At first, euphemisms surfaced in the workplace to help people deal with touchy subjects that were difficult to talk about. Before long, they morphed into corporate buzzwords that expanded and took over our vocabulary until our everyday conversations started sounding like they’re taking place on another planet.
最初，在工作场合使用委婉语能够帮助人们解决一些难以启齿的敏感话题。不久之后，委婉语演变成企业流行语，扩大了我们的词汇量，取代了一些词汇。直到我们的日常会话听起来像发生在另一个星球一样。

“Listen Ray, I don’t have the bandwidth for it with everything that’s on my plate, but ping me anyway because at the end of the day it’s on my radar and I don’t want to be thrown under the bus because I didn’t circle back around on this no-brainer.”
“Ray，听我说。我没有宽带来解决我盘子里的东西。但是不管怎么说，到了最后都是在我雷达范围之内。我不想被丢下巴士因为我没有在这个没脑子上兜圈子。”

Can you understand?
你看得懂吗？

I understand the temptation. These phrases are spicy and they make you feel clever (low hanging fruit is a crutch of mine), but they also annoy the hell out of people.
我知道委婉语的诱惑所在。虽然这些晦涩难懂的短语让你感觉自己很聪明（如“低垂的果实是我的拐杖”，意为轻而易举的目标是我的奠基石），但是它们却让人感到厌烦。

If you think that you can use these phrases without consequence, you’re kidding yourself. Just pay close attention to how other people react to your using them, and you’ll see that these phrases don’t cast you in a favorable light.
如果你认为使用这些短语没什么大不了的，那你是在自欺欺人。你在说这些短语时只要好好注意其他人作何反应，你就知道它们对你是不利的。

After all, TalentSmart has tested the emotional intelligence of more than a million people and one of the biggest need areas for most people is social awareness. Most of us are so focused on what we’re saying and what we’re going to say next that we lose sight of how our words affect other people. Increasing social awareness is a big component of emotional intelligence training.
归根结底，TalentSmart向100多万人进行了情商测试，测试发现大多数人最缺的是社交意识。我们中的我们中的多数人太在意自己正在说和即将要说的话，而忽略了这些话对他人造成的影响。人们对社交意识的关注增多使得社交意识成为情商训练的一大组成部分。

So give this list a read, think of how often you use some of these words, and see if you can catch yourself before you use them again.
请看下面的列表，想想你有多经常使用这些表达。看看你在下次脱口而出之前会不会管住自己的嘴。

1.

At the end of the day
最后；说到底；总而言之

例句：
We have so many needs in our life, but at the end of the day, all we need is…to be needed.
人生中，我们总是有那么多的渴求和需求。然而归根结底，我们最渴求的，不过是为人所需。

 

2.

Back to the drawing board
重新开始；失败后另起炉灶；重来一次

例句：
Being a physicist, he knew he had to go back to the drawing board, wipe the slate clean, and start from point zero.
作为一个物理学家，莱斯特知道他得重新开始，将往事一笔勾销，然后从零开始。

 

3.

Hit the ground running
积极着手进行；充满干劲地开始

例句：
He intends to hit the ground running if and when he wins that contract.
一旦他赢得了那份合同，他就打算马上全力以赴开展工作。

 

4.

Get the ball rolling
使(某活动、谈话)开始起来，开始某种活动(常指谈话)(= set the ball rolling)

例句：
Let's get the ball rolling and learn some English idioms.
让我们开始来学习一些英语习语吧。

 

5.

Low hanging fruit
容易实现的目标

反义词：

high hanging fruit
难以实现的目标

例句:
Upgrading the service sector is low-hanging fruit for Asia, because tremendous investments are not required.
服务业升级对亚洲而言是可以轻易实现的目标，因为不需要巨额投资就可以达到这样的效果。

 

6.

Be thrown under the bus
被当作替罪羊

Throw sb. Under the bus
把某人当作替罪羊

例句：
These days, behaving that way could lead to your prosecution, especially when your boss is willing to throw you under the bus and testify against you.
如今这样做可能让你遭到起诉，特别是在老板愿意丢卒保车、出面指证你的情况下。

 

7.

Think outside the box
跳出固有思维模式；跳脱框架思考；解放思想；打破常规

例句：
It is the ability to think outside the box.
领导是要有能力跳出框框来思考。

 

8.

