Phases Mix Flashcards
What was that movie called again? You know it’s right there, just ______.
at/on the tip of your tongue.
If you mess this up, my head is on the chopping block.
This means that the speaker is in danger of being voted out of the tribe next.
They spent the afternoon phoning different numbers and talking to strangers - just for the heck of it.
if you do something for the heck of it, you do it only because you want to or because you think it is funny
Your friend did something funny, so you started laughing. She’s mad because she thinks that you’re making fun of her. You didn’t mean to make fun of her, so you say:
No, come on! I’m not laughing at you; I’m laughing with you.
You meet a girl who you’d like to go out with at a dance club. You ask her on a date, but she doesn’t answer. You want to encourage her to answer. You say:
Come on! What do you say?
It’s customary for one person to pay for an entire round of drinks for everyone, and then someone else pays for the next round. When it’s your turn to pay for a round, you say:
This round’s on me.
You were talking with your girlfriend. You mentioned that she doesn’t dress in really fancy, expensive clothes. You wanted to say that you like this about her, but now she’s angry. She feels like you’re insulting her style. You say:
Come on. I didn’t mean it that way.
You are working on a project at work. You’ve spoken with your co-workers briefly about your plans, but you haven’t discussed the details yet. You want to suggest that you discuss the details later:
We should sit down and go through the details later this week.
You’re talking to a friend on the telephone. Her voice sounds deep and scratchy. It sounds like she’s sick. You say:
You sound horrible!
You’re sick. Your friend called you, and she said that you sound horrible. You have a cold, so your voice does sound messed up. But you pretend to be offended by your friend criticizing your voice. You say:
Thanks a lot!
Your son made a rude gesture, so he got in trouble at school. Now he’s not allowed to ride the school bus for two weeks. You’re explaining what happened to your brother. You say:
He got suspended for flipping off the bus driver.
Easy tiger
Girl 1: I’ve just met the perfect man – he is tall, handsome, kind… I’m going to marry him and have children – we’ll live together in a house by the sea, we’ll - Girl 2: Easy tiger! Do you even know his name?
Get your hands dirty
Unlike other bosses, Mr Stevens really likes to get his hands dirty. It’s as if he’s one of us.
Have your cake and eat it
He’s just got married, but he misses the single life. Well it’s too bad – you can’t have your cake and eat it!
Wake up and smell the coffee!
Wake up and smell the coffee – she doesn’t want to go out with you!
You are stuffed?
Li: You are stuffed? Completely full? Neil: Yes, I am completely stuffed, I can barely move.
You just came home from work a few minutes ago. You say this to start a conversation with your wife:
How was your day?
You work at a clothing store. A customer looks like he’s ready to check out. You want to offer to help him, so you say:
I can assist you with that.
happy bunny
I’m a happy bunny today because I passed my English test.
in favor of something
Her offer was rejected by the company in favor of a much better deal.
play (it) safe (informal)
They’re playing it safe by not investing too much money until they’ve seen the first year’s accounts.
she’s such a dragon.
A: I’m never going to make my deadline with this report. B: You should speak to Kate to get an extension. A: But I’m too scared of Kate – she’s such a dragon. B: That’s true. She’s so unfriendly and scary. She’ll probably shout at you.
speak of the devil
your eyes are bigger than your stomach
a diet to help you shed pounds
Your friend is going on a trip to Italy and has signed up for a guided tour. Now you’re each discussing your thoughts about tours. You told him that you don’t like going on tours, and now you’re explaining why. You say:
I’m more interested in having a really authentic local experience.
You’re out drinking with people. One of the people seems like he’s ready to leave, but you think it would be more fun if he stayed for another drink. You suggest:
Come on, stay for one more round.
You’re a teacher. You’re talking to the parents of one of your students, who talks loudly to her friends during your lectures. You say:
Monica’s been growing increasingly disruptive in class over the past few weeks.
A friend suggests that you ask out a girl that you have a crush on. You think she’s too pretty and doesn’t like you in that way.
Nah, she’s way out of my league.
