Commonly used english part 8 pptx

71

by and large

- on the whole, considering everything
By and large we had a good meeting even though it was very short.

by any means

- by any way possible
We decided to try to find a computer to use by any means.

by chance

- without planning
By chance I saw my father's friend in the supermarket.
by far

- greatly, by a great margin
He is by far the smartest person in his company.

by fits and starts

- irregularly, with many stops and starts
By fits and starts the company was finally able to begin business.

by hook or by crook

- in any way necessary
My sister wants to go to Italy this year by hook or by crook.

by leaps and bounds

- rapidly, by large movements forward
The construction of the new airport is progressing by leaps and bounds.



72

by means of

- with the use of something
We were able to enter the old building by means of a small window in the back.

by no means

- absolutely not
By no means will I permit my child to play with the new video game.

by the book

- according to the rules
The police officer does everything by the book when he arrests someone.

by the day

- one day at a time
My father was very sick but now he is getting better by the day.

by the dozen

- twelve at a time
We usually buy bottles of water by the dozen.

by the handful

- in measurements equal to a handful
We were eating fresh blueberries by the handful.

by the hour

- after each hour, one hour at a time
We had to pay for our parking space by the hour.


73

by the month

- one month at a time
The rent for our apartment is paid by the month.

by the same token

- similarly, moreover
"By the same token, I don't want to go downtown again today."

by the seat of one's pants

- by luck and with very little skill
I was able to complete the course by the seat of my pants.

by the skin of one`s teeth

- by a very small margin, barely
I arrived at the train station and was on time by the skin of my teeth.

by the sweat of one`s brow

- by hard work
He managed to make enough money to buy the farm by the sweat of his brow.

by the way

- incidentally
"By the way, could you please bring your computer tomorrow."

by the week

- one week at a time
We rented the car by the week.


74

by the year

- one year at a time
The contract for the garbage pickup is renewed by the year.

by virtue of (something)

- because of something
My father got his new job by virtue of his volunteer work in the community.

by way of (something)

- as a substitute for something, as a form/example of something
By way of introduction the man gave everyone his business card.

by way of (something or somewhere)

- passing through or by a place
We drove to the airport by way of the small town.

by word of mouth

- by speaking rather than writing
We learned about the party by word of mouth.









75

C
calculated risk

- an action that may fail but has a good chance to succeed
The company took a calculated risk when they opened a new store in a very quiet
area.

call Idioms


call a meeting

- to request that a meeting be held
The board of directors will call a meeting for next week.

call a meeting to order

- to officially start a meeting
The president called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

call a spade a spade

- to speak bluntly
The supervisor called a spade a spade when he criticized the employee for being lazy.

call for (someone)

- to come and get someone
"Could you please come and call for me before you go to the game."

76

call for (someone or something)

- to require something, to need the services of someone
Our problems with the toilet call for a good plumber.

call it a day/night

- to quit work and go home
I called it a day and decided to go home early.

call it quits

- to stop, to finish
I called it quits and went home for the day.

call of nature

- the need to go to the toilet
The driver stopped his truck to answer the call of nature.

call off (something)

- to cancel something
The game was called off because of the rain.
call on (someone)

- to visit someone
I plan to call on my brother during my holidays.
call on (someone)

- to ask someone to participate in something or contribute something
The teacher called on me three times to answer questions in the class.




77

call out to (someone)

- to shout to someone
We called out to our friend at the concert but she did not hear us.

call (someone) in

- to ask someone for help, to call for special advice
We called in a special doctor to look at the patient.

call (someone or something) into question

- to dispute or cast doubt upon someone or something

The lawyer called the man's statement about his neighbor into question.

call (someone) names

- to call a person unpleasant names
The children began to call the new student names.

call (someone) on the carpet

- to call someone before an authority to be scolded or reprimanded
The salesman was called on the carpet by his boss for losing the big sale.

call (someone`s) bluff

- to challenge someone to prove that what they are saying is true
I decided to call the man's bluff and I asked him to show me the evidence.

call (something) in

- to collect something for payment, to withdraw something from circulation
The bank decided to call in the business loan.


78

call the shots

- to be in charge, to give orders
The vice-president is now calling the shots and is in control of the company.

call up (someone)

- to telephone someone
My friend said that he will call up his parents tomorrow night.
.



calm down

- to relax
The woman finally calmed down after the accident.
cancel (something) out

- to destroy the effect of something
The overeating by the girl cancelled out the benefits of her exercise.
can of worms

- a complicated situation or problem
The lawsuit opened up a can of worms for the company.

can't do anything with (someone or something)

- to be unable to manage or control someone or something
My sister is always complaining that she can't do anything with her daughter.

79

can`t see the forest for the trees

- to be unable to understand the whole picture of something because you are only
looking at small parts of it
He has no understanding of most problems because he can't see the forest for the
trees.

can't stand/stomach (someone or something)

- to dislike someone or something very much
My uncle cannot stand his daughter's boyfriend.

card up one`s sleeve

- a plan or argument that is kept back to be used later if needed
I think that our boss has a card up his sleeve and he will be able to help us later.

cards are stacked against (someone)

- luck is against someone
The cards have been stacked against the young boy since he was born.

(in) care of (someone)

- (send something) to one person at the address of another person
I sent the parcel to my sister in care of her friend at the university.

carrot and stick

- a reward or a threat of punishment at the same time
The trade negotiators took a carrot-and-stick approach to the automobile talks.
carried away

- to lose one's control or judgement due to strong feelings
I got carried away and yelled at my friend for losing my textbook.


80

carry Idioms


carry a lot of weight with (someone or something)

- to be very influential with someone or a group of people
The man's education and experience carry a lot of weight in the university.

carry a tune

- to be able to sing accurately, to have musical ability
The girl in the music class cannot carry a tune.

carry coals to Newcastle

- to bring something of which there is plenty, to duplicate something (Newcastle is a
town in England where there is a lot of coal)
Bringing extra food to the farmer`s picnic was like bringing coals to Newcastle.

carry on

- to continue, to keep doing something as before
We were permitted to carry on with the party after we talked to the apartment
manager.
carry out (something)

- to do something, to put something (a plan) into action, to accomplish something
We were able to carry out the move with no problems.

carry over (something)

- to save for another time or location
The store will carry over the sale until next week.