Member-only story
Pan out
That new strategy project didn’t “pan out”.
這句話的背景是我們與業務組合作一個策略案呈報至高層，過1–2周後我問主管專案的狀況，他回我這句，意思是進展沒有成功、不順利。這片語跟過去掏金潮的背景有關，使用掏金用的平底盤pan，篩出金子過程稱為pan out，意思是出現「正面」(掏出金子了!) 的進展。
- We’ll have to wait and see how the new marketing strategy pans out.
- Their attempt to start a new business didn’t pan out.
- I tried to get him a couple of jobs and they didn’t pan out.
Legwork
There is more “legwork” to be done before it comes to us
這句常是我們與其他組(尤其是sales或buyer)協作，需要等對方拿到客戶或廠商的一些資料供我們做分析，這裡指的蒐集訊息的工作還需要一些時間，我們應該還沒辦法開始分析工作。
- He made the plan, but I did the legwork.
- The professor wrote the book, but his students did most of the legwork in the library.
- Legwork usually involves interviewing witnesses, investigating evidence and following leads.
In (on) the cards
Recession seems to be “in (on) the cards”.
之前公司內部討論美國的總體經濟，大老闆們認為衰退很有可能會發生，因此我們要在庫存和人力部屬要提前規劃以因應接下來的難關。白話就是某事件在這付牌裡，即將會被打出來，意謂這事件十有八九要發生。我上網查了一下英式英文會使用on the cards。
- A promotion is in the cards for you if you keep up the good work.
- After months of planning, a family vacation is…
