Chapter 4 Flashcards
Measure up
Meaning: to meet a particular requirement, standard, or expectation.
Examples: I can’t possibly measure up to Mom’s sky-high expectations!
We compared the movie we made to some of the other films to see how it measured up.
This team easily measures up to any of the others in the league.
I wanted the job, but I just didn’t measure up.
Make it
Meaning: 1. to achieve one’s goals. 2. To arrive (at some thing or location) successfully or on time.
Examples: I can see by looking around this room that you have really made it.
We only made it to the concert a few minutes before it was supposed to begin.
She’s a very good dancer but I’m not sure she’ll make it as a professional.
I hope my car can make it to the next town.
Burst into flames
Meaning: suddenly begin to burn fiercely.
Examples: The two cars burst into flames soon after the collision.
As soon as the flame reached the curtains, the entire wall seemed to burst into flames.
The helicopter flipped on its tail and burst into flames killing eight of the nine people aboard.
Burst into tears/ laughter
Meaning: to begin to cry/ laugh suddenly.
Examples: After the last notes of her song, the audience burst into tears, such was its beauty and tenderness.
The children burst into tears on hearing of the death of their dog.
Eli and Abigail seemed to get the meaning of these moments and both burst into laughter.
Crack up
Meaning: 1. burst into laughter. 2. to experience a mental or emotional breakdown. 3. to destroy something.
Examples: We all cracked up at Josh’s joke.
He drove into a tree and cracked up his car.
She’s terrified to leave the house all of a sudden—I think she’s cracking up.
All those days of sleep deprivation finally caused me to crack up.
Play down
Meaning: to make something seem less important than or not as bad as it really is.
Examples: The doctor tried to play down the seriousness of my father’s illness, but we weren’t fooled.
We need to play down the presence of micro transactions in the game and focus more on the gameplay itself in our marketing.
John is a famous actor, but the director tried to play him down as just another member of the cast.
Stick something out
Meaning: to endure, tolerate, or last through to the end of something.
Examples: I know you’re unhappy with the job, but just stick it out to the end of this project before you start looking for new work.
We’ve had problems in our marriage for years, but we’ve been sticking it out for the kids’ sake.
I didn’t really like the movie, but I stuck it out.
Play dumb
Meaning: to pretend to be unintelligent or unaware in order to deceive someone or gain an advantage.
Examples: I don’t think I’m supposed to know that Rick is getting fired, so I’m just going to play dumb the next time I see him.
A: “Did Tammy ask you about my date with Steve?” B: “Yeah, but I played dumb about it. I just couldn’t handle more of her drama today.”
Whenever she is asked to clean her room, however, Chaser seems to play dumb.
Grow out of
Meaning: To no longer do something because one has aged or matured. 2. To emerge or develop from something
Examples: I thought she would have grown out of temper tantrums by now.
Haven’t you grown out of your fear of the dark yet?
The new law grew out of people’s dissatisfaction with the election results.
This whole matter grew out of your failure to let the cat out last night.
Make ends meet
Meaning: earn just enough money to live on.
Examples: Even with no children to support, she couldn’t make ends meet.
It’s not easy to make ends meet with a big family, but somehow we manage.
To make ends meet, Phil picked up a second job delivering pizzas.
Stand on one’s own feet
Meaning: to be independent; to survive without any help.
Examples: It’s about time he left home and learnt how to stand on his own two feet.
She’ll have to get a job and learn to stand on her own two feet sooner or later.
You’re a talented programmer, and you could have a lot of influence here if you stood on your own feet a bit more.
Be worth (doing)
Meaning: used to say that something is interesting, useful, or helpful.
Examples: A lot of the small towns in the area are definitely worth visiting.
It’s well worth getting there early if you want a good seat.
It’s worth checking the details of the contract before you sign it.
Go easy on something/someone
Meaning: to not take or use too much of something/ to treat someone in a gentle way.
Examples: Go easy on/with the cream. That’s all there is. Go easy on your little brother, will you?
He didn’t mean to break the window.
Try to go easy on criticizing their report.
They did the best they could in the time allotted. Please go easy on the onions. I don’t like them very much.
Corner the market
Meaning: To sell or produce something so successfully as to overshadow all others in the same field.
Examples: That company is so popular right now that they’ve really cornered the market on video games. If you think he bought all that stock to corner the market, you should report him—that kind of activity is illegal.
By reducing prices so that the smaller stores can’t compete and are forced to close, Bestsave has effectively cornered the market.
Go the whole hog
Meaning: do something completely or thoroughly.
Examples: You only live once. Might as well go the whole hog and get the works.
Having already limited local taxation, why not go the whole hog and abolish it completely?
We only planned to order appetizers, but we went whole hog and ended up getting a seven-course meal.
