ESL Vocabulary and Idioms

Re: what is a "deal breaker"?

sky_meat — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 03:50:28 GMT

Jjf wrote:
A "deal breaker" is "that which breaks (terminates, cancels) the deal." It can be a position that is unacceptable to the other party ("we will never allow you to have nuclear capacity" or "we will continue acquiring nuclear materials") or an action that violates the conditions of the deal (such as continuing nuclear research after promising to stop it).

Thx all the friends and teachers, the explanation here is really helpful!! ~~Let's see if i understand this idiom correctly now~~

Refering back to the sentence i quoted on First floor, the "deal breaker" in that case would be " providing a light water nuclear complex to North Korea" , so the guy said " he doesn't believe it is a deal breaker" implies that even if the light water nuclear complex is not provided, he doesn't think North Korea would insist on this issue and cancel the negotiation as a result.

Am i right?

Re: what is a "deal breaker"?

CalifJim — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 06:20:38 GMT

Cf. sine qua non

Re: what is a "deal breaker"?

Jjf — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 21:58:25 GMT

A "deal breaker" is "that which breaks (terminates, cancels) the deal." It can be a position that is unacceptable to the other party ("we will never allow you to have nuclear capacity" or "we will continue acquiring nuclear materials") or an action that violates the conditions of the deal (such as continuing nuclear research after promising to stop it).

Re: what is a "deal breaker"?

khoff — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 20:15:51 GMT

I would say that a "deal-breaker" is a non-negotiable demand. If A refuses to agree with B's "deal-breaker," then "the deal is off" -- B walks away from the negotiations and no further compromises are considered.

Re: what is a "deal breaker"?

WaÃ¯ti — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 18:59:09 GMT

Welcome to englishforums.com !
I would understand a 'deal breaker' as something or someone that causes the deal to be cancelled or terminated. In other words breaking the deal means that the agreement becomes 'null and void' eg is no longer valid and binding to the parties.
WaÃ¯ti.

what is a "deal breaker"?

sky_meat — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 18:30:31 GMT

Greetings to all friends and teachers here:

Yesterday i came across this idiom " deal breaker" when i was reading the VOA News article. I donot really understand the meaning of it, so i'd like to ask for help in what does it mean and how to use it correctly in my own writting and speach. Thanks in advance!

The sentence in the original article goes like this: " After agreeing in principle last month to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs, Pyongyang turned around and insisted the international community provide it with a light-water nuclear reactor first. The other parties to the talks have rejected this. Mr. Richardson said the North Koreans expressed some flexibility on the issue, and said he does not believe it is a deal breaker."

Does " deal breaker" mean the starting point in making a deal or deas it mean the most significant point in a deal? please explain a bit.