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a steal: very inexpensive, a bargain
This idiom is often used in an exclamation using what.
- I can't believe that I paid only $2,000 for this three year-old car. What a steal!
- Scott considered it a steal when he bought a complete bedroom set for only $99.
to play up to: to behave so as to gain favor with someone
- The other students in the class resent Jim because he plays up to the teacher in order to get better grades.
- When my children asked me to go shopping for a new video game, I knew why they had been playing up to me all morning.
more or less: approximately, almost; somewhat, to a certain degree
- Although your bedroom feels smaller, it's more or less the same size as mine.
- Ted more or less agreed with our decision to put off the meeting until more members could show up. At least he didn't object strongly.
to screw up: to confuse, to scramble; to cause problems in
- Chris had trouble finding Jane's apartment because the addresses of the buildings screwed him up.
- Instead of fixing the television set, the technician screwed it up even more.
to goof up: to perform badly, to make a mistake
- I really goofed up on the exam today; did you mess up, too?
- Karen slipped up when she forgot to deposit money into her checking account.
to go off the deep end: to get very angry and do something hastily
- Just because you had a serious argument with your supervisor, you didn't have to go off the deep end and resign, did you?
- When Dan's wife demanded a divorce, he went off the deep end again. This time he was shouting so that the whole neighborhood could hear.
to lose one's touch: to fail at what one used to do well
- Milton used to be the best salesman at the car dealership, but recently he seems to have lost his touch.
- I used to play tennis very well, but today you beat me easily. I must be losing my touch.
in hand: under firm control, well managed
- The copilot asked the pilot if he had the plane in hand or whether he needed any help navigating through the severe thunderstorm.
- The police officer radioed to the station that she had the emergency situation in hand and didn't require any assistance.
on hand: available, nearby
This idiom is often followed by in case.
- I always keep some extra money on hand in case I forget to get cash from the bank.
- The concert organizers arranged to have some security guards on hand in case there were any problems during the performance.
to kick (something) around: to discuss informally (over a period of time)
- At first my friends were reluctant to consider my suggestion, but they finally were willing to kick it ground for a while.
- Herb thought that we should kick around the idea of establishing a special fund for supporting needy members of the club.
on the ball: attentive, competent, alert
- Jim was the only one who caught that serious error in the bookkeeping statements. He's really on the ball.
- Ella was certainly on the ball when she remembered to reconfirm our fight arrangements. All the rest of us would have forgotten.
to make up: to meet or fulfill a missed obligation at a later time; to create, to invent (an idea); to apply cosmetics to; to comprise, to be composed of
Note that all of the definitions are separable except the last one.
- The teacher allowed several students who missed the exam to make it up during the next class.
- The little boy made up a bad excuse for wearing his dirty shoes in the house, so his mother punished him.
- Dee was able to make her face up in half the normal time because she didn't use much makeup.
- Two separate bodies --- the House of Representatives and the Senate -- - make up the Congress of the United States.
to make up with: resolve differences with
This idiom is used for differences of opinion between friends and lovers.
- Gundula made up with her roommate after their serious misunderstanding about arrangements for the party.
- After the bad quarrel the two lovers kissed and made up with each other.
to pull together: to gather, to collect (information); to gain control of one's emotions
A reflexive pronoun must e used for the second definition.
- The reporter pulled together information from several sources in preparing the newspaper article.
- Mr. Simpson was so frightened when he heard footsteps behind him on the lonely, dark street that it took several minutes to pull himself together.
to be looking up: to appear promising or optimistic, to be improving
This idiom is used in a continuous tense, very often with the subject things.
- The board chairman is glad to report that things are looking up for the company after several years of declining sales.
- Prospects for building that new library in the downtown area are looking up.
to kick the habit: to stop a bad habit
- Once a child becomes accustomed to chewing his nails, it's difficult kick the habit.
- The doctor advised the heavy cigarette smoker that her heart had become damaged and that she should kick the habit right away.
to cover up: to conceal, to hide
This idiom is used for events which are potentially embarrassing to one's reputation, as well as against the law. The noun coverup can be formed.
