Chapter 1 Flashcards
Gain momentum / Gather pace
Meaning: to become gradually stronger, faster or more successful.
Examples: The campaign has been gaining momentum ever since the television appeal.
The spacecraft will fly around the earth to gain/gather momentum for its trip to Jupiter.
One would have to be deaf and blind, or else very naive, not to see that the opposition is gathering momentum.
The Talk of the Town
Meaning: to be what everyone is talking about.
Examples: The death of Michael has been the talk of the town recently.
This town doesn’t have a lot to gossip about already, not really anyway, and two guys getting together would make us the talk of the town.
How did you not hear about the fire at city hall last night? It’s the talk of the town!
Rest assured
Meaning: to be certain that something will happen. (Used to make someone feel safe or less worried about something)
Examples: You can rest assured that you’re going to get a good deal.
Please rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to make your grandmother comfortable here.
You can rest assured that we will do everything we can to get your money back.
Have/With a clear conscience
Meaning: to be guiltless or have no feelings of guilt or remorse over something.
Examples; Don’t you dare accuse me of causing this, I have a clear conscience! Sophie and the child will be taken care of, and because of that I can live with a clear conscience.
You can face Lionel with a clear conscience – you’ve done nothing to harm him.
Go a long way
Meaning: 1. to achieve much success. 2. to be very adequate, useful or helpful.
Examples: Don’t do anything rash—patience will go a long way toward bringing you allies in this situation.
Thank you for your generous donation; I’m sure it will go a long way.
It was clear from a very young age that Kylie would go a long way.
Ahead of the curve
Meaning: at the forefront of or leading in something, such as a developing situation, field of study or business, social development, etc.
Examples: Our expert advice will help you stay ahead of the curve.
In order to put yourself in the right place at the right time, it is essential to keep ahead of the curve.
Our commitment is to stay ahead of the curve and give our customers optimal network coverage and quality.
Not in a month of Sundays
Meaning: Something that is going to take a LONG TIME. A seemingly endless or prolonged period of time.
Examples: It will take you a month of Sundays to get through all the revisions.
He’s never going to get that finished in a month of Sundays!
I wish that someone had a camera here so I could have a picture taken of me to send home to you folks.
I’ve got more equipment on that I don’t think I could use it all in a month of Sundays.
Wear out
Meaning: 1. to make someone feel very tired. 2. to use something a lot so that it no longer works, or can no longer be used.
Examples: I read that book over and over till I wore it out.
With only five laps left, the white warning layer appeared on Sachs’s right rear tire, telling him that his tire was wearing out.
I was completely worn out – my energy spent from worrying.
Beat around the bush
Meaning: to talk about lots of unimportant things because you want to avoid talking about what is really important:
Examples: Quit beating around the bush and say what’s on your mind.
Why are you beating around the bush? Are you leaving our company?
Let’s stop beating about the bush and discuss this matter.
The same old thing
Meaning: The same thing that is always done or that always happens. It often implies that such a thing is boring or monotonous.
Examples: We just sit around and do the same old thing on Fridays.
Let’s go out this week. A: “What are you doing this summer?” B: “Same old thing—loading up the car and heading to the beach.”
Yeah, I can imagine hearing the same old thing
Slip up
Meaning: to make a careless mistake.
Examples: These figures don’t make sense - have we slipped up somewhere? It’s easy for a journalist to slip up and use somebody else’s idea without crediting them.
I have to concentrate while I do this, so please don’t talk and slip me up!
Get even
Meaning: to exact revenge or do something that one perceives as equalizing prior mistreatment.
Examples: Sheila swore that she would get even with me after she figured out that I had started the rumor about her.
He is so furious about their treatment of him that he’s determined to get even.
The best way to get even with the jerks from high school is to become successful.
Pinpoint
Meaning: find or identify with great accuracy or precision
Examples: Emergency workers are still unable to pinpoint the cause of the explosion.
They were unable to pinpoint the source of the noise.
He pinpointed the position on the map.
Trade-off
Meaning: a kind of compromise that involves giving up something in return for getting something else.
Examples: There is a trade-off between doing the job accurately and doing it quickly.
The explosion in data collection has been accepted by many as a trade-off for convenience and discounts.
For some car buyers, lack of space is an acceptable trade-off for a sporty design.
Bottom line
Meaning: the fundamental and most important factor.
Examples: The bottom line is that the great majority of our kids are physically unfit.
You have all made compelling arguments, but the bottom line is that we need a viable, cost-effective solution, and I still don’t think we’ve found one yet.
We’ve had some success this year, but the bottom line is that the business is still losing money.