At work, a member of another department suggests a change. You think it’s a good suggestion, but you can’t agree to it because you don’t have the power to make that change. One of your bosses will need to agree to it. You say:
It’s not up to me; I’m way too far down on the totem pole.
Your mother is going to make breakfast. She asks you what you want to eat. You don’t care, so you say:
It’s up to you.
You ordered a latte at a coffee shop but asked for no foam on it. The barista gave you a latte with foam. You’re annoyed, so you’re complaining to your friend.
What part of “no foam” do they not understand?
In your apartment, you have a tall bookshelf set up near your bed with some heavy boxes on top of it. Earthquakes aren’t common in your area, but you’re worried that the boxes would fall and hurt you if one happened. You communicate this fear to your wife.
I’m a little worried about what would happen if we were to have an earthquake.
You fell down on the stairs and hurt your knee. Your girlfriend is worried, so you’re reassuring her.
I just skinned it a little.
You’re telling a friend about your brothers and sisters. One of them is a musician, another one is a housewife in the suburbs, and you work in a large corporation. You’re explaining why you’re all so different.
We’ve all taken very different paths in life.
You’re riding the subway in New York City. The train conductor makes an announcement because the train isn’t stopping at its usual stops.
There is no local Brooklyn-bound service between 34th Street and Canal.
You’re waiting at a train station for a train to New York. You hear an announcement which says:
New York-bound local train, now boarding on track three.
Your mother is visiting you from out of town. She wants to go to a museum while you’re at work one day. You have to explain how to get there by train, so you start by saying:
You need to take the express train.
You want a cup of coffee, but you’ve run out of coffee at home. You make a cup of tea instead, and say this to yourself:
Better than nothing, I guess.
You’re a college student visiting another city. You can’t afford to stay in a hotel, so you want to stay at a friend’s small apartment. After explaining your situation, you ask him like this.
Listen, do you mind if I crash on your couch for a night or two?
A friend asks if you’ve ever tried to grow a beard. You’ve tried, but it didn’t look good. You’re explaining why you stopped trying.
There’s one little patch that never seems to grow in.
You’re visiting a friend’s house in the evening. He’s going to order dinner from a restaurant. He asks if you want anything to eat, but you’re full already.
No, I’m good. I had a late lunch.
You’re commenting on a news story about the President of your country. A lot of the other commenters are saying bad things about the President, but you still like him and think that he can accomplish good things. You write:
Everybody seems to be critical of the President these days, but I still believe in him.
You’re a professional photographer. Websites that sell amateur photos for low prices are making it harder for you to make enough money. You are talking to an acquaintance who’s not a photographer about this situation. You say:
It’s getting harder and harder to earn a living as a photographer these days.
At work, you always get sleepy after lunch and don’t work very efficiently. You are describing this problem to a friend of yours:
I find it really hard to focus on my work in the afternoon.
Earlier today you bought a pair of gloves, but one of them had a hole in it. Now you’ve returned to the store where you bought the gloves. You want to explain your situation to a cashier who works there. You say:
I bought these here earlier today, but when I got them home I discovered that one of them seems to have a hole in it.
You’re having a video chat on your computer with a friend in another country. When you ask her a question, it takes her a few seconds to answer. You think that’s because the message isn’t reaching her immediately. You say:
There seems to be a bit of a lag.
You’re telling a story about a silly mistake you made. You’ve told the general time and situation, and now you want to describe the interesting event that happened. You say:
As I was riding the train home, I realized that I’d left my keys in the closet at work.
You’re telling a story about something that happened to you at work one day when you were really tired. You are telling the setup for the story. You say:
I was really sleepy because I had gone out drinking the night before.
You’re telling your friend a story about a funny thing that happened to you on the way to work. You’ve described leaving the house and starting to drive. Then you tell the funny thing that happened:
I was halfway there when I realized I didn’t have my wallet.
You’re telling a story about a silly mistake you made. You thought you couldn’t get into your house, so you spent the night in a cheap hotel. Now you’re telling the punchline of the story. You say:
It turns out that my roommate had left his window unlocked anyway.
You have a meeting that was scheduled at work. You don’t know what the meeting is for. You are frustrated because your department often has long meetings that seem unimportant to you. You ask a coworker who’s a close friend of yours:
What’s the point of this meeting anyway?
