about to : "The plane is about to take off." ready to, going to
agree with : "This food doesn't agree with me. It makes me sick." suit, have a good effect
ahead of time : "I will help you with your work if you let me know ahead of time." before, in advance
all at once : "The car accident happened all at once." suddenly
bad actor : "The horse is a bad actor. It kicks anyone who goes near." always misbehaving
bad blood : "There was bad blood between the two men." an unfriendly feeling, hate
be against : "He was against his son's plan to buy a car." He was opposed; didn't agree.
be back : "I'm going to the store. I'll be back in an hour." return; come back; get back
be out of : "I wanted to buy some of my favourite cookies, but the store was out of them." not have; lack; run out of
be out of pocket : "The company paid for his trip to learn more about his job so he wouldn't be out of pocket." spend money of one's own
beside the point : "What he liked or didn't like was beside the point." having little or nothing to do with the matter being discus
bet your boots on : "You can bet your boots that our team will win." depend on it, be sure
better late than never : "We don't mind if you were late because of car trouble. Better late than never." It is preferable to arrive late than not arrive at all.
between the devil and the deep blue sea : "He was between the devil and the deep blue sea." between two equal dangers
break the heart of : "The mother's heart was broken when her daughter died." crush with sorrow or grief
bring on : "Poor nutrition can bring on bad health." cause
bring up : "She brought up three sons and a daughter." raise
by hook or by crook : "He will try to get elected by hook by crook." in any way possible
call back : "My friend called me up on the phone while I was out. I called him back as soon as I got the message." to return a telephone call; respond
call off : "They called off the search for the lost person after many days." cancel
call up : "I will call you up when I am in your city." call on the telephone
close call : "While I was coming here I had a close call. I was nearly hit by a car." narrow escape
close shave : "He had a close shave when he almost fell off the ladder." narrow escape
come down with : "I think I'm coming down with a cold." to get an illness
crazy about : "The children are crazy about ice cream." really like it
cut corners : "When he lost his job he had to cut corners to save money." save money by reducing costs
cut it out : "He was teasing his little sister, so I told him to cut it out." stop it, knock it off
day in, day out "His job is boring. He does the same thing, day in, day out." every single day
do (something) over: "He had to do his essay over again because he did not include some important information." to repeat, to do again
do without : "Sam did without a car for many years. He used the city bus instead." to live without something
drop in the bucket : "The amount of his wages that he put in his savings account was drop in the bucket." a very small amount compared to the rest
drop out of : "A few teenagers drop out of high school these days." to stop attending
eager beaver : "Martha and her husband like to eat out every Friday night." to eat at restaurant
eleventh hour : "He came to help them at the eleventh hour." The latest possible moment. Time just before it is too late
feeling blue : "She's feeling blue because her mother died." feeling bad
few and far between : "The people who can buy a Rolls Royce are few and far between ." rare
figure out : "They couldn't figure out what was meant." think out, understand, to work out
for good : "I have decided to stay here for good." always; indefinitely
for good measure : "When he bought a new car, they filled his gas tank for good measure." as something extra; something not expected
to get (a problem) off one's chest : "He has a big problem with one of the people at work. He told me all about it and got it off his chest." to talk openly about
get on : "He got on the bus and rode to Calgary." to enter (a bus, plane, train)
get one's goat : "The spoiled child got her goat because he wanted everything he saw." annoy, make angry
get out of : "Why don't we get out of the car and take a walk through those beautiful trees?" to leave (a car or truck)
give the time of day : "He was very busy and wouldn't give the salesman the time of day." to pay attention to (negative)
give up : "The boy could not lift the heavy weight and finally gave up." stop trying
give up : "After many years he decided to give up smoking." to stop a bad habit
give up the ghost : "The dog was very sick and finally gave up the ghost." die
go places : "He's really going places." achieve success; advance rapidly
go through : "She really liked to use tomatoes in her cooking. She goes through a lot of them every month." to use up
go to one's head : "When he won the game it went to his head." become conceited
hang on : "Hang on a minute and I'll find the doctor's telephone number." to wait, be patient; to hold on
hang up : "If no one answer the telephone, then we hang up." put the telephone receiver back in place
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