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]
(..) DOC: Jennifer. Jennifer. Doc. Am I glad to see you. Go out the front door. I'll meet you there. But it doesn't open. There's no doorknob. Press your thumb to the plate. What plate? LORRAINE: What does this fax mean? MARTY SR: Mom. It's a joke, an office joke. It's a joke fax. (..)1989 Back to the Future Part II