Consolidation 8 Flashcards
a bitter pill to swallow
a difficult fact to accept
against all odds
Against all the odds, he recovered.
despite the difficulties
be out of practice
If you don’t play regularly you soon get out of practice.
lacking practice
come to the point
reach the main point in a discussion
fall into place
Then I found his diary and it all began to fall into place.
become clear
get the sack
be dismissed from the job
get the wrong end of the stick
misunderstand completely what has been said
golden opportunity
the best chance
grease sb’s palm
bribe sb
in public
Her husband was always nice to her in public.
in the presence of other people
in the offing
I hear there are more staff changes in the offing.
Likely to happen
out-and-out
What she said was an out-and-out lie.
thorough; complete
out in the open
(of secrets) revealed
out of print
Her first novel is now out of print.
(of books) not available anymore
out of the frying pan into fire
from a difficult situation to a worse
part and parcel of sth
Keeping the accounts is part and parcel of my job.
basic part of
past one’s prime
These flowers are long past their prime.
Growing old
pop the question
make a proposal of marriage
short and sweet
We haven’t much time so I’ll keep it short and sweet.
very short and to the point
status symbol
Exotic pets are the latest status symbol.
property/possession that shows sb’s high social rank
take things to pieces
If you take the bookcase to pieces, it will fit in the back of your car.
dismantle things
white elephant
The Olympic committee discourages host cities from building sports venues that turn into costly** white elephants**.
useless possession
