17 - I can talk about work

• get your/a foot in the door = get your first opportunity to work for an organisation or business, which could later bring you success
• take sth/things in your stride = accept and deal with sth difficult without letting it worry you
• pin (all) your hopes on sb/sth = hope that sb will help you or that sth will happen because all your plans depend on this
• go it alone = do sth without help from anyone
• put all your eggs in one basket = rely on only one thng for success, having no other possibilities if sth goes wrong
• keep in with sb = stay friends with sb because you think you will benefit from it
• keep your ear to the ground = make sure you find out about recent developments in a particular situation
• on the grapevine = by talking in an informal way to other people
• make a name for yourself = become well known and respected by many people
• keep your feet on the ground = have a sensible and realistic attitude
• close on = almost; very nearly
• part of the furniture = sb who is so familiar that you no longer notice them
• sb's face doesn't fit = used to say that sb won't get or keep a job because they are not the kind of person that the employer wants
• take sb under your wing = look after sb who has less experience than you
• the tricks of the trade = the clever ways of doing things in a particular job
• pass sth on (to sb) = give sth to sb else, especially after receiving it yourself
• dead-end job = a boring job with no hope of promotion
• take some doing = be difficult to do, or involve a lot of effort or time
• throw your weight around/about = tell people what to do in a bossy way