Idioms that use the word business but don’t mean business

In der Rubrik „Language corner“ widmen wir uns stets einem Phänomen aus der englischen Sprache. In der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On geht es um Redewendungen mit dem Wort business. Aber Vorsicht: Diese Redewendungen haben gar nichts mit der Geschäftswelt zu tun. Lesen Sie hier, was sie wirklich bedeuten.

LANGUAGE CORNER

There are many idioms that use the word business but aren’t really about business in the sense of work. Here are some of them.

By Siobhan Bruns

To mean business is to be serious.

Business as usual is the typical way of doing things.

To be back in business means to be able to do an activity, task, etc. again after not being able to for a time.

To give someone the business is to tease a person and make it difficult for the person to go about his or her business.

To go about one’s business is to do what one normally does.

Something that is none of one’s business is something that doesn’t concern one and which one doesn’t need to know about.

To mind one’s (own) business is to not interfere in another’s affairs.

Funny business is dishonest, unethical behaviour.

To get down to business is to get serious about something and do what needs to be done.

Vocabulary

idiom Redewendung — to mean business (fig) es ernst meinen; h.: etw. mit dem Geschäftsleben zu tun haben — in the sense of im Sinne von — serious ernst — task Aufgabe — to tease s.o. jdn. ärgern — to go about one’s business (fig) seinen Angelegenheiten nachgehen — to concern s.o. jdn. betreffen — to interfere in s.th. sich einmischen — affairs Angelegenheiten — dishonest unehrlich — unethical unmoralisch — behaviour Verhalten

Photo: This cat means business. | Pixabay