mean business

Save This Word!

Be in earnest. For example, He really means business with this deadline. This idiom uses business in the sense of “a serious endeavor.” [Mid-1800s]

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Words nearby mean business

Her brown-velvet eyes often soothed me, although her eyebrows added to her every demand: “I mean business!”
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’|Eileen Cronin|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
John Kerry means business, and though their comments were brief, it seems that Livni and Erekat also mean business.
The Case For A Less-Guarded Optimism|Emily L. Hauser|July 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Death of the I-mean-business-older dude (and subsequent substance abuse).
Gossip Girl Deathwatch|Caitlin Shure|February 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
She'll soon wilt when she sees we mean business—either go, or take a chaperon, or marry the man, whichever she prefers.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

I glanced from this Goliath to his little, bird-eyed spouse, and wondered if he had ever tried to mean business with her.
The Red One|Jack London
A bill stamp is a thing that often turns up convenient with gents as mean business like Mr. Vavasor and you.
Can You Forgive Her?|Anthony Trollope
The first thing I heard Mr. Davis say, was "Damn mean business."
Report of the Proceedings at the Examination of Charles G. Davis, Esq., on the Charge of Aiding and Abetting in the Rescue of a Fugitive Slave|Various
It was equivalent to saying to the officer that the execution of the law was a mean business.
Report of the Proceedings at the Examination of Charles G. Davis, Esq., on the Charge of Aiding and Abetting in the Rescue of a Fugitive Slave|Various