Word of the Day archive

the first 100 words are now available in PDF format for you to download (a Pdf of words 100 to 200 will be available shortly)

201. spot on

exactly right

• your forecast for this quarter was spot on!

202. to ride (something) out

to survive a difficult period

• Our company managed to ride out the recent recession

203. to patch up

to resolve a dispute or argument

• The MD is trying to patch things up with our suppliers.

204. a hidden agenda

a secret reason for participating in something behind the stated reason

• I thought we were here to talk about training, there seems to be a hidden agenda on redundancy!

205. to build bridges

improve relationships

• It is hoped that the trade mission will help to build bridges between countries.

206. drab

lacking colour or interest

• What do your think of the new advertising campaign? It’s a bit drab don’t you think?

207. a far cry

something different from what was expected

• this hotel is marvellous, it’s a far cry from last year’s!

208. a whim

a sudden desire to do something, often with no good reason

• He seems to makes decisions merely on a whim, no wonder we’re in trouble!

209. deep-seated

a strong attitude or feeling

• There is a deep-seated attitude in this department against technology.

210. to weather

to survive a difficulty

• Can the company weather this economic downturn?

211. the acid test

a way of checking if something works

• The real acid test will be when we take this to market.

212. jaw dropping

something unbelievable

• Some of the new proposals are jaw-dropping, I can’t believe they’re serious!!

213. to play with a straight bat

(from cricket)

someone who is trustworthy

• You shouldn’t have any reservations about Dennis he plays with a straight bat.

214. jocularity

joking, humourous

• Martin’s jocularity made the conference more enjoyable.

215. ground-breaking

new and innovative

• Ground-breaking research points at miracle new drug!

216. to be baffled

can’t understand or explain

• I’m completely baffled by these figures, how come the costs are so high for the last quarter?

217. sods law

a natural inclination for things to go wrong

• I got up late and then my car wouldn’t start! Sods law!!

218. on one’s mettle

testing the level of ability/expertise

• If we want to win this contract we’ll have to be on our mettle!

219. hellbent

determined

• The government seems hellbent in pushing this legislation through.

220. to rabbit on

talk in a long and boring way

• He keeps rabbiting on about his new car!

221. out on a limb

alone and without support

• If we don’t have a web presence like our competitors we’ll be out on a limb!

222. jam-packed

absolutely full

• The room was jam-packed, so many people had come to hear his presentation!

223. a stickler

keeping to the rules

• Make sure your report is checked well, Geoff is a real stickler about punctuation!

224. to rise to the challenge

be prepared to meet a difficulty

• The future holds many problems, but we will hold fast and rise to the challenge.

225. to fathom(out)

to work out/understand

• Can you look at these figures? I can’t fathom them out.

226. a boom

an increase in business activity

• The area has seen a boom in tourism over the past 5 years.

227. to skate on thin ice

to be in a situation likely to cause trouble

• She’s skating on thin ice, if she isn’t careful she might lose her job!

228. to clinch

to secure (a deal)

• Our final offer is so attractive it should clinch the deal.

229. a centrepiece

the most important aspect of something

• the new website will be the centrepiece of our next advertising campaign

230. a foothold

a presence or position

• We need to establish a foothold in this exciting new market

231. pole position

the leader

• In the race for the takeover of the London stock exchange Nasdaq is in pole position.

232. rest on one’s laurels

not to make any more effort

• Now we’ve gained significant market share we mustn’t rest on our laurels!

233. scrooge

mean-with money or in spirit

• Mr Smythe doesn’t approve of christmas parties, he’s such an old scrooge!

234. gift-wrapped

something easily achieved

• We have to take advantage of this, it’s practically gift-wrapped!

235. to cook your goose

to spoil your chances

• Well, you’ve really cooked your goose by not discussing the issue with you line manager – it’s fundamental!

236. christmassy

to look or have the feel of christmas

• As I stepped off the train, everything looked so christmassy.

