Xem mẫu
- B usiness
IDIOMS
Glenn Darragh
1,000 EVERYDAY
IDIOMS IN B U S I N E S S
EDITORIAL
STANLEY
- 1 , 000 EVERYDAY
IDIOMS IN BUSINESS
WRITTEN BY
GLENN DARRAGH
PUBLISHED BY
EDITORIAL STANLEY
LAYOUT
ANGELA GOMEZ MARTIN
FRONT PAGE DESIGN
DISENO IRUNES
© EDITORIAL STANLEY
APDO. 207 - 20302 IRUN - SPAIN
TELF. ( 943) 64 04 12 - FAX. ( 943) 64 38 63
ISBN: 84-7873-345-0
DEP. LEG. BI-524-00
FIRST E DITION 2000
PRINTERS
IMPRENTA BEREKINTZA
- 1,OOO Everyday idioms in business
1.OOO IModismos empresariales de use diario
Contents - Contenido
Introduction • Introduction
22. Mistakes • Los errores 85
1. Fundamentals • Fundamentos 1
Exercise 88
Exercise 4
23. Criticism • La crftica 89
2. Time • El tiempo 5
Exercise 92
Exercise 8
24. Reactions • Las reacciones 93
3. Money • El dinero 9
Exercise 96
Exercise 12
25. Opportunities • Las oportunidades . 97
4. Information • La informaci6n 13
Exercise 100
Exercise 16
26. Risk • El riesgo 101
5. Experience • La experiencia 17
Exercise 104
Exercise 20
27. Competition • La competencia . . . . 105
6. Work • El trabajo 21
Exercise 108
Exercise 24
28. Teamwork • El trabajo en equipo . . 109
7. Routine • La rutina 25
Exercise 112
Exercise 28
29. Quality • La calidad 113
8. Trading • Las transacciones 29
Exercise 116
Exercise 32
30. Negotiations • Las negociaciones . 1 1 7
9. Thinking • El pensamiento 33
Exercise 120
Exercise 36
31. Results • Los resultados 121
10. Understanding • La comprensi6n ... 37
Exercise 124
Exercise 40
32. Responsibility • La responsabilidad 125
11. Discussions • Los debates 41
Exercise 128
Exercise 44
33. Ethics • La etica 129
12. Meetings • Las reuniones 45
Exercise 132
Exercise 48
34. Psychology • La psicologia 133
13. Speaking • La conversaci6n 49
Exercise 136
Exercise 52
35. Colleagues • Los companeros . . . . 137
14. Decisions • Las decisiones 53
Exercise 140
Exercise 56
36. Politics • La politica 141
15. Priorities • Las prioridades 57
Exercise 144
Exercise 60
37. Careers • Las carreras 145
16. Planning • La planificaci6n 61
Exercise 148
Exercise 64
38. Contacts • Los contactos 149
17. Problems • Los problemas 65
Exercise 152
Exercise 68
39. Socialising • Las relaciones sociales 1 53
18. Emergencies • Las emergencies . . . . 69
Exercise 156
Exercise 72
40. Miscellaneous • Varies 157
19. Action • La acci6n 73
Exercise 160
Exercise 76
20. Success • El exito 77
Exercise 80
Answers 1 61
21. Failure • El fracaso 81
Index 185
Exercise 84
- Introduction
This book has been designed for interme- Within the unit, each idiom is presented
diate and advanced learners of English in a specific situation, the majority of the
who want to increase their understand- illustrative sentences having been
ing of everyday spoken English, especially adapted from authentic sources like the
as it is used in a business context. The "Financial Times", "Fortune", "Business
book will help you learn 1,000 common Week", and "Forbes". (Although the exam-
idiomatic expressions, all of which are cur- ples are drawn from sources worldwide,
rent, and all of which are known and British spelling is used throughout the
used by native English speakers every- book for the sake of consistency.)
where. It is suitable for both self-study The second part of each unit consists of
and classroom work with a teacher. exercises, which not only test your com-
Many people in business think that a prehension and assimilation of this mate-
knowledge of idiomatic English is a kind rial but also add to your understanding
of linguistic optional extra, adding colour by providing literal definitions of each
idiom in English, as well as further short
to the language but otherwise not strictly
essential. This view, needless to say, is er- examples of how to use them. For the
roneous, for many idioms are as fre- benefit of students working on their own,
quently used and as necessary as the an answer key to the exercises can be
most basic words. Indeed idioms are of- found at the end of the book. An index of
ten composed of the most basic words, keywords is also provided to enable you
although these are grouped in a meta- to find any particular idiom quickly.
