifehadarelativeontheboardofdirectors.”

Acidtest

adecisive,crucialtestofsomething’strueworthorsomeone’strueabilities（comingfromtheuseofnitricacidtotesttheauthenticityofgoldsamples）

EXAMPLE:

“Welikedthenewmanager,butweknewtheacidtestwouldbehowshedidwhensheopenedournewofficeinSanFranciscobyherself.”

Actionitem

aspecifictaskthatisidentifiedasneedingtobedonequickly,oftenasatoppriority

EXAMPLE:

“Duringourmeetingwedevelopedalistofspecificactionitemsforeachdepartmenttoaccomplishbeforethenextmeeting.”

perdiem

LATINTERM"bytheday,”usedtomeanadailyallowanceofmoneyforexpensesincurredduringbusinesstravel

Example:

TheXYZcompanyalloweditsemployees$150perdiemforfood,lodging,andtaxifares.

performanceappraisal

formalevaluationofanemployee'sachievementof（orfailuretoachieve）previouslyestablishedgoals

example:

Aftertheirfirstsixmonths,allnewemployeesmetwiththeirsupervisorsandreceivedawrittenperformanceappraisal;olderemployeeshadaperformanceappraisaleveryyear.

plannedobsolescence

thepracticeofbuildingandsellingaproductwithalimitedusefullifesuchthatthecustomersfeeltheymustbuyanewversionwhentheirfirstpurchasebecomesoldorinferior

Example:

AplannedobsolescencestrategyincreasedtheprofitsoftheU.S.automobileindustrybyincreasingcustomers'desiretobuynewcarmodelswithnewfeatureseveryfewyears.

reventivemaintenance

theusefulpracticeofroutinelyrepairing,cleaningandreplacingpartsonscheduleinordertopreventunexpectedproblemsandmoreexpensiverepairsinthefuture

Example:

Followinganewpreventivemaintenanceschedulesavedourcompanyfromexperiencingthelosttimeandcostlyrepairsthatusedtooccur.

productlifecycle

themarketingconceptofaproducthavinganaturalperiodrangingfromitsintroductionandriseinsalestoitssalesdeclineandexpirationwhencustomerspurchaseneweralternativeproducts

Example:

Becausethecomputergameindustrychangessorapidly,theproductlifecycleofapopularcomputergamemaybeonly18monthsorless.

qualitycontrol

asystemforinsuringthatastandardlevelofqualityismaintained

Example:

Ourqualitycontroldivisionwasseparatefromourmanufacturingd