about to - ready to; on the verge of
EXAMPLE 1: It's a good thing Bob left the furniture store when he did.Peter was so angry, he was about to throw a dining room chair at him.
EXAMPLE 2: I'm glad you're finally home. I was just about to have dinnerwithout you.
after all - despite everything; when everything has been considered;the fact is
EXAMPLE 1:You'd better invite Ed to your party. After all, he's a good friend.EXAMPLE 2: It doesn't matter what your boss thinks of you. After all,you're going to quit your job anyway.at least - anyway; the good thing is that...EXAMPLE 1: We've run out of coffee, but at least we still have tea.
EXAMPLE 2: Tracy can't afford to buy a car, but at least she has a goodbicycle.NOTE: The second definition of this phrase is "no less than": There wereat least 300 people waiting in line to buy concert tickets.
(to) break the news - to make something known
EXAMPLE 1: Samantha and Michael are getting married, but they haven'tyet broken the news to their parents.
EXAMPLE 2: You'd better break the news to your father carefully. Afterall, you don't want him to have a heart attack!
(to) cost an arm and a leg - to be very expensive
EXAMPLE 1: A college education in America costs an arm and a leg.
EXAMPLE 2: All of the furniture at Honest Abe's costs an arm and a leg!
dead-end job - a job that won't lead to anything else
EXAMPLE 1: Diane realized that working as a cashier was a dead-end job.
EXAMPLE 2: Jim worked many dead-end jobs before finally deciding tostart his own business.
(let's) face it - accept a difficult reality
EXAMPLE 1: Let's face it, if Ted spent more time studying, he wouldn'tbe failing so many of his classes!
EXAMPLE 2: Let's face it, if you don't have a college degree, it can bedifficult to find a high-paying job.
(to) give one the creeps - to create a feeling of disgust or horror
EXAMPLE 1: Ted's friend Matt has seven earrings in each ear and an "ILove Mom" tattoo on his arm. He really gives Nicole the creeps.
EXAMPLE 2: There was a strange man following me around the grocerystore. He was giving me the creeps!
brown-noser [slang] - a person who's constantly trying towin favor with people above them, such as teachers or bosses
EXAMPLE 1: Lauren is such a brown-noser. She's always telling herteacher how much she enjoys class.
EXAMPLE 2: Dennis brought the boss lunch today? What a brown-noser!NOTE: You will also see the verb form of this expression: "to brownnose."Example: Dennis is always brown-nosing the boss, but I still don'tthink he's going to get a promotion.
by far - by a wide margin; by a great difference
EXAMPLE 1: Some people think Tom Hanks is by far the best actor inAmerica today.
EXAMPLE 2: Mediterranean Grill is by far the best restaurant in town. Nowonder it's so hard to get a reservation there!SYNONYMS: by a long shot; far and away; hands down
(to) count on someone - to depend or rely on someone
EXAMPLE 1: My brother has a great sense of humor, so I can always counton him to cheer me up.
EXAMPLE 2: If I can count on you to wake me up, I won't set my alarmclock.
(to be) crazy about - see Lesson 3full of oneself - to think too much of oneself
EXAMPLE 1: After Angela appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine, shewas really full of herself.
EXAMPLE 2: Mitch thinks he's really great. He's so full of himself.
(to) get down to business - to get serious about a task
EXAMPLE 1: The book club members spent the first two hours of theirmeeting eating and drinking before finally getting down to business.
EXAMPLE 2: Our dinner guests are arriving in two hours. We'd better getdown to business and start preparing.
(to) get or to have under one's belt - to have or to get experience
EXAMPLE 1: Kristen had three years of working for a large law firm underher belt before leaving to start her own firm.
EXAMPLE 2: Ernie needs to get an MBA under his belt to get the job hewants.
(to) give (someone) a run for (one's) money - to be strongcompetition
EXAMPLE 1: We lost the soccer tournament, but we certainly gave thegirls from Stamford High School a run for their money.
EXAMPLE 2: Tina is a good tennis player and always gives me a run formy money.
(to) give someone the cold shoulder - to be cold to someoneon purpose; to snub someone
EXAMPLE 1: When Lisa saw Amber at the mall, she didn't even stop totalk to her. She really gave her the cold shoulder.
