English Idoms: UNIT 6 - THE NEW ACCOUNTANTS

Person A: Have you met Anna Wong, the new accountant?

Person B: Yes, I met her yesterday. She seems to be really on the ball. I think she’s a good choice.

Person A: I agree. The previous guy, Andy, was nice, but he liked to shoot the breeze. I don’t think got much done.

Person B: I think Andy pulled strings to get the job. His brother-in-law is the CFO.

Person A: I heard that he was fired for taking kickbacks from one of our customers. Is that true?

Person B: I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I heard. The new person, Anna seems very conservative. She goes by the book.

Person A: She’s also really on her toes. I asked her to help me with a cost estimate. She just eyeballed it and was able to give me a figure right then and there. When I went back to redo the figures, it all worked out.

Person B: I hope that sales for the new product will put us in the black.

Person A: Me, too. I know that it’s common for a start-up to be in the red in the beginning, but I’ll feel better when we reach our sales goals.

1. Be on the ball: be smart; be intelligent; be a good worker

 She’s really on the ball. She’s quick, efficient, and does good work.

 I’m really glad you hired him because he’s on the ball.

2. Shoot the breeze: make informal conversation

 I like to shoot the breeze with my friends. Sometimes we just sit and talk.

 We shot the breeze for a few minutes before we got down to business.

3. Pull strings: take advantage of connection to achieve a goal

 He pulled strings to get the job. His father-in-law talked to the company president about him.

 She can pull strings whenever she wants something because her brother is the CEO of the company.

4. Kickback: money or favors given in exchange for influence.

 That company was fined for giving a kickback to the politicians in exchange for contracts.

 The U.S. government frowns on kickbacks for business.

5. Go by the book: closely follow procedures or rules

 I want you to go by the book at first. You can get creative later, after you learn the process.

 She’s very careful and methodical. She always goes by the book.

6. On one’s toes: prepared to quickly move or react

 He always gives us last minute changes to keep us on our toes.

 If you work in Silicon Valley, you have to stay on your toes because things are changing very quickly.

7. Eyeball it: estimate or guess based on a quick glance.

 I don’t have a measuring tape, so I’ll just have to eyeball it.

 I don’t have time to look at your proposal very carefully. Is it okay if I just eyeball it?

8. In the red/ in the black: in debt/ not in debt

 That company is in the red. They may go bankrupt if they keep losing money.

 One more successful business venture should put us back in the black.

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