「爆響口」 Let slipMeaning: Accidentally tell something that you originally intend to keep secret.
Example: Debbie
let it slip that the sales director has resigned.
「揹鑊」Take the rapMeaning: To be punished for something which is not your fault.
Example: Joanne
took the rap for her team-mates’mistakes in the company project.
「 篤背脊 」 Backbiting Meaning: Unkind words said about someone who is not present
Example: I resign from this company because I find a lot of
backbiting in our office.
「 食死貓 」 Being wrongly accused of Meaning: You have not done something wrong, but other people claim or believe that you did
Example: John's secretary
was wrongly accused of leaking his business plan to the company's competitor.
「 話晒事 」 Call the shots Meaning: Being in a position telling others what to do
Example: Mr Lee is our manager and he
calls the shots in our team.
「照肺 」 Chew out Meaning: To tell someone angrily that they have done something wrong
Example: Peter was
chewed out by the manager for not submitting his work on time.
「王馬褂」 ConnectionsMeaning: People who you know and have the power to help you. The Chinese term has a meaning of one’s relatives.
Example: Angus used his
connections to get a promotion.
「燉冬菇」DemoteMeaning: Being given a lower rank or less important position than one already has
Example: Teresa was
demoted because she was incapable of doing her job.
「符碌」FlukeMeaning: It means something good that has happened as a result of chance rather than planning or skill.
Example: Angus is a lazy salesman. His good sales performance is something of a
fluke.
「吊鹽水」 Get by Meaning: To manage to survive or make ends meet
Example: It is hard for Philip to
get by on this low salary.
「上位」 Get somewhere Meaning: To make progress towards achieving something
Example: Peter has been working very hard over the years, and finally he is
getting somewhere.
「跟大隊」 Go with the flow Meaning: Follow what others are doing instead of control what happens yourself
Example: Raymond
went with the flow and did not give any opinion in the meeting.
「吞 pop」 Goof off Meaning: Waste time and not doing any work
Example: They
goof off as the manager leaves for a meeting.
「收風」 Hear through the grapevine Meaning: To hear news from someone who heard it from somewhere else
Example: I
heard through the grapevine that Jeff is going to resign.
「潛水 」 Keep your head down Meaning: To avoid trouble or drawing attention to yourself at a time of danger
Example: It is better to
keep your head down when the boss is in a bad mood.
「擦鞋 」 Lick someone's boots Meaning: To be extremely obedient to someone so as to get an advantage
Example: I will not
lick my manager's boots in order to get pay rise.
「釣魚」 Nod off Meaning: To fall asleep, especially not intentionally
Example: Carmen is
nodding off at the meeting because she did not have enough sleep last night.
「大信封」 Pink slip Meaning: A document given to an employee to terminate his/her employment
Example: The company is cutting the number of staff, and John is the unfortunate one in our team getting a
pink slip .
「腰斬」Pull the plugMeaning: To prevent an activity from continuing
Example: In preparing the project, colleagues faced lots of problems. So, the manager decided to
pull the plug.
「新丁 」 Rookie Meaning: Someone who is new to a job and does not have much experience
Example: Mary looks young and is considered a
rookie . In fact, she has more than 10 years of working experience in the field.
「懶醒」 Smart arse (in US: smart ass) Meaning: a person who likes to show off being cleverer than others in an annoying way
Example: I don't like that
smart arse in the other department telling me how to do my job. (ref:
http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/V6HTML/JobSeeker/Resources/english/idiom_of_the_week/idioms_c.htm)
