Common Expressions O

Business Communication Skills || Cross-Cultural Competence || English Proficiency
High-Effect with Low-Stress

Two-Part Verbs Business Terms U.S. Sports Terms A - D E - I J - N O - S T - Z

COMMON EXPRESSIONS: O - S

O
occur to one	To come into one’s mind. – The idea of asking for your help never occurred to me.
odds and ends	Miscellaneous items. – I found a few odds and ends on your desk. – We have finished the main work. There are only a few odds and ends left to do.
off and on	From time to time; now and then. – He comes to visit us off and on.
off balance	Surprised and unprepared. Also: off guard – Their couterproposal caught us off balance.
off the record	Unofficially; in confidence; not for publication or attribution. – He told me off the record who the next chairman will be.
off the top of one’s head	Wihout having much time to think before speaking. – Well, off the top of my head, I would say that’s a good idea. [aus dem Stegreif]
on a roll	Experiencing a number of successes in succession; hot (in the sense of "can’t lose"). – That company is really on a roll. Every six months they come out with a winning new product.
on a shoestring	With limited financial means. – He started on a shoestring, and now he is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
on hand	See: in stock
on hold	In a state of postponement or delay. – They had to put their plans for moving on hold.
on ice	In a state of reserve; temporarily stopped. – Your project will have to be put on ice until we get more money for our budget.
on occasion	See: off and on
on one’s mind	In one’s thoughts. – I’m sorry I forgot about you. I have a lot on my mind these days.
on one’s toes, be	Alert; prepared for action. – You have to be on your toes in this business. [auf Zack sein]
on paper	In theory; hypothetically. – On paper, they have the best team in baseball.
on purpose	Deliberately; intentionally. – I think he wanted to frighten us on purpose.
on schedule	See: on time
on second thought	Having had time to think about it more deeply. – At first, I liked the idea, but on second thought, I realized it would take most of my free time.
on standby	Waiting and available. – We have a team of technicians on standby in case anything goes wrong during the show.
on the ball	Alert; clever. – We only hire people who are ambitious and on the ball. This expression comes from baseball. The fielders must be alert and have their attention on the ball, because if it is hit, it travels at very high speed. [voll dasein]
on the fence	Undecided. – The senator is still on the fence concerning the new tax bill.
on the level	Honest; trustworthy. – We are going to get a raise? Is that on the level?
on the payroll	Employed at a company. – How many people are on the payroll here?
on the right foot, get off	To make a good beginning; to establish good relations. – I think I got off on the right foot with my new boss.
on the right track, be	To move in the right direction; to reason correctly. – Your answer isn’t exactly correct, but you are on the right track.
on the same wavelength	In accord with someone; in harmony with someone. – I work well with Ron. We’re on the same wavelength most of the time.
on the spot	(1) Immediately; without delay. – If anyone is caught stealing, they will be fired on the spot. (2) Under pressure. – I didn’t mean to put you on the spot by asking you that question in the meeting.
on the whole	In general; taking everything into consideration. – On the whole, we are pleased with their performance.
on time	See: in time
once and for all	As a final and permanent statement. – Once and for all, I do not want to enter politics.
one on one	A direct confrontation between two people or groups. – It sounds like marketing is going one on one with production. This comes from basketball, which often is played with one-person teams.
only game in town, the	The only choice available. – Practically speaking, Windows is the only game in town for most PC owners.
open question	An unresolved issue; a decision that must still be made. – What to do with the extra money is an open question.
open up doors	[idiom] Create opportunities. – This new funding will open doors for cancer research.
other side of the coin	The opposite aspects of a situation. – I’d like to take my vacation later when the weather is cold, but other side of the coin is I need a vacation now.
other way round, the	In the reverse direction. – Your credit card won’t work that way. You have to turn it the other way round.
out of commission	See: out of order
out of nowhere	Completely unexpected. – And then out of nowhere she produced evidence of their lying to the court. [wie aus dem Nichts]
out of order	Not functioning properly or at all. – The printer is out of order.
out of place	Inappropriate. – His behavior was out of place in that situation.
out of the frying pan and into the fire	To go from a bad situation into a worse one. – By leaving her old job and taking her new one, she went from the frying pan into the fire. [vom Regen in die Traufe]
out of the woods	Out of danger. – We have solved two very big problems, but we are not out of the woods yet. [über den Berg sein]
out on a limb	In a difficult or awkward or dangerous position. – When he promised to exceed his goals, he really went out on a limb.
out to lunch	Not in touch with the real world, either due to lack of attention or mental weakness. – He just sat there while they talked about cutting his job. He’s really out to lunch.
