Phrases 01 Flashcards
to raise a question
to ask a question
“I do not want to raise a question of a political nature.”
gut feeling
a personal, intuitive feeling or response
“My gut feeling tells me otherwise”
devote time to…
dedicate time
“If I am going to devote time to politics, why shouldn’t I focus on something more immediate?”
put faces to names
to meet in person
“It’s good to put faces to names”
discriminate among them
distinguish among them
by all means
certainly; yes; absolutely.
“I will attempt to get there by all means.”
“Bob: Can you come to dinner tomorrow? Jane: By all means. I’d love to.”
every now and then
Occasionally, from time to time; also, periodically.
Also:
- every now and again,
- every once in a while,
- every so often.
“Every now and then I long for a piece of chocolate.”
“We take long walks every now and again”
“Every once in a while he’ll call.”
you really ought to know
you really should know
“10 things you really ought to know about George Washington”
to tell you the truth
the true or actual state of a matter
“To tell you the truth, I’m confused”
out of pocket
- The person will not be reachable by phone or any means.
“I will be out of pocket tomorrow.” - Using one’s own money
“The governor paid for the event out of his own pocket.”
to wash your hands of somebody/something
To stop being involved with or responsible for someone or something, usually because they have caused too many problems for you
“I should imagine he couldn’t wait to wash his hands of the whole project.”
to cut corners
To do something in the easiest, quickest, or cheapest way, often harming the quality of your work
“We’ve had to cut corners to make a film on such a small budget.”
“Companies are having to cut corners in order to remain competitive in the market.”
to be/go above and beyond
More than is required; greater than the required amount; typically: be ~ or go ~
“My employees have gone above and beyond lately so I decided to give them a bonus by paying them for five hours that they did not work.”
to go against the grain
To do something that is the opposite of what is usually done
“It’s not easy to go against the grain and buy stocks when others are selling them.”
months and dates
British English
The day is written first, followed by the month, and then the year.
The “13th day of the month April, year 2014”, might be written in full (in order of complexity):
13 April
13 April 2014
13th April 2014
the 13th of April 2014
the 13th of April, 2014,
These are all possible, and a matter of choice. The more complicated the style of date, the more formal it is.
Examples
Today is the 7th September.
The grand opening is on 1st June
If you wish to add the name of the day, it should come before the date
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Sunday the 13th of April, 2014
Speaking the date: What date is it?
It’s the first of June. (1st June)
Fifteenth of April. (15th April)
We talk about years like this:
Before the year 2000
1492: fourteen ninety-two
1700: seventeen hundred
1801: eighteen hundred and one or eighteen oh /əʊ/ one
1908: nineteen oh eight
After the year 2000
2000: two thousand
2003: two thousand and three or twenty oh three
2012: two thousand and twelve or twenty twelve
Months can be shortened as follows:
Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.
American English
The month is written first, followed by the day, and then the year.For example,
Example:
“January 1, 2012”.
“January 1st, 2012” (in formal American writing, ordinal numbers are usually omitted)
to retain
Continue to have (something); keep possession of.
“An institutionalized process is more likely to be retained during the times of stress”
at the end of the day
Something that you say before you say what you believe to be the most important fact of a situation
“Sure we missed our best player but at the end of the day, John, we just didn’t play well enough to win the game.”
badly needed
We needed it very much
“Rationalisation was badly needed.”
to become a sore point
To become neuralgic element
“That statement had become a sore point to many delegations.”
bird’s eye view
A situation or topic as if viewed from an altitude or distance
“We had a bird’s eye view of the old town from the top of the city walls.”
“Climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower if you want a bird’s eye view of Paris.”
by any means
By any way possible.
“I need to get there soon by any means.”
“I must win this contest by any means, fair or unfair.”
to withdraw
Remove or take away (something) from a particular place or position.