Touch base
联系；与某人接触

短语：

touch base with sb.
与某人联系

例句：

Being there gave me a chance to touch base with three friends whom I had not seen for a year.
在那里，让我有机会和一年没见面的三个朋友取得了联系。


9.

Get into the full swing
得心应手，对某事了解

例句：

It took me at least a month to get into the full swing of how things work in this company, now it’s all really easy and straightforward for me.
我花了近一个月的时间了解这家公司的运作情况，现在已经得心应手了。

 

10.

It is on my radar
一切在我的掌控之中

On one's radar
在某人掌控之中

例句：
The crime is on police's radar.
罪犯已经在警方的掌握之中。

 

11.

Ping me
给我电话

例句：
Can you ping me in 15 minutes?
你可以在15分钟后给我电话吗？

 

12.

I don’t have the bandwidth
我没有时间；我没有精力

短语：

have the bandwidth to do sth.
有时间/精力做某事

例句：
Your boss probably thinks you don't have the bandwidth to take on anything else.
你的老板可能认为你没有多余的精力来分心在其他事情上。

 

13.

No brainer
不费脑筋的事

例句：
To me, this deal was a "no brainer" and I took the bait.
对我来说，这交易是不必东脑筋的事物，于是我“上钩”了。

 

14.

Par for the course
常有的事；意料之中的事

例句：
Grandpa has never gotten much exercise. He also hasn't watched what he eats. Is it any surprise that lab tests show he's got a variety of health problems? After not taking care of himself, his poor condition is par for the course.
这个人说：我爷爷从来不锻炼身体，也不注意饮食。化验结果发现，他身上一大堆毛病。这也就没有什么好奇怪的了。常年不注意身体，结果当然会是这样。

 

15.

Bang for your buck
货真价实；划得来

例句：
US companies should also invest in energy efficiency before they turn to buying carbon offsets overseas, if they wish to get the most “bang for the buck”.
如果美国公司希望得到最划算的结果，那么在从海外购买碳补偿额度之前，它们也应投资提高能效的项目。

 

16.

Synergy
合作

例句：
Here's a lot of synergy between the two companies.
两家公司合作很多。

 

17.

Move the goalpost
改变目标；改变规则

例句：

In a month's time I will be less impressed, but can we really move the goalposts then?
一个月后，我就没那么兴奋了，但此时我们真的可以改变游戏规则吗？

 

18.

Compare apples to apples
将同类事物拿来对比

例句：
Seeing rings you can ultimately afford will enable you to compare apples to apples when you shop.
看你能最终负担的起的戒指会使你在购物时货比三家。

 

19.

Win-win
双赢的，互惠互利的

例句：
Either you succeed or you learn something: win-win.
你要么成功，要么学到一些东西：这是双赢的。

 

20.

Circle back around
回到某件事或某个话题

例句：
Eventually, the conversation circled back around to what happened at work.
最后，谈话又回到工作中发生的事上。

 

21.

All hands on deck
全体人员就位

例句：

Used to indicate that the involvement of all the members of a team is required.
团队所有成员就位。

 

22.

Take this offline
结束这个话题

例句：
The topic is not important. Let’s take this offline.
这个话题无关紧要。让我们结束这个话题吧。

 

23.

Drill down
深度挖掘；钻研

例句：
When presenting new ideas or tasks, start with the big picture and then drill down to the detail if necessary.
实施新想法或任务时，先展开大的图景，必要时再解释细节部分。

Keep asking why to drill down to the root reason. Once you get to the real cause, you can immediately resolve the issue.
一直为自己“为什么”找出根本原因。一旦你知道了真正的原因是什么，问题马上就迎刃而解了。

 

24.

Elephant in the room
房间里的大象,形容明明存在的问题却被人刻意回避

例句：
Financing schools has become a problem about equal to having an elephant in the living room. It's so big you just can't ignore it.
筹集学费已经像房间里的大象一样，成了一个不容忽视的问题。

 

25.

On my plate
我手头上

常用表达：
Have a lot/too much on my plate
手头有很多事情要做，忙不过来

例句：
This sounds interesting, but I have too much on my plate at the moment.
听起来很有趣，但是我现在有太多的事情要做。