the top of the ladder	the highest position in ones profession
down-and-out	person with no job or home
up and coming	likely to become successful
call the shots	to make the important decision
the slippery slope	sth that is difficult to stop once it has begun and ends badly
ave several irons in the fire	to have several options at the same time
at full stretch	using all ones energy to do sth
a dead end	sth which leads nowhere and has no future
adopt a low profile	to avoid public attention
take a back seat	to take position of less importance
have time on ones hands	to have spare time
do ones own thing	to whatevver one wants
keep up with the Joneses	to be in competition with other people for higher social standard
break the mould	to completly change sth is done
all the rage	very popular
just around the corner	very close in time
break new ground	to make innovations
state of the art	using most modern techniques
streets ahead	more advanced
on the horizon	likely to happen soon
from scratch	from the beggining and with no help
stand the test of time	to prove valuable over a lond period
in ones day	at the time in past when sb was popular.young
brand new	completly new
move with the times	to progress with changing customs