Essential English Idiom - Lesson 4

Lesson 4

to make sure: to be sure, to ascertain (also: to make certain (of))

- Please make sure that you turn off the radio before you go out.

- Could you make certain of the time? I don't want to miss that TV show.

now and then: occasionally, sometimes (also: now and again, at times, from time to time, off and on, once in a while)

Both now and then and once in a while can be preceded by the adjective every. Another idiom with the same meaning and form is every so often.

- I don't see him very often, but (every) now and then we arrange to have lunch together.

- Gary gets a cold (every) once in a while even though he takes good care of himself.

- Every so often my brother and I get together for a camping trip.

- I like to sleep late in the morning from time to time.

to get rid of: to eliminate, to remove; to discard, to throw away

- Jerry tried hard to get rid of the stain on his shirt, but he never succeeded.

- The stain was so bad that Jerry finally had to get rid of his shirt.

every other (one) : every second (one), alternate (ones)

- I play tennis with my father every other Saturday, so I usually play twice a month.

- There were twenty problems in the exercise, but the teacher told us only to do every other one. Actually, doing

ten problems was difficult enough.

to go with: to match, to compare well in color or design; to date, to accompany (also: to go out with)

For the first definition, adverbs such as well and poorly are often used.

- That striped shirt goes well with the gray pants, but the pants go poorly with those leather shoes.

- Eda went with Richard for about six months, but now she is going out with a new boyfriend.

first-rate: excellent, superb

- The food served in that four-star restaurant is truly first-rate.

- The Beverly Hills Hotel provides first-rate service to its guests.

to come from: to originate from

This idiom is commonly used in discussion of one's hometown, state, or country.

- What country in South America does she come from? She comes from Peru.

- I just learned that he really comes from Florida, not Texas.

- Where did this package come from? The mail carrier brought it.

to make good time: to travel a sufficient distance at a reasonable speed

The adjective excellent can also be used.

- On our last trip, it rained the entire time, so we didn't make good time.

- We made excellent time on our trip to Florida; it only took eighteen hours.

to mix up: to stir or shake well (S); to confuse, to bewilder (S)

For the second definition, the passive forms to be mixed up or to get mixed up are often used.

- You should mix up the ingredients well before you put them in the pan.

- The teacher's poor explanation really mixed the students up.

- The students think it's their fault that they are mixed up so often.

to see about: to give attention or time to (also: to attend to, to see to)

- Who is going to see about getting us a larger room for the meeting?

- I'll see to arranging music for the wedding if you attend to the entertainment.

to make out: to do, to succeed, to progress

- Charlie didn't make out very well on his final examinations. He may have to repeat one or more classes.

- How did Rachelle make out on her acting audition in Hollywood yesterday?

by heart: by memorizing

- He knows many passages from Shakespeare by heart.

- Do you know all the idioms you have studied in this book by heart? 

to keep out: not to enter, not allow to enter (S)

- There was a large sign outside the door that said, "Danger! Keep out!"

- I've told you to keep the dog out of the house.

to keep away (from): to stay at a distance (from) (S); to avoid use of (also: stay away from)

- Please be sure to keep the children away from the street!

- The signs on the burned-out house said, "Keep Away! Danger Zone."

- It's important for your health to stay away from dangerous drugs.

to find fault with: to criticize, to complain about something

- It is very easy to find fault with the work of others, but more difficult to accept criticism of one's own work.

- Mrs. Johnson is always finding fault with her children, but they really try to please their mother.

to be up to: to be responsible for deciding; to be doing as a regular activity

The second definition is most often used in a question as a form of greeting.

- I don't care whether we go to the reception or not. It is up to you.

- Hi, George. I haven't seen you in a while. What have you been up to?

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 (S)

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 (also: to check into )

- 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 hands

- 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 doing something, to get through with something : 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 (by, with) : to be greatly affected by a strong feeling (S)

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 up to 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 clothing. 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 (S); to explode, to destroy (or be destroyed) by explosion (S)

- 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 (S)

- 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 (S); to make angry or very annoyed (S) (also - to tick off)

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 much work (S)

- 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 cannot do the work as well as an experienced one.

- 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 (also: as to)

- 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 (also: to take pity on )

- 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

- 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 (also: to come out)

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 (S); to surrender (S)

- 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 stronger enemy forces.

to cross out: to cancel by marking with a horizontal line (S)

- 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 (S); to assume to be true without giving much thought (S)

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 something into account: to consider a fact while evaluating a situation (S)

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 (S)

- 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 (S)

- 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.

to call for: to require; to request, to urge

- This cake recipe calls for some baking soda, but we don't have any.

- The members of Congress called for new laws to regulate the banking industry.