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Idiom Category: Profession or work



Listing 27 Entries
Categories > Profession or work
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Agony aunt
An agony aunt is a newspaper columnist who gives advice to people having problems, especially personal ones.
All in a day's work
If something is all in a day's work, it is nothing special.
Bad workers always blame their tools
"A bad worker always blames their tools" - If somebody does a job badly or loses in a game and claims that they were let down by their equipment, you can use this to imply that this was not the case.
Baker's dozen
A Baker's dozen is 13 rather than 12.
Bean counter
A bean counter is an accountant.
Beggars can't be choosers
This idiom means that people who are in great need must accept any help that is offered, even if it is not a complete solution to their problems.
Busman's holiday
A busman's holiday is when you spend your free time doing the same sort of work as you do in your job.
Don't give up the day job
This idiom is used a way of telling something that they do something badly.
Game plan
A game plan is a strategy.
Gardening leave
(UK) If someone is paid for a period when they are not working, either after they have given in their notice or when they are being investigated, they are on gardening leave.
Glass ceiling
The glass ceiling is the discrimination that prevents women and minorities from getting promoted to the highest levels of companies and organisations.
Have your work cut out
If you have your work cut out, you are very busy indeed.
Just what the doctor ordered
If something's just what the doctor ordered, it is precisely what is needed.
New brush sweeps clean
'A new brush sweeps clean' means that someone with a new perspective can make great changes. However, the full version is 'a new brush sweeps clean, but an old brush knows the corners', which warns that experience is also a valuable thing. Sometimes 'broom' is used instead of 'brush'.
Noddy work
(UK)

Unimportant or very simple tasks are noddy work.

Not worth a tinker's dam
This means that something is worthless and dates back to when someone would travel around the countryside repairing things such as a kitchen pot with a hole in it. He was called a 'tinker'. His dam was used to stop the flow of soldering material being used to close the hole. Of course his 'trade' is passé, thus his dam is worth nothing.
Number cruncher
A number cruncher is an accountant or someone who is very good at dealing with numbers and calculations.
On the line
If somebody's job is on the line, they stand a very good chance of losing it.
Pointy-heads
Pointy-heads are supposed intellectuals or experts, but who don't really know that much.
Poison pill
A poison pill is a strategy designed to prevent a company from being take over.
Pull rank

A person of higher position or in authority pulls rank, he or she exercises his/her authority, generally ending any discussion and ignoring other people's views.

Speak to the organ grinder not the monkey

Talk to the boss not the subordinate

Swear like a sailor
Someone who is foul-mouthed and uses bad language all the time, swears like a sailor.
Swear like a trooper
Someone who is foul-mouthed and uses bad language all the time, swears like a trooper.
Teacher's pet
The teacher's favorite pupil is the teacher's pet, especially if disliked by the other pupils.
Tread the boards
When someone treads the boards, they perform on stage in a theatre.
Work the system

If people work the system, they exploit the state or simialr setup to their advantage.

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