6/19 〜 6/21

実践ビジネス英語

実践ビジネス英語　　　Wednesday, June 19

1) Umemura describes how H&B's national sales manager recently quit his job in a highly dramatic fashion, filling a trash bag with marketing brochures and other material and giving it to his boss with a note saying that people who treat others like trash deserve trash and smell like trash. Breakstone and Lyons agree that such behavior is unprofessional and self-absorbed.

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Parting is such... (1)

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2) hear something "over the office grapevine: Umemura heard something through office gossip in other words. He heard information being passed from person to person in the office as if it was going down a grapevine. He also could have said, "He heard an amazing story 'through the grapevine,' or 'through the rumor mill.'"

3) we're all ears: We are listening eagerly, avidly, Lyons is saying, as in "You have a proposal for cutting expenses by 15%? 'I'm all ears.'"

4) parting of the ways: This is a split, uh, diversions between people, companies who have been together. You can also say that people or organizations part ways, go different ways, go down different paths, in other words. Something like "Company X and its main supplier have decided to 'part ways' at the end of this fiscal year."

5) That's putting it mildly: That's an understatement, Umemura means. Something is actually much more than. So let's say I ask someone if a new hybrid car is expensive. If they answer, "That's putting it mildly," or "Expensive is putting it mildly," then the car is very expensive.

6) stink: Here "stink" is a verb. It can mean give off an offensive smell, but I think Umemura is using it here more in the sense of be bad, unpleasant or offensive. If a coworker told me they had to work overtime every day for two weeks, I might reply, "Really? That 'stinks.'" Or I could tell a colleague, "This new software 'stinks.' It's much too complicated."

7) something tells me: We use this expression to mean I have a feeling this is the situation or this is probably the case. And we often use it jokingly like Nissen does obviously Ken Hooser was a very dissatisfied person.

8) happy camper: This expression uses the image of a kid having fun at summer camp. That means a happy person, a satisfied, contented person. Like Nissen does, we often say "not a happy camper," but it can be positive as well, as in "Our boss was a very 'happy camper' with sales up 15% last quarter."

9) a bit much: They are going too far Breakstone means, going overboard. You could say something like, "Her outfit was a 'bit much,' too much flashy jewelry for a business conference."


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実践ビジネス英語　　　Thursday, June 20

1) Lyons says some of the dramatic ways people have quit are inventive and funny. And Nissen cites the example of a flight attendant who left a plane via an emergency slide while holding a beer. Nissen warns that while such dramatic exits may feel good, they can have long-term consequences. He adds that many people who quit their jobs this way are frustrated over extremely heavy workloads.

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Parting is such... (2)

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2) give a parting shot: According to my idiom dictionary, this is a corruption of Parthian shot, which referred to ancient Parthian soldiers who would turn to fire at an enemy chasing them. Nowadays a parting shot is an aggressive or retaliatory statement or action made as something ends. Imagine a very acrimonious meeting, someone storming out at the end might say as a "parting shot," "I predict this company will fail within two years."

3) exit: As we see here "exit" can be a verb as well as a noun. You might see a sign that reads "In case of emergency, please 'exit' the building by the stairs, not the elevator."

4) スタンドプレーは和製英語。英語では、grandstand play と言います。

5) get mixed reactions: Breakstone means that some people reacted positively while others responded negatively. "The proposal 'got mixed reactions,'" for example. Some people thought it was highly innovative, others said it was too risky.

6) You’ll also hear about "mixed emotions" when we have both good and bad feelings about something. So someone might have "mixed emotions" about a new job if they were excited about their new responsibilities, but sad to leave their former colleagues.

7) chuck it all: In this case, "chuck" is a casual way to say throw away, get rid of. "She 'chucked' the magazine into the waste basket," for example. Or "He 'chucked' the bad chicken in the trash."

8) It can also mean just throw or toss, as in "She 'chucked' the flash drive into the drawer."

9) cathartic: Something cathartic brings about catharsis. It purges emotional tension, rejuvenates the spirit. Throwing out old things is "cathartic" for me. Getting rid of things I'm not using makes me feel lighter emotionally, more free.

10) bad-mouth: To speak ill of someone or something, to say negative things about them. There's no opposite expression. We don't good-mouth anybody. A friend in a hospitality business once told me about the importance of customer service. She said, "Treat customers badly, and they will 'bad-mouth' you to everyone they know because people like to complain."

11) pull a stunt: In this case, "stunt" refers to a foolish or dangerous action, not always but often done to get attention or impress people. Imaging someone who lies to his boss, tells him that a relative has died to get off work. When the boss finds out about this lie, he could say, "If you ever 'pull a stunt' like that again, you are fired."

12) reach the boiling point: Nissen uses this expression to mean reach the limit of your endurance as if your emotions of water boiling up in a pot. "Employee anger over pay-cuts could 'reach the boiling point,' for example, and union members announce a strike.“


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実践ビジネス英語　　　Friday, June 21

1) Breakstone says the American workplace is highly conducive to stress and burnout lately, which makes employees' desire for payback understandable. Nissen says American society encourages the open expression of feelings, and Breakstone adds that younger people are used to sharing private information online. However, she cautions that potential employers can hear about hostile exits through social media.

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Parting is such... (3)

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2) can't take it any longer: Can't endure something, can't put up with it
any longer. Imagine your office computers are always crashing. You might say, "I 'can't take this any longer.' I can't get any work done." Or "I 'can't take Becky's complaining any longer.' It's so annoying."

3) achieve critical mass: "Critical mass" originally refers to the minimum amount of fissionable material needed to maintain a constant nuclear chain reaction. However, Nissen is using it metaphorically, meaning the amount or level necessary for a certain result or action to take place – something like, "The government implemented tax reforms after public dissatisfaction
'reached critical mass.'"

4) breeding ground: This means a situation that contributes to the development of something is conducive to that development, like a place where animals go to breed.

5) So a university campus could be a breeding ground for political activism. An unclean desk might be a breading ground for germs.

6) shoddy: Of below-standard, inferior, poor quality. And it can refer to actual physical things as well as behavior. You might say, "This report is really 'shoddy.' The writing is terrible and some of the data is wrong.

7) bottle up one's feelings: Nissen uses "bottle up" in the sense of keep one's emotions inside, don't express them as if we confine them inside a bottle.

8) You might say something like, "She'd 'bottled up' her anger for so long. She suddenly yelled at a coworker.“

9) get back at: Retaliate, in other words, get revenge for something, such as "She criticized my proposal just to 'get back at' me for disagreeing with her in a meeting."

10) new element in the equation: A new factor affecting some situation, in other words, uh, some new component influencing things. A tax accountant might say, "The 'new element in the equation' this year is the recently introduced tax credit for children under 16. This will significantly reduce your burden."

11) outlet: Lyons means a channel for releasing some emotion, some feeling. Writing or painting can be good outlets for creativity. Exercise can be a good "outlet" for stress, that kind of thing.

12) go quietly: Without making a fuss, without a protest, in other words. We also have the similar expression "take something lying down," as in "The union refused to take the pay cut lying down and threatened to strike.“



【原稿チェック： Hiromi, Hiroko, Cecile】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】