phorical shorthand for more complex The English language contains many,
ideas: "You're pulling my leg", "He's cook- many thousands of idioms, and many of
ing the books", "It's gone to the dogs", these exist in variant forms. Such abun-
"There's more to this than meets the eye", dance is daunting, so in studying idioms
and so on. Taken separately, each word is it is important to have realistic goals. Ini-
easily understood, but unless you under- tially you should aim for a passive knowl-
stand the expression as a whole, you can- edge, being able to recognise and under-
not hope to follow what is happening in stand a limited number of the most com-
meetings with your American and British mon expressions in context. Try reading
counterparts, or in negotiations, or even the examples in this book with the Span-
at the dinner table. In circumstances like ish translations hidden. When you can do
these, native English speakers will use idi- that with full understanding, you are
omatic expressions as naturally and as of- ready to start inventing examples of your
ten as you would use comparable idioms own. This is the best way (and also the
in Spanish. only way) to incorporate them in your ac-
Few English idioms can be translated tive vocabulary. You will find that your lis-
word for word into Spanish, but some tening comprehension and oral English
can, and others have near equivalents. improve dramatically as a result. Little by
Most, however, express cultural concepts little you will find yourself using these idi-
that can only be paraphrased or approxi- oms in conversation.
mated, and so must be learned by heart At that point, you will start wondering
and in some sort of context. The purpose how you ever managed to communicate
of this book is to provide you with appro- without them.
priate contexts. The expressions are
loosely grouped in short manageable
units, each dealing with a particular
theme and consisting of 25 idioms.
- Introduction
Este libro ha sido disenado para personas estudiante contextos apropiados. Las expre-
con un nivel medio y avanzado de ingles, siones estan agrupadas informalmente en
con objeto de aumentar su comprension pequenos capitulos manejables, que tra-
tan cada uno de un tema en particular,
del idioma, en particular, el que se usa en
el mundo de los negocios. El libro te ayu- con un total de 25 modismos. Dentro de
cada capitulo, cada modismo esta presen-
dara a aprender 1 .000 expresiones
tado en una situacion especifica y la ma-
idiomaticas de uso corriente, empleadas
yoria de las frases ilustrativas proceden de
por gente de habla inglesa en todo el
autenticas fuentes como el "Financial
mundo. Es apropiado tanto para
autodidactas como para su utilizacion en Times", "Fortune", "Business Week" y
"Forbes". (Aunque los ejemplos vienen de
clase con apoyo del profesorado.
fuentes de todo el mundo, la ortografia bri-
Mucha gente en el mundo empresarial
tanica se utiliza en todo el libro por cues-
piensa que el conocimiento del ingles
tion de coherencia).
idiomatico es un tipo de opcion linguistica
adicional, que aporta riqueza al idioma La segunda parte de cada capitulo contie-
pero que no es estrictamente esencial. Sin ne ejercicios, los cuales no solo ponen a
lugar a dudas, este punto de vista esta prueba la comprension y asimilacion del
equivocado, ya que se usan muchos material, sino que tambien ayudan a la
modismos con la misma frecuencia y son comprension al facilitar definiciones litera-
tan necesarios como las palabras mas basi- les de cada modismo en ingles, al igual
cas. De hecho, los modismos estan com- que otros ejemplos mas breves sobre
puestos con frecuencia por las palabras mas como utilizarlos. Para beneficio de las per-
sonas autodidactas, se puede encontrar
basicas, aunque esten agrupadas y reduci-
das metaforicamente para formar ideas mas las respuestas a los ejercicios al final del
complejas: "You're pulling my leg" (Me estas libro. Tambien se ha incluido un indice de
tomando el pelo.), "He's cooking the books" palabras clave para ayudar a encontrar
(Esta amanando las cuentas.), "It's gone to rapidamente cualquier modismo.
the dogs", (Se ha arruinado), "There's more
El idioma ingles contiene miles de
to this than meets the eye". (Es mas compli-
modismos, que revisten a menudo varias
cado de lo que parece.), etc. Tomada por
formas. Tal abundancia intimida; por ello al
separado, cada palabra se entiende facil- estudiar los modismos es importante fijarse
mente, pero salvo que se entienda la expre- metas razonables. Inicialmente se deberfa
sion en su totalidad, no podra entender lo intentar adquirir un conocimiento pasivo y
que esta ocurriendo en una reunion entre ser capaz de reconocer y comprender un
americanos y britanicos, o en negociacio- numero limitado de las expresiones mas
nes, o incluso en la mesa. En circunstancias comunes dentro de un contexto. El estu-
como estas, los natives de habla inglesa uti- diante deberfa leer los ejemplos con las tra-
lizaran modismos con la misma naturalidad
ducciones al espanol ocultas. Cuando
y frecuencia que uno usaria giros similares pueda hacerlos con una comprension total,
en castellano. estara listo para inventar sus propios ejem-
Hay pocos modismos en ingles que se pue- plos. Esta es la mejor forma (y tambien la
den traducir literalmente al castellano, salvo unica) de introducirle en un vocabulario
active. Se vera que la comprension auditiva
unos pocos, y otros son muy parecidos. La
mayoria, sin embargo, expresan conceptos y el ingles oral mejoran drasticamente.
