Job and Work-related English Idioms (Part 3)

Carve out a niche
A person or company who carves out a niche focuses on a particular segment of the market, to which they supply a product or service, and develop their expertise in that area.
"In today's competitive market it's better to carve out a niche and try to become the best in that area."

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians
This expression refers to a situation where there are too many people giving instructions and not enough people doing the work.
"The new project wasn't successful as predicted. There were too many chiefs and not enough Indians."

Clinch a deal
In a business relationship, if you clinch a deal, you reach agreement on a proposal or offer. "Jessica's final argument enabled us to clinch the deal."

Make cold calls
If you make cold calls, you telephone potential customers from a list of people you do not know.
"In my first job I had to make cold calls using the telephone directory."

Dead wood
The term dead wood refers to people or things which are no longer considered useful or necessary.
"The management wants to reduce costs by cutting out the dead wood."

Dog eat dog
This expression refers to intense competition and rivalry in pursuit of one's own interests, with no concern for morality.
"The business world is tough today. There's a general dog-eat-dog attitude."

Donkey work
This expression is used to describe the unpleasant, boring parts of a job.
"I do the donkey work - my boss gets the credit!"

An eager beaver
The term eager beaver refers to a person who is hardworking and enthusiastic, sometimes considered overzealous.
"The new accountant works all the time - first to arrive and last to leave -a real eager beaver!"

A bean-counter.
An accountant
"The bean-counters told us we had to reduce the budget to get more bonuses this year."

Blood on the carpet
A lot of trouble in an organisation often resulting in someone losing their job.
"After the meeting there was blood on the carpet."

A big cheese.
An important person, a leader (usually about business).
"Anita Roddick is a big cheese in Body Shop."

To crack the whip
To make someone work harder by threatening them.
"We finished the project on time, but only because I really cracked the whip."

A golden handshake.
To receive a large payment on leaving a company.
"She won't have to find a job very quickly because she got a huge golden handshake from her last job"

To be snowed under
To be very busy.
"She wasn't able to finish the report as she was snowed under with other work"

Get down to brass tacks
When people get down to brass tacks, they start to discuss the essential aspects of a problem or situation.
"The situation was so serious that after a few polite exchanges, they immediately got down to brass tacks."