1. tough break 

when something unfortunatehappens. Tough这个形容词的意思是“艰难，棘手”，而break做名词可以当“运气”讲。所以，tough Break指“困苦的处境，恶运”

eg: That tough break put an end to my plans!

我真是太倒霉了! 后面的所有计划都泡汤了!

2. back to the drawing board 

to start something over and goback to the planning stage.

字面意思是回到制图板去，实际上它的意思是从头开始

比如说一个公司为了要提高利润，叫雇员们提出各种建议。但是老板认为这些都行不通， 要大家从头来。The boss sent them back to the drawing board. 

3. 24/7 

“24/7” means 24 hours a day,seven days a week.

一天24小时，一星期7天的缩写，即全天候提供服务的意思。

4. behind the scenes 

Something that happens in secret or not infront of the general public. 在幕后

eg: It's an exciting opportunity to learn what goes on behind the scenes.

可以有机会了解幕后的工作，令人非常兴奋。

5. change of pace 

something different from a normal routine or schedule.

改变习惯，兴趣等，更换口味。

eg: A change of pace will probably do you good. 

改变一下生活方式可能会对你有好处。

6. come up short 

to try to achieve something but fail. 让人失望

eg:Bill always seems to come up short of his parent's expectations. 

比尔似乎永远都达不到他父母的期望。

7. big picture 

Everything that is involvedwith a particular situation is called “the big picture.” 大局，大宏图

eg: Some of these examples come from big-picture trends.

这些例证中，有些来自于全局趋势。

8. fifty-fifty 

“Fifty-fifty” means something is divided equally. 平分为二

9. ahead of the curve 

to be more advanced than the competition. 占得先机，保持领先

eg: The technology firm invests heavily in R&D in order to keep ahead of the curve.

这家科技公司在研发工作上投入巨资以保持领先优势。

10. by the book 

to do things according to company policy or the law. It means to followthe rules 100%. 按章办事

eg: He showed little initiative, handling all matters strictly by the book.

他缺乏首创精神，墨守成规地办一切事情。

11. back to square one to startsomething over again. 问题回到原态，从头再来

eg: We got a phone call from the lawyers and is was back to square one.

我们接到了律师的一个电话，一切又得从头开始。

12. ahead of the pack 

to be better or more successful than the competition. 领先的.出类拔萃

eg: At this stage in the campaign, the Democratic candidate is way ahead of the pack.

在本次竞选活动的现阶段，民主党候选人遥遥领先。

13. call it a day 

to decide to stop working for the day. 收工

eg:

A：I'm very tired. We're done too much work today.

B：OK，let's call it a day.

A：Wonderful.

14. ASAP 

an acronym for “as soon as possible.”

15. from the ground up

When you start a business, project, or something else from zero. 从头开始; 完全地，彻底地

eg: All I asked her to do was make a few revisions to the employee handbook. It's not like she has to create the whole thing from the ground up!

我只不过是让她对雇员手册进行一些修改，又不是要她从头写起！

16. go broke 

to go bankrupt or to lose all the money a person or business had. 破产

eg: The majority of small businesses go broke within the first twenty-four months. 

大多数小企业在开张后的24个月内就倒闭了。

17. go down the drain 

When someone wastes or loses something.“泡汤”或者“付诸东流”

eg: A single mistake and all that time and money would go down the drain.

只要发生一个错误，全部的时间和金钱就将尽付东流。

18. go the extra mile 

to do more than what people expect.做比期望的多得多的努力; 做更多，取得更大的成就

eg: To do your duty is not enough. You must go the extra mile.

只满足于分内是不够的，你必须多做一点点。

19. go through the roof 

rapidly increasing. 快速增长

eg: The unemployment rate went through the roof。

 失业率飞涨。

20. gray area 

something that is undefined and not easily categorized. 灰色地带，不明确，不清楚的状态

eg: Transitions aren't easy, so it's important to cut yourself some slack as you move through the gray area. 

从毕业生到职场人的转型并不容易，所以当你穿过这片灰色地带时，克服自身的懒散非常重要。

cr. BEC商务英语