EXAMPLE 2: I can't understand why Joe would give you the cold shoulder.I thought you two were good friends!SYNONYM: to blow someone off. Example: Amber can't understand whyLisa blew her off at the mall.
(to not) give someone the time of day - to ignore someone;to refuse to pay any attention to someone
EXAMPLE 1: Sandra never gave me the time of day back in college, butnow she calls me all the time for advice.
EXAMPLE 2: Why don't you find a new stockbroker? Yours is always sobusy, she barely gives you the time of day.
goody-goody - self-righteously or smugly good
EXAMPLE 1: Goody-goodies usually sit in the front row and smile at theteacher during class.
EXAMPLE 2: Samantha is a real goody-goody. She always offers to erasethe blackboard at the end of class.SYNONYMS: goody two-shoes;
teacher's petit's a deal - I agree (to a proposal or offer)
EXAMPLE 1: You'll make dinner every night for a month if I help youwith your homework? Okay, it's a deal!
EXAMPLE 2: "If you rake up all the leaves in front of the house, I'll do thedishes'' - "It's a deal!"(to) kid around - to joke around; to tease
EXAMPLE 1: Jeremy loves to kid around, so don't be offended by anythinghe says.
EXAMPLE 2: While they were kidding around, Tim accidentally pokedRob in the eye. He had to be rushed to the emergency room of the hospital.NOTE: YOU will often here this in the negative "not kidding around." Thismeans to take something very seriously. Example: The White House isnot kidding around with airport security.
(to) talk into - to persuade; to convince
EXAMPLE 1: Chris didn't want to jump out of the plane, but Erin talkedhim into it.
EXAMPLE 2: Stop trying to talk me into going to the dance club on Saturdaynight. I already decided that I'm going to Maria's party instead.
you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours - if you do mea favor, I'll do you a favor; let's cooperate
EXAMPLE 1: I'll help you with your homework if you do the dishes. Youscratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
EXAMPLE 2: If I drive you into the city, will you pick up my dry cleaning?You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
(to) go back to the drawing board - to start a task overbecause the last try failed; to start again from the beginning
EXAMPLE 1: Frank's new business failed, so he had to go back to thedrawing board.
EXAMPLE 2: The president didn't agree with our new ideas for the company,so we had to go back to the drawing board.
(to) go belly-up - to go bankrupt
EXAMPLE 1: Many people lost their jobs when Enron went belly-up.
EXAMPLE 2: My company lost $3 million last year. We might go belly-up.
(to) give someone the ax - to fire someone
EXAMPLE 1: Mary used to talk to her friends on the phone all day at work,until one day her boss finally gave her the ax.
EXAMPLE 2: Poor Paul! He was given the ax two days before Christmas.
(to) lose one's temper - to become very angry
EXAMPLE 1: Bob always loses his temper when his kids start talking onthe telephone during dinner.
EXAMPLE 2: When Ted handed in his essay two weeks late, his teacherreally lost her temper.
(to) make up one's mind - to reach a decision; to decide
EXAMPLE 1: Stephanie couldn't make up her mind whether to attendHarvard or Stanford. Finally, she chose Stanford.
EXAMPLE 2: Do you want an omelette or fried eggs? You'll need to makeup your mind quickly because the waitress is coming.
no point in - no reason to; it's not worth (doing something)
EXAMPLE 1: There's no point in worrying about things you can't change.
EXAMPLE 2: There's no point in going on a picnic if it's going to rain.
(to) put up with - to endure without complaint
EXAMPLE 1: For many years, Barbara put up with her husband's annoyingbehavior. Finally, she decided to leave him.
EXAMPLE 2: I don't know how Len puts up with his mean boss every day.
real flop or flop - a failure
EXAMPLE 1: The Broadway play closed after just 4 days - it was a real flop!EXAMPLE 2: The company was in trouble after its new product flopped.
(to) save the day - to prevent a disaster or misfortune
EXAMPLE 1: The Christmas tree was on fire, but Ted threw water on it andsaved the day.
EXAMPLE 2: We forgot to buy champagne for our New Year's party, butSonia brought some and really saved the day!
