If you want this promotion, you're going to have to 'step up to the plate'. [=you will have to improve your work performance to show that you deserve the promotion]
She has a lot 'on her plate' right now. [=she has a lot of things that she has to deal with right now]
He was handed the job 'on a plate'. [=he was given the job without having to do anything to earn it]
(..) And of course, the answer is technetium. Terrific. Next question: "What is the force between two uncharged plates "due to quantum vacuum fluctuations?" PMS? Sheldon can suck on... the Casimir effect. Correct. (..)2008 TvShow: The Big Bang Theory Title: The Bat Jar Conjecture Season: 1 Episode 13