outgoing	[adjective] (1) Departing (an office or a terminal). – The outgoing congressman will go into private business. – All outgoing flights have been cancelled. (2) Openly friendly and responsive. – She is a very nice, outgoing person.
over and done with	Finished. – Our worries about money are over and done with!
over and over	Again and again; repeatedly. – I’ve told you over and over, don’t do that.
over one’s head	(1) To one’s boss. – If you can’t help me with this problem, can I go over your head? This means May I speak to your boss? (2) Beyond one’s ability to understand. – This technical language is over my head.
over the hill	Beyond one’s best years. – Oliver used to be the best, but he’s over the hill now. [auf dem absteigenden Ast sein]
own person, be one’s	To be independent; to follow one’s own directions. – You can’t really tell Bob what to do. He is his own man. – Shirley is her own woman. She is totally independent.
P
par for the course	An average or normal result; what one would expect. – (Tony finished the test before anyone else.) That’s par for the course.
pass away	To die. – His father passed away yesterday. Also: pass on
pass the buck	To shift responsibility or blame to someone else. – Whenever something goes right, he takes the credit. Whenever something goes wrong, he passes the buck. This expression dates from the mid-1800s, when poker players would pass around a piece of buckshot (usually) to indicate who the next dealer was. When Harry Truman was the President of the United States, he put a sign on his desk which read: The buck stops here.
pass the hat	To collect money for a common cause. – We want to buy something for Margaret’s wedding, so we are passing the hat.
pat someone on the back	A word or gesture that shows approval or praise. – You deserve a pat on the back for the way you handled the Lewman deal. [jemandem auf die Schulter klopfen]
pay one’s dues	To earn something through hard work, long experience, or suffering. – You deserve a promotion. You have paid your dues. [seine Schulden bezahlen]
person of color	A non-white person. (African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, etc.) – They have a good record of hiring persons of color.
peter out	To come to an end gradually. – Our supply of paper soon petered out.
pick someone’s brain	To get information or ideas from another person by asking questions. – If you don’t mind, I’d like to pick your brain for a while.
pick up the bill	To pay a bill. Also: pick up the check, pick up the tab – Let’s go to lunch. I’ll pick up the bill.
picket	Originally, pickets (also called picketers) were people whose duty was to stand outside the entrance to a place (for example, a factory) to discourage [entmutigen] workers from going in to work during a strike. Their goal often is to draw attention to a political cause, which they do by walking around carrying signs, usually in front of a place that symbolizes what they are against. Altogether they are called a picket line. - Only management crossed the picket line at the Ford plant today. To act in this way is to picket or to picket something or to picket a place. - Strikers picketed the restaurant. - A group that is against the use of animal fur in the making of clothes picketed the clothing store. - Pro-life activists have picketed many abortion clinics. There are other meanings of picket, including a pointed wooden stake [Pfahl] often used in making fences, called picket fences.
pickup on	To become aware of; to notice subtle signs. – Did you pick up on the anger between those two in the meeting?
pie in the sky	An impossible dream. – All of that talk about the new technology is just pie in the sky.
piece of cake	Something very easy to do. – (How was the workshop?) It was a piece of cake.
piece of one’s mind	Direct and severe criticism given to someone about something they did to make you angry. – When I find out who scratched my car, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!
pig in a poke	Something that is bought without the buyer seeing it or knowing all about it. – Some of these investment "opportunities" are like a pig in a poke. poke – old fashioned word for bag. [die Katze im Sack kaufen]
pinch hitter	A person who steps in and acts on behalf of another person. – Larry is ill today, but Henry will pinch hit for him at the meeting. In baseball, a player who enters the game in order to bat for a teammate at a critical moment or tight situation. This is a strategic move made by the manager.
play ball	To cooperate with someone. – Their sales team was not willing to play ball with us.
play fair	To act according to the rules, honestly and fairly. – Not everybody plays fair these days.
play hardball	To compete aggressively and without mercy. – Be careful when you are competing against them. They play hardball. This is a reference to standard baseball, as opposed to an easier game called softball, which is played with a larger, softer ball.
play one’s cards right	To use one’s resources and strategies well. – If you play your cards right, I think you could have that job.
player	Someone or a company that is active in a business area. – It’s hard to know what the big players will do next.
plays	Businesses that are good to invest in. – Netscape was a successful play for those who invested in it early. The word comes from the idea that investing is a game for those that are successful at it. And games (especially team sports) consist of individual "plays" or actions. Both in sports and in investing, of course, there are successful plays and unsuccessful plays. A player is someone who is active in a business area. – Everyone wants to know what the big players will do. To play means to participate in an investment. It can mean serious participation or not so very serious. – He likes to play the stock market.