culturales que solo pueden ser Poco a poco ira utilizando estos modismos
parafraseados aproximados, y por lo tanto en las conversaciones.
han de ser aprendidos de memoria y den- A esas alturas, comenzara a preguntarse
tro de un contexto determinado. El proposi- como conseguia comunicarse sin ellos.
to de este libro es proporcionar al
- This page intentionally left blank
- 1,OOO everyday
idioms in business
- This page intentionally left blank
- 1. Fundamentals 1 , 0 0 0 e veryday i dioms i n b u s i n e s s
the ground rules las reglas basicas
There are a lot of similarities between rearing Hay muchas similitudes entre formar una familia
y crear un negocio: en ambos casos es esencial
a family and starting a new business; in both
establecer rapidamente las reglas basicas.
cases it is essential to establish the ground
rules early.
time is money el tiempo es oro
Segun las encuestas, hay gente que se queja
Opinion polls show that more people com-
plain about lack of time than about lack of mas por falta de tiempo que por falta de dine-
ro. Con frecuencia se dice que el tiempo es
money. It is often said that time is money,
oro, pero de hecho, es mucho mas: el tiempo
but in fact it is much more: time is life itself.
es la vida misma.
a los tontos no les dura
a fool and his money are soon
parted el dinero
A fool and his money are nowhere more En ningun lugar les dura a los tontos tan
quickly parted than on the stock exchange. poco tiempo el dinero como en la bolsa.
a bird in the hand is worth two mas vale pajaro en mano que
in the bush ciento volando
Ya se que su oferta no es tan buena como
I know their offer isn't as good as others we
might receive in the future, but I think we otras que podamos recibir en el future, pero
creo que aun asi deberiamos aceptarlo. Des-
should accept it nevertheless. After all, a bird
in the hand is worth two in the bush. pues de todo, mas vale pajaro en mano que
ciento volando.
half a loaf is better than none a falta de pan, buenas son tortas
I applied for two weeks' holiday, but we're so He solicitado unas vacaciones de dos sema-
nas, pero en este momento andamos tan cor-
short-handed at the moment that they al-
lowed me only a week. Ah well, half a loaf's tos de personal que solo me han concedido
better than none una semana. En fin, a falta de pan, buenas
son tortas.
he who pays the piper calls the el que paga tiene derecho a
tune escoger
Opino que tenemos todo el derecho del mundo
It seems to me that we have every right to
stipulate the contents of the course. We're a elegir el contenido del curso. El que paga tie-
paying the piper, aren't we? ne derecho a escoger, ^no es asi?
lo que se pierde en una cosa se
what you lose on the swings you
gain on the roundabouts gana en otra
It's a swings-and-roundabouts situation Es una situaci6n de "lo que se pierde aca, se
An investment in new equipment will cost us gana alia". Invertir en equipo nuevo nos cos-
a lot now, but it will also enable us to increase tara mucho ahora, pero tambien nos permitira
incrementar de forma significativa nuestro ni-
our output significantly over the next few
years. vel de produccion en los proximos anos.
easy come, easy go lo que facil viene, facil se va
Our Asian investments had practically doubled Nuestras inversiones asiaticas practicarnente
overnight. Hence, when the crash came, we se habian duplicado de la noche a la manana.
could hardly complain. It was easy come, Por lo tanto, cuando Ileg6 la caida, realmente
easy go no nos podiamos quejar. Lo que f^cil viene,
facil se va.