Your apartment is hot and has a little bit of a bad smell. You think that you should open one of the windows, so you say this to your roommate.
Let’s crack open a window and get some fresh air in here.
You are the director of a division in your company. Last quarter, your company had high sales growth. Now you are leading a meeting and want to thank all the employees. You say:
We really appreciate all of your hard work and effort.
You’re leaving your company to start a new job. You visit your boss to say goodbye on your last day. You want to show that you appreciate how she has helped you. You tell her:
I want to thank you for all the support you’ve given me during my time here.
You’ve traveled to a certain country that has very strict laws. You’re warning someone who’s traveling there soon to be careful of the police there.
They can hold you indefinitely without a trial.
You subscribe to a newspaper. You’re checking the mail, and there’s a letter warning you that you have to pay for your subscription again soon. You say to your husband:
Our subscription to the Times is coming up for renewal.
You’re in the army. You’ve been told that you have to leave the country to do a mission. You call your boyfriend to tell him.
It looks like I’m being deployed in a couple of weeks.
You’re on a first date with a guy. You’re telling each other about yourselves. You tell him the name of the town that you’re from, but he’s never heard of it. So you describe the town.
It’s a quiet little suburban community about 30 minutes outside the city.
You’re talking to your friend, who lives in another city. She asks about your baby, who she hasn’t seen for several months. The baby talks now, so you say:
She’s talking up a storm these days.
Your knee often hurts because of a sports injury you got many years ago. Today it’s hurting. Someone asks if something is wrong, so you explain what’s happening.
My knee is acting up agian.
You’re hanging out with a group of friends late at night. You want to ask a silly question to start a discussion.
If you could live in any period in history, which one would it be?
You try a new beer that comes from a brewery that was recently built near your house. It’s surprisingly good. You’re telling the people that you’re eating dinner with that you like it.
That’s not half bad!
You have had a bad experience when you called your cable TV provider to get help with a problem. You’re on an Internet forum where people are discussing their experiences with cable companies. You write:
Time Warner Cable’s customer service leaves much to be desired.
Your son wanted to join his school’s basketball team. He tried out for it. You just found out that he was successful, and you’re passing the news on to your wife.
Rory made the team!
You get a phone call while you’re on the line with someone else. You answer it, but you want to finish the other conversation first.
Rina, let me call you right back.
At work, one of the employees you manage noticed a problem with your software. She asks if you should tell your clients about it. You’re afraid that the clients will get upset and have a lot of questions about it. You say:
I’d rather not open up that whole can of worms.
You got a new passport. The pages are thicker and can’t be ripped easily. You notice this and say something about it to your husband:
This one’s a lot more durable than the old one.
You’re watching a commercial for a frozen pizza. The announcer on the commercial says this.
We use only the finest ingredients.
Your daughter says something about farting while your family was eating dinner together. This is rude, so you warn her that she shouldn’t say that.
We do not talk about bodily functions at the dinner table!
The child that you babysit had some kind of accident. He’s upset and crying. He’s trying to tell you about the accident, but it doesn’t make sense. You tell him to start telling the story again in order.
Hold on, hold on. Start at the beginning.
You’re playing softball with a group of friends. You tried to hit the ball, but missed 3 times so you got struck out. Now you’re explaining to your teammates why you missed.
I couldn’t see because of the glare.
You’re explaining what your charity organization does at a street fair.
We provide assistance to disabled veterans.
Your sister is telling a story about your father at a family party. In the story, she politely says that your father was “frugal” when you were children (meaning that he always saved his money). You want to tease your father a little more, so you say:
Frugal? Cheap is more like it!
You’re filling out a survey. The first question is for people who own a car, but you don’t have one. You say this to yourself.
The first item doesn’t really apply to me.
A client asks you for some research information about the results of your company’s product. You don’t have the research, but you will send it to your client when you get it. You tell them this.
We’ll pass that along as soon as we have it.
You need to hire an office assistant. You want someone who will do a good job without being told what to do. You write the job description:
We’re looking for a highly-motivated, super-organized self-starter.
