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idiom

() noun

1 A group of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meanings of the constituent words, as for example (It was raining) cats and dogs

2 Linguistic usage that is natural to native speakers of a language

3 The characteristic artistic style of an individual, school or period

As native speakers we often use idioms. They can, however, be very confusing to people who are not familiar with our idiomatic phrases.

Here is an A to Z of common business idioms in English (from across the English-speaking world), check whether you use them regularly …

A. Ahead of the curve	B. Bring it on	C. Corner the market	D. Drop the ball
E. Eyes wide open	F. Foot in the door	G. Game plan	H. Hit the nail on the head
I. In the black	J. come-to-Jesus moment	K. Knock yourself out	L. Low-hanging fruit
M. Make no bones about it	N. No brainer	O. get Outta here!	P. Pink Slip or P-45
Q. Quart into a pint pot	R. Raise the bar	S. Swimlane (as a verb)	T. Think on your feet
U. Under the radar	V. Virgin territory	W. Window of opportunity	X. generation X
Y. Your guess is as good as mine	Z. Zero tolerance

… and if you do, make sure that you are careful when communicating internationally.

Idiomatic language is confusing enough, but also be aware of the tendency to create new words that will similarly present problems for interpreters and individuals when used in international situations:

Co-opertition: a compound of co-operation and competition used as a sort of alternative to ‘friendly rivalry’

Blamestorming: Having an apparently open critiquing session which is really about pointing the finger of blame at someone

Idiomatic language may feel more comfortable to the speaker but ‘can confuse the Hell out of’ the listener.