Chapter 3 Flashcards
pile (a)
a bunch, a load, a lot, a stack, a ton
“I have a pile of laundry that I have to wash this morning”
run of the mill
average, ordinary
“The speech he gave to the college students was just run of the mill”
cream of the crop (the)
the best of the group
“The cream of the crop study at Harvard University”
one’s days are numbered
someone are going to die or get fired soon
“I think his days are numbered because of his poor performance at work”
keep one’s fingers crossed (to)
hope for a possible positive result
“I hope your team wins the game this afternoon. I’ll keep my fingers crossed”
knuckle down (to)
become serious about one’s work
“I’m going to have to knuckle down if I hope to pass that difficult course”
one’s first crack at something
one’s first attempt at something
“Today he’s going to take his first crack at ballroom dancing”
slack off (to)
reduce the amount of work one does
“Most of students slacked off after they wrote the midterm exam”
cram (to)
study hard
“She has to spend tonight cramming for the final exam”
slate (to)
schedule
“She said that the quiz is slated for the day after tomorrow”
look into something (to)
investigate something (to) "I don't know the answear to your question. I'll have to look into it"
stressed out
more stress than someone can handle "She's stressed out over the presantation he has to give to the class tomorrow"
lose sleep over something (to)
worry about something
“I’m sure your audition will go well. Don’t lose any sleep over it”
up to
doing, occupied with
“What are you up to after scholl today?”
hook up with someone (to)
meet someone
“She’s going to hook up with her friends at the club tonight”
hitch
problem
“I’d like to go to the movies with you. There’s just one hitch. I don’t have any money”
two’s company, three’s a crowd
a third person isn’t welcome
“I don’t want your sister to come with us on our date. Two’s company, three’s crowd”
ditch someone (to)
lose someone on purpose
“We ditched him on the bar when he went to the bathroom”
pull one’s leg (to)
joke, kid
“I’m not serious. I’m just pulling your leg”
sleep on something (to)
consider something overnight
“That’s a big decision. I’m afraid that I’ll have to sleep on it”
errand
a short trip to buy groceries, do banking, etc
“I’ll be back in about thirty minutes because I need to run a few errands”
make a fuss over something (to)
overreact, go over the top
“My friend really made a fuss over my 21st birthday”
crushed
devasted, emotionally destroyed
“The little boy was crushed when his dog got run over my car”
getting on
getting old
“I realized my parents are getting on the last time I went home for a visit”
young at heart
have a youthful attitude
“My granmother is 75 years old, but she’s still young at heart”
run (to)
leave
“I have to run or I’ll be late for my next business appointment”
