ESL Podcast 576 - Using Unfair Influence
contract - a legal agreement between two or more parties who agree to provide a product or service in exchange for money or something else
We have an appointment at 3:00 today to sign the new rental contract.
to bid - to offer to do something for a particular amount of money when many other people or companies are making similar offers, so that the buyer can decide which bid offers the best quality for the lowest price
Is your company going to bid on the new road construction project?
to be of service - to be useful or helpful in some way
If there's anything I can do to be of service during your stay in our hotel, please let me know.
to secure - to get; to obtain
How many new clients have we secured in the past two months?
the less said the better - a phrase used to mean that one doesn't want to share a lot of details about something, probably because those details would include something bad, wrong, or immoral that the other person doesn't really need or want to know about
I don't know how Marty got those great front-row concert tickets, and I don't want to know. The less said the better!
friends in high places - professional and/or personal relationships or connections with people who are very powerful and can make important decisions
Manny has lots of friends in high places and he even knows the President of the United States personally.
Capitol Hill - U.S. Congress; the name of the area where the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives meet, used to refer to powerful political decision- making in U.S. government
After college, James got a job on Capitol Hill, working in his senator's office for a few years.
to line the right pockets - to pay money to a powerful decision-maker so that he or she makes a particular decision or views something in a particular way
It can be really difficult to get permission to build in this area, but if we line the right pockets, it shouldn't be a problem.
to pull some strings - to do something that is secretive, unusual, or immoral to influence a person or control a situation
I had to pull some strings, but the home sellers have finally agreed to the price we were asking for.
bribery - the illegal practice of giving money to politicians or other decision- makers to make them do what one wants
In some countries, people are expected to use bribery to pay off police officers if they don't want to get a traffic ticket.
preferential treatment - favoritism; the practice of giving more favorable results or decisions to a particular person or organization, often because one has received money or favors from that person or organization
The boss gives a lot of preferential treatment to her own daughter, letting her take long breaks and giving her the easiest projects.
backroom deal - a transaction or agreement that happens secretly without the awareness of all the people who will be affected by it, and is often illegal or immoral
The directors made a backroom deal to sell the company at a very low price, and in exchange, they were each secretly paid $250,000.
business as usual - the way things are always done in a particular workplace or industry
Working 12-hours days is business as usual in many law firms.
influence peddling - the illegal practice of using one's authority or decision- making power as a way to get money or favors from other people
The senator made more than $3 million through influence peddling before people found out what he was doing.
corruption - dishonest behavior by people who have a lot of power, especially in politics
There's so much corruption in the city that it's impossible to do anything without paying extra money to the officials.
rampant - prevalent; very common; not unusual or rare
The flu was rampant in our schools all winter.
unethical - immoral; wrong
Do you think it is unethical for doctors to receive money and gifts for recommending certain drugs to their patients?
dirty work - tasks or activities that are unpleasant or wrong, but need to be done
You couldn't pay me enough to do that type of dirty work!