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]
(..) about doing something nice for Ben? Lucy, it's not that we don't care. I actually do not care. It's just that with the semester ending, we all have a lot on our plate, and the cadaver ceremony didn't make the top of the list. Guys, just do me a favor, okay? Come up with one thing (..)2010 TvShow: Scrubs Title: Our Thanks Season: 9 Episode 13