UNITS 9&10 • PAT Flashcards
blurt something out
uk |blɜːt| us |blɝːt|
verb
1. to say something suddenly and without thinking, usually because you are excited or nervous
* “He blurted everything out about the baby, though we’d agreed to keep it a secret for a while.”
* ”[+ speech] She suddenly blurted out, “I can’t do it!””
* ”[+ that] Late one evening, Gianni blurted out that he loved her.”
catch on
uk |kætʃ| us |kætʃ|
verb
1. to become fashionable or popular
* “I wonder if the game will ever catch on with young people?”
2. to understand, especially after a long time [informal]
* “He doesn’t take hints very easily, but he’ll catch on (to what you’re saying) eventually.”
come out
uk |kʌm| us |kʌm|
verb
1. to go somewhere with someone for a social event [UK]
* “Would you like to come out for a drink sometime?”
2. If a book, record, film, etc. comes out, it becomes available for people to buy or see
* “When does their new album come out?”
3. When the sun, moon, or stars come out, they appear in the sky
* “The clouds finally parted and the sun came out.”
4. If something comes out, it becomes known publicly after it has been kept secret
* “[it comes out that] After her death, it came out that she’d lied about her age.”
* “When the truth came out, there was public outrage.”
5. If information, results, etc. come out, they are given to people
* “The exam results come out in August.”
6. to tell people that you are gay, queer, transgender, non-binary, or another identity that is not heterosexual (= sexually attracted to men if you are a woman and women if you are a man)or cisgender (= having a gender that matches the body you were born with), often after having kept this a secret from them for some time
* “[come out as] He was the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay.”
* “Seeing LGBTQ+ characters represented on television has helped many young people come out to their families.”
come out with something
uk |kʌm| us |kʌm|
verb
1. to say something suddenly and unexpectedly
* “He comes out with the strangest things!”
* “She comes out with some good ideas though.”
dry something up
uk |draɪ| us |draɪ|
verb
1. to dry plates, cups, etc. with a cloth after they have been washed
dry up
uk |draɪ| us |draɪ|
verb
1. If a river, lake, etc. dries up, the water in it disappears.
2. If a supply of something dries up, it ends
* “His main source of work had dried up, leaving him short of money.”
get something across
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. to manage to make someone understand or believe something
* “[get your point across] We tried to get our point across, but he just wouldn’t listen.”
* “[get a message across] This is the message that we want to get across to the public.”
get around
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. to travel to a lot of places
* “Spain last week and Germany this week - he gets around, doesn’t he!”
2. to be able to go to different places without difficulty, especially if you are old or ill
* “My grandmother is finding it harder to get around these days.”
get around something
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. →get round something UK
get through
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. to succeed in talking to someone on the phone
* “I tried to call her but couldn’t get through.”
* “[get through to] I got through to the wrong department.”
get through something
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. to succeed in an exam or competition
* “She got through her exams without too much trouble.”
2. to finish something
* “I can get through a lot more work when I’m on my own.”
* “We’ve got a lot to get through today.”
3. to use up something [UK (US go through)]
* “We’re getting through a lot of coffee/toilet paper.”
* “She gets through ten bars of chocolate each week.”
get (someone) through something
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. to deal with a difficult or unpleasant experience, or to help someone do this
* “I don’t know how I got through the first couple of months after Andy’s death.”
* “We need to conserve our supplies so we can get through the winter.”
let on
uk |let| us |let|
verb
1. to tell other people about something that you know, especially when it is a secret
* “I suspect he knows more than he’s letting on.”
pass on
uk |pɑːs| us |pæs|
verb
1. [polite expression for] die
* “It’s important to remember friends and family who have passed on.”
pass on something
uk |pɑːs| us |pæs|
verb
1. to refuse an opportunity or decide not to take part in something
* “He passed on the chance to be head coach and took a job in Florida.”
pass something on
uk |pɑːs| us |pæs|
verb
1. to tell someone something that another person has told you
* “If he provided us with any information, no one passed it on to me.”
2. to give someone something that another person has given you
* “Could you pass it on to Laura when you’ve finished reading it?”
3. to give a disease to another person
* “It’s possible to pass on the virus to others through physical contact.”
put something across
uk |pʊt| us |pʊt|
verb
1. to express your ideas and opinions clearly so that people understand them easily
* “It’s an interesting idea and I thought he put it across well.”
put yourself across
uk |pʊt| us |pʊt|
verb
1. to express your ideas and opinions clearly so that people understand them and realize what you are like as a person
* “I don’t think I managed to put myself across very well in my interview.”
set something down
uk |set| us |set|
verb
1. to write or print something, especially to record it in a formal document [often passive]
* “The rules of the club are set down in the members’ handbook.”
2. to land an aircraft
set someone down
uk |set| us |set|
verb
1. If a vehicle sets down a passenger, it stops so that the passenger can get out [mainly UK]
* “The cab set us down a long way from our hotel, and we had to walk.”
shout someone down
uk |ʃaʊt| us |ʃaʊt|
verb
1. to prevent someone who is speaking at a meeting from being heard, by shouting
* “She was shouted down when she tried to speak on the issue of abortion.”
speak out
us |spik|
verb
1. to say in public what you think about something such as a law or an official plan or action
* “He spoke out against the school’s admissions policy.”
talk something over
uk |tɔːk| us |tɑːk|
verb
1. to discuss a problem or situation with someone, often to find out their opinion or to get advice before making a decision about it
* “[talk something over with someone] I’d like to talk it over with my wife first.”
talk someone round
uk |tɔːk| us |tɑːk|
verb
1. to persuade someone to agree with you or to do what you want them to do
* “She’s not keen on the idea but we think we can talk her round.”
ask a favour
collocation
ask about someone
us |æsk| uk |ɑːsk|
verb
1. to ask for information about someone, especially about his or her health
* “Tell your father I was asking about him.”
for the asking
idiom
1. easily available
* “There are a lot of organizations that have scholarship money for the asking.”
asking for trouble
idiom
1. behaving in a way that is likely to cause problems for you
* “If you wear light shoes for a long walk you’re asking for trouble.”
* “He knows Mom doesn’t like it when he stays out this late. He’s asking for it!”
ask around
uk |ɑːsk| us |æsk|
verb
1. to ask a lot of different people in order to get information or help
* “Our babysitter’s just moved away, so we’re asking around for a replacement.”
read (someone) the riot act
idiom
1. to speak angrily to someone about something they have done and warn that person that they will be punished if it happens again
* “He’d put up with a lot of bad behaviour from his son and thought it was time to read him the riot act.”
in my book
idiom
1. in my opinion
* “She’s never lied to me, and in my book that counts for a lot.”
in someone’s bad books
idiom
1. If you are in someone’s bad books or black books, they are angry with you
* “He’s in Melanie’s bad books because he arrived two hours late.”
* “She hasn’t visited her relatives in Ireland for a long time, so she knows she’s in her aunt’s black books.”
in someone’s good books
idiom
1. If you are in someone’s good books, they are pleased with you
* “I cleaned the bathroom yesterday so I’m in Dad’s good books.”
in someone’s words
idiom
1. used when you repeat what someone said
* “His wife, Mary, was 25 years his junior and, in his words, “my guiding light”.”
