Movie: Wall Street (1987)  // Speaker: Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglass)

WHAT IT MEANS:
Gordon says this as a criticism when he finds out that the person with whom he’s trying to get in touch is at lunch. The idea is that when you’re dealing with big business, high stakes, and a lot of money, there’s no time for breaks – even to eat.

IT MAY COME IN HANDY WHEN…

  • You’re in an environment in which there’s high value placed on working more hours (vs. just getting the job done)
  • When you find out that somebody is at lunch (obviously, careful with this – it could be heard as offensive if the receiving party doesn’t get the reference)
  • When somebody wants to take a break and you don’t think there’s time
  • You’re trying to sound a bit like an ass….

MOVIE SUMMARY
You can see the full Wall Street summary here.