point of no return	The point in a course of action when it is impossible to stop the action. – Once you have signed the merger agreement, you have reached the point of no return. Also: there is no turning back [Punkt, an dem es kein Zurück mehr gibt]
politically correct	Correct, in the opinion of people who want fair treatment for members of minority ethnic groups, religious groups, sexual life-styles, and to women. Politically correct behavior includes not speaking in stereotypes, not making jokes about such groups, giving members of such groups equal opportunities in the market place, in the work place, everywhere. Also: P.C. – I’m afraid that language is not politically correct. – What is politically correct in this situation? Political correctness is a big topic in the U.S.
pony up	To pay money that is owed or due. It is not clear where this expression comes from. – You’ll have to pony up the rent by tomorrow.
post	As a noun, post means a wooden or metal piece that is fixed in an upright position, especially to give support to something. [Pfosten] In earlier times, announcements and official notices were printed on paper and then nailed to a wooden post where the public could read it. The act of doing this was called posting information. Today, we use the verb to post for any act of making information known to the public, even if there is no wooden or metal post involved. - IBM has posted information about their newest products on its website. - Corporations must post their earnings figures each quarter.
preach to the choir	To make statements that are already believed and accepted by a friendly audience. – The president was preaching to the choir when he talked to the National Organization for Women about equality for women in the workplace. Also: preach to the converted
pretty	[adjective] Attractive. – She has a pretty face. [adverb] Relatively; rather. – The movie was pretty good. – He was pretty mad. – They were pretty late. And so on.
prime mover	The initial source of energy; someone or something that sets others in motion. – Keith was the prime mover behind the reorganization.
prop up	[idiom] To give support to something (or someone) that would otherwise fall. – The unpopular dictator is propped up by the military. [aufrichten]
proposition	One meaning is something offered for acceptance or consideration. It is another word for proposal. - Your idea is an interesting proposition. - I’d like to make you a proposition. You should be aware, however, that a second meaning is a request for sexual intercourse. When used as a verb, to proposition someone, it always has this meaning. - He propositioned her and she slapped his face.
pull out all the stops	Use everything that is at one’s disposal; use all resources. – In order to meet our deadline, we will have to pull out all the stops. This relates to large pipe organs. Pulling out the organ "stops" means using all the pipes fully, creating the fullest possible sound. [alle Register ziehen]
pull someone’s leg	To say something not true with the intention of making a joke. – I don’t believe you; you must be pulling my leg! – Relax! I was just pulling your leg.
push comes to shove, if	If a situation reaches a critical stage. – If push comes to shove, our CEO can contact their CEO.
put a spin on	To give a certain meaning or interpretation to. – His job is to put a spin on events for the reporters. – The liberals put one spin on what happened, and the conservatives put the opposite spin on the story.
put down	(1) To write down. – Put down your name and address, please. (2) To criticize someone in an insulting way. – She is always putting her husband down.
put down as	To classify something. – Put this down as a huge mistake in judgment.
put down to	To explain something by indicating its cause; to attribute something to its cause. – I put down his performance to simple fatigue.
put in a good word	To make a supportive comment on someone else’s behalf. – I’ll put in a good word for you when I see him.
put into words	To express verbally. – I can hardly put into words how grateful I am for your help.
put one’s mind to	To concentrate on something; to be determined to achieve something. – You can do almost anything if you put your mind to it. Also: set one’s mind on
put one’s money where one’s mouth is	To wager money on the truth of one’s statements; to show one’s faith in one’s opinion by taking some action. – If you are so certain that anyone can criticize our CEO, why don’t you put your money where your mouth is? [seinen Worten Taten folgen lassen]
put someone up	To give someone a place to stay for a short time. – We can put you up for a couple of nights.
put up	(1) To build or erect. – They are going to put up a bookstore here. (2) To invest money for the establishment of a business. – Each party put up two million dollars. (3) To wager money. – He put up ten thousand dollars on the fight.
put up with	To tolerate (something or someone); to be patient with. – I cannot put up with his negative attitude much longer.
Q
quite a bit / quite a few	A considerable amount; a substantial amount. quite a bit – for something that cannot be counted: – There is quite a bit of snow on the ground. Also: quite a lot of – There is quite a lot of snow on the ground. – There is quite a lot of confusion here. [ziemlich viel]
quite a few	quite a few – for things that can be counted: – There are quite a few people outside. Also: quite a lot of – There are quite a lot of people outside. – There are quite a few problems here. [ziemlich viele]
R