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to mind the store: to be responsible for an office while others are gone
- It seems that all of our employees are taking a lunch break at the same time. I wonder who's minding the store.
- Lynne agreed to mind the store while the others went outside to watch the parade passing by.
to throw the book at: to punish with full penalty, to be harsh on
- Because the criminal was a repeat offender, the judge threw the book at him with heavy fines and a long prison term.
- My boss threw the book at me when he discovered that I had been using company time for personal business. I was severely reprimanded and forced to make up the lost time.
to put one's foot in: to say or do the wrong thing
This idiom is used with the noun phrase one's mouth or the pronoun it.
- Fred really put his foot in his mouth when he called his supervisor by the wrong name.
- I really put my foot in it when I forgot my girlfriend's birthday and didn't buy her anything. She almost lost her cool.
to be up for grabs: to become available to others this idiom is used when something is highly desirable to many other people.
- When one of the full-time contract instructors stepped down, her nice office overlooking the river was up for grabs.
- Did you know that Senator Stone is retiring and that her Senate seat is up for grabs?
to show off: to display one's ability in order to attract attention; to let others see, to expose to public view
This idiom can form the noun showoff for the first definition.
- Elizabeth is an excellent swimmer, but I don't like the way she shows off in front of everyone. It's very obvious that she enjoys being a showoff.
- Jacquie showed her large wedding ring off to all her friends.
to learn the ropes: to become familiar with routine procedures at work or school
- The job applicant didn't have much previous experience or knowledge, but she seemed intelligent enough to learn the ropes quickly.
- It took the new schoolteacher a year to learn the ropes regarding administrative and curricular matters.
to keep one's fingers crossed: to hope to have good results, to hope that nothing bad will happen
This idiom reflects the way people cross their fingers to hope for good luck.
- Let's keep our fingers crossed that we got passing grades on that college entrance exam.
- Jerry kept his fingers crossed that the good weather would hold up for the picnic he was planning for the coming weekend.
to land on one's feet: to recover safely form an unpleasant or dangerous situation
- After a series of personal and professional difficulties, it's amazing that George has landed on his feet so quickly.
- Some young adults get into so much trouble at school that they are never able to land on their feet again. They drop out before graduating.
to dish out: to distribute in large quantity; to speak of others in a critical manner
- Mary's mom dished out two or three scoops of ice cream for each child at the birthday party.
- Larry can't seem to take any criticism of his actions but he certainly likes to dish it out.
to get through to: to communicate with, to make someone understand
This idiom has the meaning of to make someone "catch on" (Lesson 29, eighth idiom, the first definition)
- Some of the students in my reading class understand English so poorly that it is difficult to get through to them.
- The doctors have never succeeded in breaking though to Mr. Ames, who is a silent and secretive patient.
to keep one's word: to fulfill a promise, to be responsible
An idiom with the opposite meaning is to break one's word.
- Suzanne kept her word to me not to let on to others that I intend to step down next month.
- Thomas always intends to keep his word, but invariably the end result is that he breaks his word. He just isn't capable of being a responsible person.
to be over one's head: to be very busy, to have too much to do; to be beyond one's ability to understand
- I'd love to take a week off for a hiking trip, but at the moment I am over my head in work. Maybe next week when I'm only up to my ears!
- It was impossible for the tutor to get through to Bill about the physics problem because the subject matter was over Bill's head.
to ask for: to deserve, to receive a just punishment
- If you drink alcohol and then drive a car, you're only asking for trouble.
- Don't complain about your cut in salary. You asked for it by refusing to heed our repeated warnings not to be late and inefficient.
to be a far cry from: to be very different from
- I enjoyed visiting Seattle, but it was a far cry from the ideal vacation spot I expected.
- Ned is enjoying his new job, but his responsibilities are a far cry from what he was told they would be.
by all means: certainly, definitely, naturally; using any possible way or method
- If the Johnsons invite us for dinner, then by all means we have to return the invitation. Of cause, we don't have to invite their children, too.
