Run是“运行”，tight是“紧的”，ship是“船”。Run a tight ship是什么意思呢？请看对话：

    A: Can you leave early today? If you can, let’s catch a movie before dinner.

    B: Impossible. Our new boss has vowed to run a tighter ship. So it’s no chance for me to play hooky.

    Note: It’s a metaphor. The boss coming in is promising stricter control over the office. This metaphoric term alludes to a ship in which the ropes are taut and by extension the ship is strictly managed. It was first used in the second half of the 1900s. A tight ship means a well-managed organization. “To run a tight ship” means to manage an organization effectively.