1
Stanley
- 1,000 e v e r y d a y idioms i n b u s i n e s s
Fundamentals
hombre prevenido vale por dos
forewarned is forearmed
You must plan for trouble. No business is im- Hay que tener un plan para hacer frente a los
mune to negative word-of-mouth, and fore- problemas. Ningun negocio es inmune a un
warned is forearmed. boca-a-boca negative, y hombre prevenido
vale por dos.
take the rough with the smooth estar a las duras y a las maduras
You'll get the opportunity in this job to travel Con este empleo tendras la oportunidad de
all over the world. Of course, that means viajar por todo el mundo. Por supuesto, eso
you'll often be separated from your family — significa que con frecuencia estaras separado
but you have to take the rough with the de tu familia, pero hay que estar a las duras y
smooth. a las maduras.
ups and downs los pros y los contras
Consulting has its ups and downs. Can you El trabajo de consultoria tiene sus pros y sus
function without knowing where your next contras. ^Puedes vivir sin saber de donde van
cheque is coming from? Are your comfortable a salir tus pr6ximos ingresos?
- ,000 everyday idioms in business
Fundamentals
nunca dejes para manana lo que
never put off till tomorrow what
puedas hacer hoy
you can do today
Sabes que vas a tener que escribir ese informe
You know you're going to have to write that
report sooner or later. Why continue to put tarde o temprano.
- 1. Exercise 1 , 0 0 0 e veryday i dioms i n b u s i n e s s
Encuentra los modismos presentados en este capitulo que mejor corresponden a las
definiciones y descripciones que vienen a continuacion. Si una frase contiene un espacio
en bianco, completalo con las palabras que faltan (poniendo atencion al tiempo del
verbo, pronombres, e tc.). Si la frase esta en espanol, traducela al ingles.
1 (saying) A person who produces bad work 14 (saying) Disadvantages and setbacks in
will blame the material he is using rather one area are compensated by advan-
than admit his own responsibility. tages and progress in other areas.
2 (saying) When you know about a future 15 (saying) It is preferable to take a small
danger, you can prepare for it, and so but certain advantage immediately,
deal with it more effectively. rather than to hope for a greater ad-
vantage later.
3 To survive by avoiding debt and other
difficulties: We had serious cash flow 16 (saying) The p erson who pays for
problems last year, but fortunately we something has the right to d ecide
managed to until the situation what it should be like, how it should
improved. be used, etc.
4 (saying) One should be grateful for what 17 (saying, often used to express uncon-
one gets, even if it is very little, since it cern at losing something, e.g. money)
is still better than nothing at all. What one gains or earns too easily is
just as easily lost.
5 (saying) If a necessary task can be per-
formed immediately, it should be. Oth- 18 (saying) Life always appears to be bet-
erwise there is the risk it may never be ter somewhere else.
done at all. 19 (saying) If you really want to do some-
6 The basic principles or rules of behaviour thing, no matter how difficult it ap-
in a given situation: A estas alturas ya no pears, you will find a way to do it.
se pueden cambiar las reglas basicas. 20 Periods of success and happiness alter-
7 (saying) It is better to work and earn nating with periods of unhappiness and
money than to w aste your time: El failure: Su n egocio ha t enido sus
tiempo es oro. altibajos.
8 (saying) No matter how many failures 21 To avoid looking for trouble, or to avoid
you have encountered, keep trying and any action which is likely to cause dis-
order.
eventually you will be successful.
9 (saying) An unfortunate event is gener- 22 (saying) If you help me in some way,
ally accompanied by other unfortunate it is only right that I help you when
events. you need it.
23 (saying, usually employed when the
10 To accept the difficult or disagreeable
speaker claims something that another
part of something as well as the pleas-
ant part: Hay que estar a las duras y a person has discarded) If you make
las maduras. proper and careful use of the things you
have, you will never be in need.
11 (saying) A foolish person cannot keep
24 (saying) Although this example is not in
money long, because it is easy to take it
away from him. accordance with the rule, it shows that
the rule is still useful in most cases.
12 (saying) In every misfortune, there is
something of benefit to someone. 25 (used when something unfortunate has
just happened) This is the situation and
13 (saying) One should not w aste small
we have no choice but to accept it: Asi
amounts of money since many small
es la vida.
amounts quickly add up to a large
amount.
4 Stanley
- 2. Time ,000 e veryday i dioms i n b usiness
at the best of times con todo a favor
Es dificil hacer negocios con los japoneses inclu-
It's difficult to sell to the Japanese at the
so con todo a favor, pero ahora, con el dolar co-
best of times, but now, with the dollar at an
tizando mas alto que nunca con respecto al
all-time high against the yen, I think it would
be quite impossible. yen, creo que seria casi imposible.
against the clock contrarreloj
Their oil reserves may last only another 20 Puede que sus reservas de petroleo solo les
duren 20 anos mas. For lo tanto, han de tra-
years. Consequently, they must work against
bajar contrarreloj para diversificar su econo-
the clock to diversify their economy before
the oil revenues run out. mia antes de que se acaben sus ingresos del
petroleo.