“Decision to withdraw its Forces from Iraq”
even/odd number
Even number is a number that can be exactly divided by 2, such as 2, 4, 6, 8 etc
from dusk till dawn
Dusk is the time just before night when the daylight has almost gone but when it is not completely dark.
Dawn is the time of day when light first appears in the sky, just before the sun rises.
get a grip
To make an effort to control your emotions and behave more calmly
“Come on, get a grip, we’ve got an important meeting in five minutes.”
“I just think he ought to get a grip on himself - he’s behaving like a child.”
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The total market value of all the goods and services produced within the borders of a nation during a specified period.
“The current rules allow an EU country to run a deficit of as much as 3 per cent of its gross domestic product.”
to be a salt of the earth
If you say that someone is the salt of the earth, you mean that they are a very good and honest person.
“He was the very salt of the earth”
to attach importance
to give importance, to assign meaning
“I don’t attach any importance to my dreams”
twist of faith
A fateful event; an unanticipated change in a sequence of events.
“I was in this school by a twist of faith”
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Międzynarodowy Fundusz Walutowy
to cross someone’s mind
To come into your thoughts as a possibility
“It never crossed my mind that George might be lying.”
the backbone of sth.
The most important part of something, providing support for everything else.
“Farming is the backbone of the country’s economy.”
to keep/hold somebody/something at bay
To prevent someone from moving closer
Also “to hold somebody at bay”
“He held the police at bay with a gun for several hours.”
“Experts hope the economy will slow enough to keep inflation at bay.”
lounge lizard
A ladies-man that frequents night spots where drinks are served. May be part of the live music set, but usually the lizard is at the bar chatting up rich women. Most often seen in a suit that was a fashion statement in the 80s.
“I was a venture capitalist by day and a lounge lizard by night, before I settled down with one of my conquests. “
needless to say
It is so obvious that it doesn’t need to be said, but….
“Needless to say, I should have spent more time on the report, but I just didn’t have it.”
negligible threat
Minimal threat
“Iraq-based terrorism, once a negligible threat, is now a serious one.”
no hard feelings
No anger or resentment.
“I hope you don’t have any hard feelings. No, I have no hard feelings.”
an elephant in the room
If you say there is an elephant in the room, you mean that there is an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about.
“No one is willing to speak about an elephant in the room”
in the week of 22nd October
in the week when Monday is 22nd October
to work one’s fingers to the bone
to work very hard.
“I worked my fingers to the bone so you children could have everything you needed. Now look at the way you treat me!”
“I spent the day working my fingers to the bone, and now I want to relax.”
money talks, bulshit walks
Means that cheap talk will get you nowhere, while money will persuade people to do as you like.
“As the old saying goes, ‘Money talks, bullshit walks’”.
“There’s an old saying that ‘Money talks and bullshit walks’”.
verbatim
in the exact words; word for word
“This is a verbatim quote from Duncan Fletcher’s autobiography”
“He quoted the speech verbatim”
until further notice
Used to indicate that a situation will not change until another announcement is made
“The museum is closed to the public until further notice”
to take up the baton
Accept a particular duty or responsibility
“It was left to the capital’s campuses to take up the baton”
in accordance with something
In agreement with something; in conformity with something.
“In accordance with our discussion, I have prepared a contract.”
to give (one’s) notice
To formally tell one’s employer that one is quitting one’s job.
“Did you hear that James is leaving? He gave his notice yesterday.”
buy into something
If you buy into an idea or plan, you give it your support or agree with it
“Parents are expected to buy into the school’s philosophy when they enroll their children.”
to be of the same opinion
to agree with someone
“I spoke to Tom about it and he was of the same opinion”
on the contrary
used to show that you think or feel the opposite of what has just been stated
“I thought you said the film was exciting?” “On the contrary, I nearly fell asleep half way through it!”
to be back to square one
Back to where one started, with no progress having been made.
“We’re back to square one”
to piggyback on what you said
to use something that someone else has made or done in order to get an advantage
“everyone wants to piggyback on the phenomenal success of the TV series.”
