Dictionary

business as usual en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /-əz-/ (New-Zealand) when unstressed
• /-əz-/ (Received-Pronunciation) when unstressed
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌaz ˈjʉ.ʒʉ.əl/ (Scotland)
• /-nəs-/ weak vowel merger
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌaz ˈjuː.ʒuː.əl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /-əz-/ when unstressed
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌæz ˈjuː.ʒuː.əl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /-əz-/ (Scotland) when unstressed
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌæz ˈjʉː.ʒʉː.əl/ (Australia)
• /-ʌz-/ (Scotland)
• /ˈbəz.nəs ˌɛz ˈjʉː.ʒʉː.əl/ (New-Zealand)
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌæz ˈjuː.ʒu.əl/
• /-az-/ (India) when unstressed
• /-əz-/ (Canada, General-American) when unstressed
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌæz ˈju.ʒu.əl/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌa(ː)z ˈjuː.ʒuː.al/ (India)
• /-əz-/ (Australia) when unstressed
• (Southern-England) audio
• bĭz′nĭs ăz′ yo͞o′zho͞o-əl
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌaz ˈjʉ.ʒʉ.ʌl/ (Scotland)
• audio AuE
• -əz- when unstressed

Etymology

Popularized by British statesman, soldier and writer Winston Churchill in 1914 as motto in World War I.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, not-comparable) That is usual, expected, not extraordinary.
   • According to the ‘business as usual’ school of modern historians, the millennial preoccupations of Glaber and Wulfstan hold no more significance than the jeremiads of the gullible and doom-laden who agonise in every society - the medieval equivalents of believers in UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, and the X files. 1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 187:
   • This vehicle would be likely to cost about $1,500 more at retail than the business as usual vehicle, which achieves 33 mpg. 1995, Advanced automotive technology : visions of a super-efficient family car.:

Forms

Relateds

the show must go on

wikipedia: Robert Rhodes James

business as usual en · X

Pronunciation

• /-əz-/ (New-Zealand) when unstressed
• /-əz-/ (Received-Pronunciation) when unstressed
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌaz ˈjʉ.ʒʉ.əl/ (Scotland)
• /-nəs-/ weak vowel merger
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌaz ˈjuː.ʒuː.əl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /-əz-/ when unstressed
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌæz ˈjuː.ʒuː.əl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /-əz-/ (Scotland) when unstressed
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌæz ˈjʉː.ʒʉː.əl/ (Australia)
• /-ʌz-/ (Scotland)
• /ˈbəz.nəs ˌɛz ˈjʉː.ʒʉː.əl/ (New-Zealand)
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌæz ˈjuː.ʒu.əl/
• /-az-/ (India) when unstressed
• /-əz-/ (Canada, General-American) when unstressed
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌæz ˈju.ʒu.əl/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌa(ː)z ˈjuː.ʒuː.al/ (India)
• /-əz-/ (Australia) when unstressed
• (Southern-England) audio
• bĭz′nĭs ăz′ yo͞o′zho͞o-əl
• /ˈbɪz.nɪs ˌaz ˈjʉ.ʒʉ.ʌl/ (Scotland)
• audio AuE
• -əz- when unstressed

Etymology

Popularized by British statesman, soldier and writer Winston Churchill in 1914 as motto in World War I.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) The normal course of an activity, particularly in circumstances that are out of the ordinary.
   • In other words, it is business as usual on the Korean Peninsula. Perhaps, when the atmosphere cools down, an argument can be made for giving North Korea’s leaders some of the assistance they want, if they are willing to make concessions of their own. 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times:
   • This was very well illustrated when Extinction Rebellion protests disrupted traffic in London in April 2019, and Mayor Sadiq Khan insisted that while he shared “the passion about tackling climate change of those protesting”[…] Londoners needed to be able to return to “business as usual”. 2020, Marcus Gilroy-Ware, quoting Sadiq Khan, After the Fact?, Repeater, →ISBN:
   • The phase^([sic]) “Business as Usual” ran about the world, and the papers abounded in articles in which going on as though there was no war at all was demonstrated to be the truest form of patriotism. […] “Business as usual during Alterations to the Map of Europe” was the advertisement of one cheerful barber, widely quoted. . . . 1916, H. G. Wells, “Onlookers”, in Mr. Britling Sees It Through, New York: Macmillan, Book II, page 214:
2. (idiomatic) The normal execution of standard functional operations within an organisation, particularly in contrast to a project or program which would introduce change (although that change may itself become business as usual).

Forms

Antonyms

whatever it takes

Translations (15)

ru обы́чный поря́док ве́дения дел (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · es sin novedad en el frente (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · hu mintha mi se történt volna (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · hu szokásos ügymenet/üzletmenet (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · es lo mismo de siempre (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · de Tagesgeschäft (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · es zona de conflicto (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · pt mais do mesmo (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · fr comme si de rien n'était (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · pt o costume (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · es más de lo mismo (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · es como si nada ocurriera (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · hu az élet megy tovább (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · hu mintha semmi sem történt volna (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary) · es como si tal cosa (the normal course of an activity, in circumstances that are out of the ordinary)

wikipedia: Robert Rhodes James