round the clock dia y noche, las 24 horas
Este es uno de los mayores pedidos que he-
This is one of the largest orders we have
mos recibido nunca. Necesitaremos tres tur-
ever received. We will need three shifts
nos que trabajen dia y noche si hemos de
working round the clock if we are to
meet the deadline. cumplir el plazo de entrega.
till the cows come home hasta el dla del juicio final
Podemos quedarnos a analizar nuestros meto-
We can sit around analysing our production
dos de produccion hasta el dia del juicio final,
methods till the cows come home; but
pero el analisis en si no va a incrementar la
analysis in itself is not going to increase pro-
ductivity. productividad.
keep up to date w ith sth mantenerse al corriente de algo
Una parte importante de mi trabajo es mante-
An important part of my job is to keep up to
date with the latest developments in the nerme al corriente de los ultimos avances de
pharmaceutical industry. la industria farmaceutica.
be out of date ser anticuado, obsoleto
Este informe no sirve para nada. Analiza los
This report is utterly worthless. It analyses cur-
actuales problemas economicos utilizando
rent economic problems using concepts that
are at least thirty years out of date conceptos que quedaron obsoletos hace al
menos 30 anos.
to date hasta la fecha, hasta ahora
Hasta la fecha, se han invertido m3s de
To date, more than £100m has been in-
vested in about 950 companies under the ElOOm en unas 950 empresas al amparo del
Plan de Inversion Empresarial.
terms of the Enterprise Investment Scheme.
call it a day dar algo por concluido
After disappointing ventures abroad, Israel's Tras realizar inversiones poco lucrativas en el
extranjero, la mayor empresa Israeli de alimen-
largest food retailer has decided to call it
tacion ha decidido dar por concluidas sus in-
a day. They are returning home and con-
centrating on what they do best: selling versiones en el extranjero. Regresan a casa y
se concentraran en lo que se les da mejor:
food to Israelis.
vender productos alimenticios a los israelies.
tomarse su tiempo, hacer algo
con caima
take one's time
There's no need to rush. Just take your time No hay prisa. Tomate tu tiempo y cuentame
and tell me clearly what happened. con claridad lo ocurrido.
5
Stanley
- Time 1,000 everyday idioms in business
desde hace siglos
for donkey's years
We've been doing business with them for Llevamos siglos trabajando con ellos y
siempre nan sido puntuales en sus compro-
donkey's years and have always found them
completely reliable. mises.
en punto
on the dot
The meeting will begin at 3:30 on the dot La reunion comenzara a las 3:30 en punto y
me gustaria que todos hicierais un esfuerzo
and I would appreciate it if you could all make
especial por ser puntuales.
a special effort to be on time.
a ultima hora
at the eleventh hour
A strike was averted at the eleventh Se evit6 una huelga a ultima hora cuando la
hour when management announced they directiva anunci6 que retirarian los planes
para cerrar la fabrica de Longbridge.
would withdraw plans to close the
Longbridge factory.
hacer algo cuando a uno le venga
do sth at one's leisure bien
Me gustaria tu opinion sobre este informe de
I'd like your opinion on this safety report, but
seguridad,,pero no corre prisa. £Por qu£ no te
there's no great rush. Why don't you take it
lo llevas a casa y le echas un vistazo cuando
home with you and read it at your leisure?
te venga bien?
time flies el tiempo pasa volando
My goodness, I had no idea it was so late. Cielos, no tenia ni idea de que fuera tan tar-
Time simply flies when you're enjoying de. El tiempo pasa volando cuando uno se lo
esta pasando bien.
yourself.
de una vez por todas
once and for all
Las empresas tabaqueras decidieron pagar de
The tobacco companies decided to pay once
una vez por todas, ofreciendo al gobierno
and for all, offering the government a sum
una cantidad superior a $ 250.000 millones en
in excess of $ 250 billion rather than face an
endless series of lawsuits. lugar de enfrentarse a una serie interminable
de pleitos.
a la larga
in the long run
La moneda unica puede ser a la larga una bue-
The single currency may — in the long run
na idea. Sin embargo, la uni6n monetaria impo-
— be a good idea. However, monetary union
ne un solo nivel de tipos de interes para todos y
imposes one level of interest rates on every-
por lo tanto amenaza con empeorar a corto pla-
one and so threatens to make the jobless
zo el problema del paro.
problem even worse in the short term.
de memento, por ahora
for the time being
Est3 claro que los americanos, quienes no tie-
Clearly the Americans, who have no desire to
nen ningun interes en enemistarse con un so-
offend such an important trading partner as
cio comercial como China, estan satisfechos
China, are satisfied for the time being to let
de momento con la continuacibn del statu
the status quo continue.
quo.
it's high time that... es hora de que...
