12 Flashcards
spruce up
“They’ve employed an advertising agency to spruce up the company image.”
= to make (someone or something) look cleaner, neater, or more attractive.
çeki düzen vermek, şıklaştırmak
= to make someone or something cleaner and tidier or to improve his, her, or its appearance generally:
“I thought I’d have a shave and generally spruce myself up for the interview.”
by/in leaps and bounds
= If someone or something gets better by/in leaps and bounds, he, she, or it improves very quickly:
“Her Spanish has come on (= improved) in leaps and bounds this year.”
= very quickly:
“The company is growing by leaps and bounds this year.”
blimey
vay canına
Whittle something down
“I finally managed to whittle down the names on the list to only five.”
= to gradually make (something) smaller by removing parts.
“We whittled the list down to four people”
the whole shebang
: the whole thing : everything that is included in something
“You can buy the whole shebang for just $50”
go apeshit
very excited or angry
- To be or become wildly or uncontrollably angry.
“My parents went totally apeshit when they found out I’d wrecked the car!”
- To be or become extremely excited or enthusiastic (about something).
I’ve never understood that pop star’s popularity, but kids just go apeshit over her music.
Everyone I know has gone apeshit over the new Roboformers movie—they say the special effects are really incredible.
“Now, don’t go apeshit or anything, but I’ve decided to move to Canada.”
have a screw loose
= be slightly eccentric or mentally disturbed.
“I think I must have a screw loose—I can’t care about what might happen next”
= If you say that someone has a screw loose, you mean that they behave in a strange way and seem slightly mentally ill.
Duh
-e yani
Fret
Hedwig is constantly busy, whether ordering her minions about or fretting about her husband’s status in the ever-shifting loyalties of the Reich’s inner circle.
İçi içini yemek
= To be vexed or troubled; worry.
- To be worn or eaten away; become corroded.
Balk
Fraternity Brothers Balk at a $515,000 Party for Defending the Flag
After students at the University of North Carolina shielded a U.S. flag from protesters, admirers raised money to throw a “rager” in their honor. Some didn’t want it.
: to refuse abruptly —used with at
//Congress balked at putting up the money
— Thomas Fleming
Slim pickings
“Buyers who have waited for bargains at the end of the year will find slim pickings.”
Pek bir şey yok, kalmamış
= little or no success in getting something because there is not very much of it remaining:
“Buyers who have waited for bargains at the end of the year will find slim pickings.”
= A very small or limited amount to choose from, especially after others have taken from what was originally available.
By the time I got to the sale, it was pretty slim pickings left on the racks.
A: “Is there any food left from the party?” B: “Just some slim pickings.”
cock something up
“How did the exam go?” “Terrible - I panicked and really cocked it up.”
Berbat etmek
= to do something badly, often by making a careless or stupid mistake synonym bungle.
= rude phrase meaning to do something wrong or badly:
“David cocked up the arrangements and we ended up missing the reception.”
I take it
“I take it that someone is coming to meet you”
= assume
= said if you think that what you say is likely to be true, although it is not proved:
“You’ll be staying the night, I take it?”
“So we can take it you’ve resigned?”
spring something on someone
“I hope he’s not going to spring any nasty surprises on us at the meeting this morning.”
= to suddenly tell or ask someone something when they do not expect it:
bend over backwards
“Mann insisted that he bent over backwards to be objective in presenting the story.”
= to try very hard to do something good or helpful:
= make every effort to achieve something, especially to be fair or helpful.
“we have bent over backwards to ensure a fair trial for the defendants”