(as) sharp as a tack - very intelligent
EXAMPLE 1: Jay scored 100% on his science test. He's as sharp as a tack.
EXAMPLE 2: Anna got a scholarship to Yale. She's as sharp as a tack.
(to) talk over - to discuss
EXAMPLE 1: Dave and I spent hours talking over the details of the plan.
EXAMPLE 2: Before you make any big decisions, give me a call and we'lltalk things over.
top dollar - the highest end of a price range; a lot of money
EXAMPLE 1: Nicole paid top dollar for a shirt at Banana Republic.
EXAMPLE 2: Wait until those jeans go on sale. Why pay top dollar?
(to) beat around the bush - to talk around the subject; toavoid getting to the point
EXAMPLE 1: Kara beat around the bush for an hour, then finally told usshe needed a ride to Kennedy Airport.
EXAMPLE 2: If you want something, tell me.
Don't beat around the bush!dime a dozen - so plentiful as to be nothing special; common
EXAMPLE 1: Reality TV shows are a dime a dozen these days.
EXAMPLE 2: There are so many Starbucks coffee shops in Manhattan,they're a dime a dozen.NOTE: This expression comes from the fact that a "dime" is worth onlyten cents (very little value).
Good for you! - Good job! Well done!
EXAMPLE 1: You won $100,000 on the TV game show Jeopardy? Goodfor you!
EXAMPLE 2: You passed your math test?
Good for you!hard times - a time of difficulty
EXAMPLE 1: Since his wife left him for her dentist, Dan has been goingthrough hard times.
EXAMPLE 2: Nancy's family is going through hard times. Her father justlost his job.
(to be) in good spirits - happy; in a good mood
EXAMPLE 1: After she won the tennis tournament, Elizabeth was in goodspirits.
EXAMPLE 2: Sam was in good spirits after receiving his Christmas bonus.
made of money - very rich
EXAMPLE 1: My neighbor is re-modeling his house to look like Versailles.He doesn't have good taste, but he certainly is made of money.
EXAMPLE 2: Max should be willing to loan you $10,000 to start your newbusiness. He's made of money.SYNONYMS: loaded; rolling in dough;
to have money to burn(to) make a splash - to win popularity quickly
EXAMPLE 1: Nicole's beautiful cousin Cecilia from Santo Domingo reallymade a splash at the high school dance.
EXAMPLE 2: Those new jeans really made a splash. All the kids arewearing them.SYNONYM: to be a hit
(to) pay (someone) back - to repay a loan or debt
EXAMPLE 1: Nicole paid her friend back the $10 she borrowed.
EXAMPLE 2: You can borrow $50, but don't forget to pay me back!NOTE: "Pay back" also means to "get revenge." Example: I know you'rethe one who stole my car, and one day I'll think of a way to pay you back!
pipe dream - an unrealistic hope
EXAMPLE 1: Susan would like to move to New Zealand and write romancenovels, but she knows that's just a pipe dream.
EXAMPLE 2: You want to become a famous actor on Broadway? Thatsounds like a pipe dream.
(to) shell out - to pay (often more than one would like)EXAMPLE 1: Bob shelled out $5,000 for Nicole's piano lessons before shedecided she'd rather play the flute.EXAMPLE 2: How much am I going to have to shell out to get two ticketsto the Rolling Stones concert?
(to) take (something) by storm - to win popularity quickly
EXAMPLE 1: The play "The Producers" really took New York by storm.
EXAMPLE 2: That new restaurant really took Chicago by storm!
(that's or those are) the breaks - when something bad happensand you can't do anything about it
EXAMPLE 1: By the time we got to the theater, the new Harry Potter moviewas already sold out. Oh well, that's the breaks!
EXAMPLE 2: Your glasses fell on a rock and broke while you were fishing?Those are the breaks!
wise guy [slang] - a smart aleck; one who makes a lot ofsarcastic comments
EXAMPLE 1: When Mrs. Lee asked Joey what he wanted to be when hegrew up, he said, "An adult." She told him not to be such a wise guy.
EXAMPLE 2: That clerk in the video store is a real wise guy. He's alwaysmaking nasty comments about the customers.SYNONYMS: wise ass [rude], smart ass [rude]