Con el tipo de cambio apropiado e impuestos
With the right exchange rate and lower taxes,
mas bajos, Inglaterra podria ser un importante
Britain could be an important offshore manu-
centre industrial. Ya va siendo hora de que el
facturing centre. It is high time the govern-
gobierno comprenda esta realidad.
ment understood this reality.
6 Stanley
- 1,000 everyday idioms in business
Time
ser cosa del pasado
a thing of the past
En los ultimos anos, los japoneses han tenido
In recent years, the Japanese have had to ac-
que aceptar que un empleo garantizado de
cept that guaranteed employment for life is a
por vida es cosa del pasado.
thing of the past
por los viejos tiempos
for old time's sake
Como fuimos al colegio juntos, era natural
As we had been at school together, it was
que pensara que veria su oferta con mejores
natural he should think I would view his offer
ojos que los demas, por los viejos tiempos.
more favourably than the others, for old
time's sake
cuanto antes mejor
the sooner the better
Nuestra asociacion con Maxwell nos ha cos-
Our association with Maxwell has cost us and
tado y nos sigue costando mucho dinero.
is still costing us a great deal of money. The
Cuanto antes cortemos con la asociacion,
sooner we end that association, the better
mejor.
adelantarse a su epoca
be ahead of one's time
Rockefeller, que fue quien creo la industria pe-
Rockefeller, who really created the modern oil
trolifera moderna, se adelanto a su epoca.
industry, was years ahead of his time. He
Normaliz6 el producto para que al encender
standardised the product, so that when you lit
la l^mpara de petrbleo no explotara; se trata-
your oil lamp, it didn't explode; you had a
ba de un producto de alta calidad.
high-quality product.
ir con los tiempos
move with the times
En un esfuerzo por ir con los tiempos y
In an attempt to move with the times and
reconvertirse en una empresa moderna de alta
to reinvent itself as a modern high technology
tecnologia, el grupo de defensa e ingenieria
company, the defence and engineering group
General Electric Company is to cut 1,500 jobs General Electric Company recortar^ 1.500
puestos de trabajo mediante un plan de jubi-
through a voluntary redundancy scheme.
laciones voluntaries.
it was about time ya era hora
Han estado discutiendo ese proyecto durante
They've been discussing that project for the
los dos ultimos anos. Ya era hora de que to-
past two years. It was about time they took
maran una decisi6n.
a decision.
in the nick of time en el ultimo momento
Llegue al aeropuerto en el ultimo momento:
I arrived at the airport in the nick of time:
cinco minutos mas tarde y hubiese perdido el
another five minutes and I'd have missed my
flight. avi6n.
Stanley 7
- 2. Exercise 1,000 e veryday i dioms i n b u s i n e s s
Encuentra los modismos presentados en este capftulo que mejor corresponden a las
definiciones y descripciones que vienen a continuacion. Si una frase contiene un espacio
en bianco, completalo con las palabras que faltan (poniendo atencion al tiempo del
verbo, pronombres, e tc.). Si la frase esta en espafiol, traducela al ingles.
1 Ultimately, not immediately but after a 14 To do something without hurrying,
relatively long period of time: This item when one has plenty of time: Lealo
is selling badly now, but we ex- cuando le venga bien.
pect to break even and perhaps even 15 To stay abreast of current trends, to stay
make a small profit. up-to-date: Any company that hasn't
2 Until the present situation changes, for the got a web site isn't .
present: Dejalo ahl por el momento. 16 To stay aware of the present situation,
3 For an infinitely long period of time, for- to be modern in one's thinking and
ever: You can talk to that man , practice: No matter how many maga-
but it won't do any good: he simply zines you read, it's impossible to
refuses to admit he's wrong. with what's happening in the compu-
4 (used to indicate that an action or deci- ter industry.
sion must be taken immediately) It is 17 (used to refer to something which one
necessary now...: Ya va siendo hora de feels should have been done much
que alguien haga algo. sooner) Finally, at last: they re-
5 Exactly at the specified time: El tren salio placed those old 286 R C.s.
a las dos y media en punto. 18 For a very long time: Hace siglos que
6 Because of happy times in the past, or as no la veo.
a reminder of such times: Asi no lo haras, 19 When conditions are most favourable:
ni siquiera por los viejos tiempos. This is hard work but it is par-
7 (saying, usually expressing surprise that ticularly difficult in these poor condi-
so much time has passed while one was tions.
working, talking, etc.) Time passes very 20 Just in time, before it would have been
quickly: jQue rapido pasa el tiempo! too late: Llegue al aeropuerto justo a
8 It is preferable to take action as quickly tiempo.
as possible: this decision is imple-
21 To be old-fashioned, not recent: These
mented, .
customer files are worthless, they're all
9 To stop doing something, especially to
stop working: Obviamente no estaba
22 At the last possible moment: A strike
logrando nada, asi que abandone y
was narrowly avoided when manage-
me fui.
ment produced a better offer .
