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ill at ease: uncomfortable or worried in a situation
- Speaking in front of a large audience makes many people feel ill at ease.
- My wife and I were ill at ease because our daughter was late coming home from a date.
to do over: to revise, to do again
- A noun or pronoun must separate the two parts of this idiom.
- You'd better do the letter over because it is written so poorly.
- Jose made so many mistakes in his homework that the teacher made him do it over.
to look into: to investigate, to examine carefully
- The police are looking into the matter of the stolen computers.
- The congressional committee will check into the financial dealings of the government contractor.
to take hold of: to grasp, to grip with the heads
- You should take hold of the railing as you go down those steep stairs.
- The blind man took hold of my arm as I led him across the street.
to get through: to finish, to complete
This idiom is followed either by the –ing form of a verb (a gerund) or by the preposition with.
- I didn't get through studying last night until almost eleven o'clock.
- At what time does your wife get through with work every day?
from now on: from this time into the future
- Mr. Lee's doctor told him to cut down on eating fatty foods from now on, or else he might suffer heart disease.
- I'm sorry that I dropped by at a bad time. From now on I'll call you first.
to keep track of: to keep or maintain a record of; to remember the location of
- Steve keeps track of all the long-distance telephone calls related to his business that he makes from his house.
- With seven small children, how do the Wilsons keep track of all of them?
to be carried away: to be greatly affected by a strong feeling
This idiom can also be used with get instead of be.
- Paula and Leanne were carried away by the sad movie that they saw together.
- James got carried away with anger when his roommate crashed his new car into a telephone pole.
up to date: modern; current, timely
Hyphens (-) separate the parts of this idiom when it precedes a noun form, as in the third example. The verb to update derives from this idiom.
- The president insisted that the company bring its aging equipment upto date.
- This catalog is not up to date. It was published several years ago.
- The news program gave an up-to-date account of the nuclear accident. The newscaster said that he would update the news report every half hour.
out of date: not modern; not current, not timely; no longer available in published form Again, hyphens separate the parts of this idiom when it precedes a noun form as, in the second example. The passive verb to be outdated derives from this idiom.
- Many people buy new cars when their old cars become out of date.
- I don't know why Gene likes to wear out-of-date cloth. His clothes are so outdated that even his girlfriend hesitates to be seen with him.
- This book can't be ordered any more because it is out of date.
to blow up: to inflate, to fill with air; to explode, to destroy (or be destroyed) by explosion
- Daddy, could you please blow up this balloon for me?
- When the airplane crashed into the ground, it blew up immediately.
- The military had to blow the missile up in midair when it started to go the wrong way.
to catch fire: to begin to burn
- Don't stand too close to the gas stove. Your clothes may catch fire.
- No one seems to know how the old building caught fire.
to burn down: to burn slowly, but completely (usually said of candles); to destroy completely by fire
- There was a large amount of wax on the table where the candles had burned down.
- The fire spread so quickly that the firefighters could not prevent the whole block of buildings from burning down.
to burn up: to destroy completely by fire; to make angry or very annoyed
To burn up and to burn down (previous idiom) share the same definition but also have different definitions.
- She didn't want anyone to see the letter, so she burned it up and threw the ashes away.
- It really burns me up that he borrowed my car without asking me first.
- Mike got ticked off that his friends never offered to help him move to his new apartment. He had to do everything himself.
to burn out: to stop functioning because of overuse; to make tired from too muck work
- This light bulb has burned out. Could you get another one?
- Studying all day for my final exams has really burned me out.
to make good: to succeed
- He is a hard worker, and I'm sure that he will make good in that new job.
- Alma has always made good in everything that she has done.
stands to reason: to be clear and logical
This idiom is almost always used with the pronoun subject it and is followed by a that clause.
- It stands to reason that a person without experience.
- It stands to reason that he isn't going to pass the course if he never studies.
to break out: to become widespread suddenly
- An epidemic of measles broke out in Chicago this past week.
- If a nuclear war ever breaks out, it is unlikely that many people will survive.
- The news says that a large fire has broken out in a huge chemical plant.
as for: regarding, concerning
- As for the money, we will simply have to borrow some more from the bank.
- There is no doubt as to her intelligence; she's the smartest one in the class.
to feel sorry for: to pity, to feel compassion for
- Don't you feel sorry for someone who has to work the night shift?
- I helped drive Pierre around when he broke his foot because I took pity on him.
to break down: to stop functioning
Compare this idiom with to burn out in Lesson 12. To burn out means that electrical equipment becomes hot from overuse and stops functioning. To break down means that something stops functioning mechanically, whether from overuse or not.
- I just bought my new car yesterday and already it has broken down.
- The elevator broke down, so we walked all the way up to the top floor.
to turn out: to become or result; to appear, to attend
The noun form turnout derives from the second definition of the idiom.
- Most parents wonder how their children will turn out as adults.
- Hundreds of people came out for the demonstration against new taxes.
- What was the turnout for the public hearing on the education reforms?
once in a blue moon: rarely, infrequently
- Snow falls on the city of San Diego, California, once in a blue moon.
- Once in a blue moon my wife and I eat at a very expensive restaurant.
to give up: to stop trying, to stop a bad habit; to surrender
- I'm sure that you can accomplish this task. Don't give up yet!
- If you give up smoking now, you can certainly live a longer life.
- The soldiers gave themselves up in the face of a stronger enemy forces.
to cross out: to cancel by marking with a horizontal lines
- The teacher crossed out several incorrect words in Tanya's composition.
- I crossed the last line out of my letter because it had the wrong tone to it.
to take for granted: not to appreciate fully; to assume to be true without giving much thought
A noun or pronoun often follows the verb take.
- John took his wife for granted until once when he was very sick and needed her constant attention for a week.
- He spoke English so well that I took it for granted he was an American.
- He took for granted that I wasn't American because I spoke English so poorly!
to take into account: to consider a fact while evaluating a situation
Again, a noun or pronoun often follows the verb take.
- The judge took the prisoner's young age into account before sentencing him to three months in jail.
- Educators should take into account the cultural backgrounds of students when planning a school curriculum.
to make clear: to clarify, to explain
- Please make clear that he should never act so impolitely again.
- The supervisor made it clear to the workers that they had to increase their productivity.
clear-cut: clearly stated, definite, apparent
- The president's message was clear-cut: the company had to reduce personnel immediately.
- Professor Larsen is well known for his interesting and clear-cut presentations.
to have on: to be wearing
- How do you like the hat which Grace has on today?
- When Sally came into the room, I had nothing on except my shorts.
to come to: to regain consciousness; to equal, to amount to
- At first they thought that the man was dead, but soon he came to.
- The bill for groceries at the supermarket came to fifty dollars.