237. icy

unfriendly or hostile

• After I got the promotion the atmosphere in the office was really icy.

238. to talk turkey

to talk seriously about the details (of a contract etc)

• Now we’ve agreed in principle, lets talk turkey.

239. crimble

an alternative ‘modern’ word for Christmas

• What are you doing at crimble this year?

240. tinsel town

something sparkly and showy but false

• Many towns at christmas are like tinsel-town.

241. the icing on the cake

making something good even better

• getting the promotion to the New York office after winning the employee of the year was just the icing on the cake!!!

242. to hold a candle to

to be as good as

• The new office manager can’t hold a candle to Milly Johston. She was so efficient!

243. advent

the arrival of something important

• The advent of technology has changed the world of work completely!

244. an angel

someone very helpful

• Be an angel and photocopy this document for me (?)

245. with bells on!

happy or delighted

• Are you going to Jane’s New Year party?
• Of course, with bells on!!!

246. ring the changes

make something more interesting

• We decided to ring the changes with a new office layout

247. festive

make something bright and cheerful

• You look very festive today. What a lovely dress!

248. a can of worms

a series of problems

• We should have kept quiet, we’ve opened a can of worms!

249. a has-been

no longer famous or popular

• Dan Smith is a bit of a has-been since the new director took over

250. crackers!

crazy or stupid

• Did you show the report to Joe? Are you crackers? It was for your eyes only!!

251. up to the mark

good enough

• We can’t go ahead with the launch, the product is simply not up to the mark.

252. befuddled

confused

• I’m not befuddled, I definitely remember sending 2 copies!!

253. to curb

to control

• We must curb our spending if we want to increase our profit margin.

254. to cater

to provide

• We cater for all sizes of business.

255. at the heart of

the central part of something

• our express delivery service must be at the heart of this new marketing campaign.

256. a hike

a large price increase

• 2007 saw a massive hike in train and bus fares, no wonder everybody prefers to drive!

257. to trawl

to search a wide area for something

• We’ve been trawling for weeks and still cannot find the talent we need for this project!!

258. a witch-hunt

to seek out and punish (metaphorically)

• This process of everybody re-applying for their jobs feels like a witch-hunt!!!

259. a fad

a trend or fashion

• Online learning communities are not a fad, they’re here to stay!

260. geek-speak

the jargon used to describe technology and technological gadgets

• Do you understand all this geek-speak in the specification?

261. to nip something in the bud

prevent a problem

• There have been complaints about our after-sales service, can we nip this in the bud before it becomes a real problem?

262. up one’s sleeve

to have a secret idea or plan

• We never know what’s coming next! Oscar always has something up his sleeve.

263. back to the drawing board

start the process again

• The latest proposal has been rejected so it’s back to the drawing board! Can we meet tommorrow?

264. hair-brained

an action or idea that is seen as crazy

• Changing core hours to 8.00 to 4.30 is a hair-brained idea. Who proposed it!

265. to white-wash

to cover up or hide something

• The report into toxic emissions from the plant was a complete white-wash!

266. the nuts and bolts

the basic, practical detail of something

• Sound finance and good people management are the nuts and bolts of many sucessful businesses.

267. from the cradle to the grave

for one’s whole life

• We want our customer’s loyalty from the cradle to the grave!

268. nimby

someone who is very protective of their home surroundings (not in my back yard n.i.m.b.y)

• People who complain about new developments in their neighbourhoods are nothing but nimbys!!

269. a big bang solution

an elaborate response to something

• We don’t need big bang solutions, just a few simple adjustments would solve the problem

270. light-footed

nimble, quick and flexible

• A company which is light-footed can quickly take advantage of new opportunities

271. a giant

very large or important player in an industry

• Tesco, the retail giant, has opened it’s first Tesco-branded store in China.

272. to steal a march

to enter the market before the competition

• If we launch in June we can steal a march on all our competitors!