- The office worker tried to cover up his crimes, but everyone knew that he had been stealing office supplies all along.
- The political coverup of the bribery scandal failed and was reported by all the major media.
to drop off: to fall asleep; to take to a certain location; to decrease
- My mother dropped off during the boring television show; her head was nodding up and down.
- I don't mind dropping you off at the store on my way to work.
- Business has been dropping off rapidly recently, but fortunately it hasn't been falling off as quickly as for our competitors.
to turn over: to place upside down; to flip, to turn upside down; to pass or give control to someone
- the teacher asked the students to turn the answer sheet over and to write a short essay on the back.
- The car was going too fast around the corner and turned over twice.
- Mr. Collins has decided to turn over his jewelry store to his son at the end of the year.
to go through channels: to send a request through the normal way
This idiom can be used with the adjective proper.
- If you go through proper channels in this company, it's sometimes impossible to get anything done quickly.
- The police told the important civic leader that even she had to go through channels in reporting the burglary of her house.
last straw: the final event in a series of unacceptable actions
This idiom is always used with the definite article the.
- When John asked to borrow money from me for the fourth time, it was the last straw. I finally told him that I couldn't lend him any more.
- I can't believe that my roommate left the door to our department unlocked again. It's the last straw; I'm moving out.
to get cold feet: to become unable or afraid to do something
This idiom is usually used in the case of an important or dangerous action.
- Karl was supposed to marry Elaine this weekend, but at the last moment he got cold feet.
- Only one of the rock climbers got cold feet when the group reached the base of the hundred-meter cliff.
to trade in: to receive credit for the value of an old item towards the purchase of a new item
This idiom is used to form the noun trade-in.
- The car dealership offered me $1,000 for my old car if I traded it in for a new model.
- The appliance company was offering a $50 trade-in during the special promotion for its new line of refrigerators.
face-to-face: direct, personal; directly, personally (written without hyphens)
This idiom can be used both as an adjective (the first definition) and as an adverb (the second definition).
- The workers' representatives had a face-to-face meeting with management to resolve the salary issue.
- The stepmother and her teenage soon talked face to face about his troubles in school.
to be with (someone): to support, to back; to understand or follow what someone is saying
- Although others thought that we shouldn't go along with Jerry, I told Jerry that I was with him on his proposal for reorganizing the staff.
- After turning left at the traffic light, go two blocks and turn right on Madison. After three more blocks, turn right again. Are you still with me?
to be with it: to be able to focus or concentrate on
To be with it in the negative has the same meaning as to feel out of it. The related form to get with it is used in commands.
- Jack's really with it today. I've never seen him play such good soccer.
- You've done only a small amount of work in two hours. You're not with it today, are you?
- It's no excuse to say that you feel out of it. We need everyone's help on this, so get with it!
to fall for: to fall in love quickly; to be fooled or tricked by
- Samantha and Derek never expected to fall for each other like they did, but they got married within two weeks of having met.
- The Masons wanted to believe their son, but unfortunately they had fallen for his lies too many times to be deceived once again.
it figures: it seems likely, reasonable, or typical
This idiom is either followed by a that-clause or by no other part of grammar.
- It figures that the children were willing to help with the yardwork only if they received a rewarded for doing so.
- When I told Evan that his secretary was unhappy about not getting a raise, he said that it figured.
to fill (someone) in: to inform, to give background information to
This idiom is often followed by the preposition on and a noun phrase containing the pertinent information.
- Could you fill me in on what is going to be discussed at tomorrow's meeting?
- Not having been to the convention, my associate asked me to clue him in on the proceedings.
to make (someone) tick: to motivate to behave or act in a certain way
This idiom is used within a what-clause.
- If a salesperson knows what makes a customer tick, he will be able to sell a lot of merchandise.
- It's been impossible for us to figure out what makes our new boss tick. One moment she seems pleasant and then the next moment she's upset.
to cover for: to take someone's place temporarily, to substitute for; to protect someone by lying or deceiving
- Go ahead and take your coffee break. I'll cover for you until you return.
- The criminal made his wife cover for him when the police asked if the man had been home all day. She swore that he had been there.