10 Finished, no longer appropriate: Los
23 To do something slowly and carefully:
tranvias han pasado a la historia.
Tomate todo el tiempo que necesites.
11 To have ideas which are so advanced
24 Twenty-four hours a day, without stop:
or original that one's contemporaries
We have three shifts working
can't understand them: Se adelant6 a
every day of the year.
su epoca.
25 For the very last time: I'm warning you
12 Up to the present time, until today:
I won't tolerate this kind of be-
We've sold 5,000 units .
haviour.
13 Within a limited period of time: We will
be working to meet this deadine;
we can't afford to waste a single minute.
8 Stanley
- 3. Money ,000 everyday idioms in business
money talks poderoso caballero es don dinero
When it comes to keeping high-performance Cuando se trata de retener a los empleados al-
employees, money talks; the best way to re- tamente rentables, poderoso caballero es don
ward them is with bonuses. dinero; la mejor forma de recompensarles es
con un plus.
make a bomb ganar una fortuna
Speculators made a bomb as the price of Los especuladores ganaron una fortuna cuan-
rubber increased by more than 200%. do el precio del caucho subio mas del 200%.
cost a bomb costar un ojo de la cara
An advertising campaign like that is out of the Una campana de publicidad como esa est3
question for a small firm like ours. For one fuera del alcance de una empresa pequena
thing, it would cost a bomb. como la nuestra. Para empezar, costaria un
ojo de la cara.
be in the black ser solvente
Although it has made heavy losses in the past Aunque ha sufrido grandes perdidas en los
two years, Mr Bernhard said that the company dos ultimos anos, el Sr. Bernhard ha dicho
was already back in the black after a restruc- que la empresa es ya solvente tras el progra-
turing programme. ma de restructuracion.
estar al descubierto
be in the red o en numeros rojos
All five of the country's biggest steel compa- Todas y cada una de las cinco grandes empre-
nies are in the red. Bankruptcies are at sas del acero esta"n en numeros rojos. Hay un
record levels, and the outlook is grim. numero record de quiebras y el pronostico no
es favorable.
Pagar
foot the bill
No one wants spending on product research Nadie quiere que se deje de invertir totalmen-
to be cut completely. On the other hand, we te en la investigacion de productos. Por otra
are not prepared to foot the bill of ever- parte, no estamos preparados para pagar la
higher R & D costs. cuenta cada vez m3s elevada de los gastos de
investigacion y desarrollo.
throw good money after bad echar la soga tras el caldero
We have already lost huge sums on this prod- Ya hemos perdido sumas enormes en este pro-
uct. In my opinion, to attempt to develop it ducto. En mi opinion, intentar desarrollarlo
any further will simply be throwing good significaria echar la soga tras el caldero.
money after bad.
pay cash on the nail pagar al contado
We generally allow a 15% discount to custom- Generalmente concedemos un descuento del
ers who pay cash on the nail. 1 5% a los clientes que pagan al contado.
money is no object no importan los gastos
Nuestros directives dan mucha importancia a
Our management attaches great importance to
this project. Money is no object whatsoever. este proyecto. No importan los gastos.
be penny wise and pound foolish hacer economias de chicha y nabo
Insisting that employees should not make pri- Insistir en que los empleados no realicen lla-
vate telephone calls from the office is not re- madas privadas desde la oficina no va a redu-
ally going to reduce the firm's losses, but it cir las perdidas de la empresa, pero afectara a
will affect morale: it's being penny wise la moral: es hacer economias de chicha y
and pound foolish. nabo.
9
Stanley
- Money ,000 e v e r y d a y i d i o m s i n b u s i n e s s
at any price a cualquier precio, a ningun precio
En una encuesta de 1997, el 47% de los con-
In a 1997 survey, 47% of consumers said
sumidores dijeron que estarian mucho mas
they'd be much more likely to buy from a
"good' company if quality, service and price dispuestos a comprar a una "buena" empresa
were equal, and 70% said they would not buy si la calidad, el servicio y el precio fueran
- at any price - from a company that wasn't iguales, y el 70% dijo que no compraria- a
ningun precio- a una empresa que no fuera
socially responsible.
socialmente responsable.
the sixty-four thousand dollar
la pregunta del milldn
question
Hemos comentado el sueldo y las condicio-
We've discussed the salary and conditions.