273. rich

something said that is unreasonable and hypocritical

• Geoff says our department has the worst absenteeism.
• That’s rich coming from him! His department had the lowest productivity!

274. to vie

to compete very hard for something

• Greenwich and Blackpool are vying to open the UK’s first super casino.

275. a done deal

something has been completely agreed

• I don’t know why we are having this meeting when the whole thing is a done deal!

276. buoyant

happy, increasing (in business)

• The economy is very buoyant at the moment.

277. mediocre

not very good

• The standard of the latest batch of applicants is very mediocre.

278. a backlash

a negative reaction against a recent event

• There’s bound to be a backlash against the recent pay-cuts!

279. to be in the same boat

to have the same negative problem as someone else

• There’s no point in complaining, we’re all in the same boat.

280. in disarray

a state of being disorganised

• The Home Office is in a state of disarray at the moment.

281. a glitch

a small, temporary problem or fault

• A technical glitch delayed the video conference by 30 minutes.

282. OTT (over the top)

excessive behaviour

• His reaction to the criticism was really OTT!

283. a strangle-hold

to have control over a situation or organisation

• The lawyers have a complete strangle-hold over our finances while the investigation proceeds.

284. robust

strong, well tested, unlikely to have problems

• The plan is robust and will hold up to scrutiny.

285. an in-depth look

to check something very carefully

• After an in-depth look, we feel confident in lending our support to the venture.

286. vilification

bad things written or said about someone/something

• The constant vilification in the press over bird flu will make it hard for the industry to recover

287. a backlog

a large amount of work that has built up over time

• We have to clear the backlog of orders before we can begin processing any new ones!

288. to splash out

spend a lot or large amount of money

• We’ve just splashed out on a new fleet of vans so I don’t think we’ll be buying any more vehicles for some time.

289. to slap on

to add something (often a charge) suddenly – usually unpopular

• We arrived at the airport to find that the airline had slapped on an extra £10 charge!!

290. to mirror

to copy or represent something

• This crisis mirrors completely the problem we had last year! Why haven’t we taken steps to prevent it?

291. DIY TV

Making your own television broadcasts (do-it-yourself television)

• DIY TV is the new way of becoming famous! All you need is a PC and a webcam!

292. to hit the nail on the head

to get something absolutely correct

• He really hit the nail on the head when he predicted the MD would resign!

293. net (adj)

the final (amount, result etc)

• The net result of all the recent changes is an antagonistic workforce!

294. to net (verb)

to get something through skill, (e.g. a contract, money)

• He netted £000s in commissions last year!!

295. to orchestrate

to organise/set in motion

• The merger was orchestrated by the senior management team.

296. fab

very good (from fabulous)

• The new designs are fab!

297. to weigh up

to consider carefully

• We need to weigh up all the options before we make a decision.

298. to reap

to benefit from something you or someone else has done

• He has worked hard all his life but it is his children who are reaping the rewards.

299. to dump

to get rid of something

• Retailers had to dump all their stocks of chocolate after the salmonella scare.

300. cupboard love

when someone loves for what they get – like animals for food etc..

• She’s stupid about her cat, it’s only cupboard love after all!!

301. in poor shape

in a bad condition

• Our finances are in really poor shape.

302. to step down

to resign

• Did you know the CEO has stepped down? Who do you think will replace her?

303. a dog’s breakfast

something not well thought out, a mess

• This new piece of legislation is nothing but a dog’s breakfast!

304. to hold fire

to wait

• I think we should hold fire for now and see what happens.

305. strapped for cash

to have little or no money

• Can you led me a tenner? I’m a bit strapped for cash.

306. to have your heart in your mouth

to be nervous

• I’m so worried about the interview, my heart’s in my mouth!!

307. to go ballistic

to get very angry

• The boss went ballistic when he heard that Joe had been approached by the local press.

308. chalk and cheese

completely different

• Even though they look alike, the twins are like chalk and cheese!