Chapter 2 Flashcards
bundle of nerves (a)
very nervous
“I was a bundle of nerves before I took the TOEFL exam”
kick oneself (to)
regret doing something
“I could just kick myself for leaving my wallet in the restaurant last night”
keyed up
very nervous
“The tennis player was keyed up while he waited for his match to begin”
knot in one’s stomach
a nervous feeling in the stomach
“I had a knot in my stomach when I asked that beautiful girl for a date”
change of pace (a)
a change from one activity for something different
“I’m tired of studying. How about a change of pace? Why don’t we go for coffee?”
wander (to)
walk slowly, saunter, stroll
“Whould you like to wander through the shopping mall this afternoon?”
know one’s way around (to)
be familiar with a particular area
“I’ve never been to this part of town before. Do you know your way around?”
take in the sights (to)
sightsee
“I’d like to take in the sights after we check into the hotel”
down-and-out
destitute, very poor
“The unshaven man in the dirty clothes looks down-and-out”
wrong side of the tracks (the)
the bad section of a city
“She became a millionaire even though she grew up on the wrong side of the tracks”
play it safe (to)
be careful
“I think you’ve had too much to drink. Let’s play it safe and take a taxi home”
as far as someone knows
to the best of one’s knowledge
“As far as I know, there’s a bank right around the next corner”
get off the beaten path (to)
go to an area not visited by most people
“He was completely lost for two hours after he got off the beaten path”
run out of something (to)
use up all of something
“I ran out of things to do in my free time while I was living in that small town”
bundle (a)
a lot of money
“I spent a bundle when I bought a jacket at that designer cloth store”
wipe out something (to)
destroy something
“The hurricane wiped out at least half of the town”
shopping spree (a)
a shopping binge, shop a lot
“He went on a huge shopping spree after he won the state lottery”
in check
under control
“I’ll try to keep my smoking in check”
run up a bill (to)
get into debt, spend a lot of money
“I ran up a large bill at the hotel while I was there on vacation”
take it from me (to)
trust me
“Take it from me, that movie is unbelievably boring”
drag (a)
a bore
“The advanced accounting course I took at college was such a drag”
kitty-corner
diagonal in location
“The post office you’re looking for is kitty-corner to the high scholl”
take a break (to)
take a rest
“I think we’ve worked long enough. What do you say we take a break from studying?”
stroll (to)
walk slowly, saunter, wander
“I’d like to stroll along that beautiful white sand beach after lunch”
Check out something/someone (to)
look at something/someone
“Check out that convertible sports car. It must be really expensive”
cover a lot of ground (to)
travel a great distance
“We’ve been walking for over an hour. We’ve certain covered a lot of ground”
know something like the back of one’s hand (to)
be very familiar with something
“I know this area like the back of my hand because I’ve lived here all my life”