That only leaves the sixty-four thousand nes. Ahora s6lo queda la pregunta del millon:
^estaria dispuesto a trabajar para nosotros en
dollar question: would you be willing to
esas condiciones?
work for us on those terms?
nadar en oro
be rolling in it
Pues dirfa que no estamos exactamente na-
Well, I wouldn't say we're exactly rolling in
dando en oro, pero tampoco tenemos que
it, but we don't have to worry about cash
preocuparnos por problemas de liquidez.
flow problems either.
subir por las nubes
go through the roof
Si la sequia en Assam y Bengala Occidental
If the drought in Assam and West Bengal con-
continua durante algun tiempo, la producci6n
tinues for some time, Indian tea production
india de te se vera seriamente afectada y los
will be badly hit and prices will go through
precios subiran por las nubes.
the roof.
hacer algo con poquisimo dinero
do sth on a shoestring
Marketing, even on a shoestring, is essen- El marketing es esencial, incluso con poquisi-
mo dinero. Utiliza el ingenio y la perseveran-
tial. Use ingenuity and persistence to make up
cia para compensar lo que te falte en efectivo.
for what you lack in cash.
el dinero no nace en las macetas
money doesn't grow on trees
Tenemos que conseguir que los empleados se
We have to make employees aware that un-
den cuenta de que las fotocopias innecesarias
necessary photocopying costs us an incredible
nos cuestan una cantidad increible al ano y que
amount annually - and that money doesn't
el dinero no nace en las macetas.
grow on trees.
por un importe de ...
to the tune of ...
Su situaci6n financiera deja mucho que de-
They are not at all financially sound. Rumour
sear. Se rumorea que estan endeudados por
has it that they are in debt to the tune of
$500,000. un importe de $ 500.000.
regalado
for a song
Compr6 la empresa casi regalada hace poco
He bought the company for a song just over
mas de diez anos. Ahora factura mas de
ten years ago. Now it has an annual turnover
$5.000.000 anuales.
of more than $5,000,000.
estar endeudado
be deep in debt
La fusion de las dos empresas no fue vista
A merger of the two companies was not
como una solucion ideal. Ninguna de las dos
seen as the ideal solution. Neither had a
tenia una buena linea de productos y ambas
good "product pipeline" and both were
estaban muy endeudadas.
deep in debt.
Stanley
10
- ,000 e v e r y d a y i d i o m s i n b u s i n e s s
Money
pay over the odds pagar mas de la cuenta
Our regular supplier has not been able to Durante semanas, nuestro proveedor habitual
furnish us with these items for weeks. We no nos ha podido suministrar estos articulos.
therefore feel it's worth paying a bit over For lo tanto, creemos que merece la pena pa-
the odds to stock up. gar un poco m3s para incrementar los stocks.
be hard up estar en una situation limite
More than half Britain's workers face being Mas de la mitad de los trabajadores britanicos
hard-up in retirement, according to a new se enfrentan a una situacion limite al jubilarse,
study published today. Some 13m people are segun un nuevo estudio publicado hoy. Se dice
due to retire on £ 106 a week or less. que unos 13 millones de personas sejubilaran
con £ 106 a la semana o incluso menos.
not have a penny to one's name no tener donde caerse muerto
I doubt if he'll be able to raise a loan. It's well Dudo que pueda conseguir un prestamo. En
los circulos empresariales se sabe que no tiene
known in business circles that he doesn't
have a penny to his name. d6nde caerse muerto.
see the colour off sb's money adelantar el dinero
If your credit is good, no one asks to see the Si tu credito es bueno, nadie te pedira que
colour of your money. adelantes el dinero.
you can bet
your bottom dollar that ... puedes apostar que ...
You can bet your bottom dollar that their new Puedes apostar que ese nuevo hotel en el
hotel on Lake Tahoe, with its combination of lago Tahoe, que combina el casino y el centra
gambling and ski resort, is destined to be a de esqui, est3 destinado a ser un exito.
success.
a drop in the ocean una gota de a gua en el mar
Lavery said he'd be prepared to invest Lavery dijo que estaria preparado a invertir
£10,000. Unfortunately that's only a drop £10.000. Desgraciadamente eso es s6lo una
in the ocean. We need a quarter of a mil- gota de agua en el mar. Necesitamos al me-
lion at least. nos un cuarto de millon.
Stanley 11
nguon tai.lieu . vn