- In order to ensure its survival, the ailing company has to obtain an infusion of cash by all means.
to get out from under: to restore one's financial security, to resolve a difficult financial obligation
- After years of struggling to get ahead, the young couple finally got out from under their debts.
- The ailing company, succeeding in obtaining the necessary cash, was able to get out from under its financial burdens.
to take the bull by the horns: to handle a difficult situation with determination
This idiom is usually used when someone has been postponing an action for some time and finally wants or needs to resolve it.
- After three years of faithful service, Jake decided to take the bull by the horns and ask his boss for a raise.
- Vic has been engaged to Laura for a long time now, and I know that he loves her. He should take the bull by the horns and ask her to marry him.
to give (someone) a hand: to assist, to aid, to help
- Would you give me a hand lifting this heavy box?
- When Terry's car broke down at night on the highway, no one would stop to lend her a hand.
to give (someone) a big hand: to clap one's hands in applause, to applaud
- After the talented new vocalist had sung her number, the audience gave her a big hand.
- Should we give a big hand to each beauty contestant is as she is introduced, or should we wait until all the introductions are finished?
to goof off: to waste time, to be idle
- Some of the workers in our office always goof off when the boss is out.
- On Saturday afternoons, I like to go to a movie or just goof off at home.
to talk back to: to answer in a rude manner, to speak to disrespectfully
- Billy, if you talk back to me like that once more, you're going to spend the rest of the day in your room.
- The school principal had to reprimand the child for talking back to her teacher.
to be in: to be popular or fashionable; to be available at one's work or home
- Most young people tend to want anything that is in at the time, but a few don't care about current trends.
- Could you please tell me when Mrs. Zachary will be in? I'd like to talk to her soon.
to be out: to be unpopular or no longer in fashion; to be away from one's work or home
- These days, designer jeans are in and long skirts are out.
- I'm sorry, Mr. Jensen is out at the moment. Could I take a message?
to draw the line at: to determine to be unacceptable, to refuse to consider
- I don't mind helping him with his homework, but I draw the line at writing a term paper for him.
- The conference organizers tried to accommodate the needs of the various interest groups, but they drew the line at extending the conference by two day.
to get out of line: to disobey or ignore normal procedures or rules
- When a child gets out of line in that teacher's class, she uses the oldfashioned method of making the child sit in the corner of the room.
- Any employee who steps out of line by coming to work in an unacceptable condition will be fired.
dry run: rehearsal, practice session
- The college president requested a dry run of the graduation ceremony in order to ensure that all aspects went smoothly.
- Before the manager present the reorganizational plans to the board of directors, he did several dry runs of his presentation.
to play by ear: to play music that one has heard but never read; to proceed without plan, to do spontaneously
The pronoun it is often used with the second definition.
- That pianist can play most popular music by ear. She never needs to read sheet music.
- My husband wanted to plan our trip carefully, but I argued that it was more fun if we played it by ear.
to be in (someone's) shoes: to be in another person's position, to face the same situation as another person
- If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't take too many classes this semester.
- When his boss finds out about that accounting error, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.
to keep after: to remind constantly, to nag
- Lynn always has to keep after her children about cleaning up their rooms and doing chores around the house.
- Lon is so forgetful that it's necessary to keep after him about every little thing.
to fix up: to repair or put back in good condition; to arrange a date or an engagement for another person
- Instead of buying an expensive new home, we decided to buy an older home and fix it up ourselves.
- Since my visiting friend didn't have a date for dinner, I fixed her up with a male friend of mine. They got along very well together.
to be had: to be victimized or cheated
- When the jeweler confirmed that the diamonds that the woman had purchased abroad were really fake, she exclaimed, "I've been had!"
- The angry customer complained about being overcharged at the store, asserting that this was the third time that he had been had.