Commonly used english part 9 ppsx

81

carry the ball

- to be in charge of something
The vice-president was forced to carry the ball while the president was away.
carry the day

- to win or be successful
His fine performance in our company carried the day for us.
carry the torch

- to show loyalty to a cause or a person
The man has been carrying the torch for the candidate for a long time.

carry the weight of the world on one's shoulders

- to appear to be burdened by all the problems of the world
My aunt feels that she is working too hard and that she is carrying the weight of the
world on her shoulders.

carry through with (something)

- to put a plan into action
The company carried through with its plan to open a new factory.
.



a case in point

- an example that proves something or helps to make something clear
What the man said is a case in point about what I have been saying all year.






82

a case of mistaken identity

- an incorrect identification of someone
It was a case of mistaken identity when the police arrested the wrong person.

cash-and-carry

- a system where you pay cash for some goods and then carry them away
The supermarkets in our city always operate on a cash-and-carry basis.

cash cow

- a good source of money
His new business is a cash cow and he is making much money.
cash in (something)

- to exchange something for money
We decided to cash in the coupons because we needed some money.
cash in on (something)

- to make a lot of money at something
The small city cashed in on their success after the winter Olympics.
cash on the barrelhead

- to pay cash to buy something
It was cash only at the store and we were forced to pay cash on the barrelhead for
everything.











83

cast Idioms


cast around/about for (someone or something)

- to look for someone or something
We have been casting around for a new file clerk in our company.

cast aspersions on (someone)

- to make insulting remarks about someone
The woman is always casting aspersions on her colleagues at work.

cast doubts on (someone or something)

- to cause someone or something to be doubted
The first witness at the trial cast doubts on the testimony of the main witness.

cast in the same mold

- to be very similar
The two sisters were cast in the same mold and were almost identical.

cast one's lot in with (someone)

- to join with someone and accept whatever happens
The woman cast her lot in with the company and worked hard to keep the business
going.

cast one's vote

- to vote
We arrived early to cast our vote in the election.


84

cast pearls before swine

- to waste something valuable on someone who does not appreciate it
Giving the woman the gold earrings was like casting pearls before swine.
cast the first stone

- to be the first to blame someone
The man was the one to cast the first stone and now he is fighting with his neighbor.
.



castles in the air

- daydreams
My sister is always building castles in the air and is very unrealistic.
cat burglar

- a burglar who enters a building by climbing a wall etc.
Our stereo was stolen when a cat burglar entered our apartment.
cat gets one`s tongue

- the inability to say something
I think that the cat got our supervisor's tongue. She has not said anything since the
meeting started.
catch Idioms


catch-22

- a situation which contradicts itself, a paradoxical situation
It was a catch-22 situation and if I went to work there would be problems but if I did

not go to work there would also be problems.

85

catch a cold

- to become sick with a cold
I caught a cold because of the rain and the cold weather.
catch-as-catch-can

- in any way possible
We are in the middle of moving house so our meals are catch-as-catch-can.

catch fire

- to begin to burn
We were very careful that the wooden house would not catch fire.

catch forty winks

- to get some sleep
I was very tired so I stopped my car in order to catch forty winks.

catch on

- to understand something, to learn about something
I was finally able to catch on and understand the math problem.
catch on

- to become popular

Recently ballroom dancing has begun to catch on with many people.
catch one`s breath

- to stop to rest and regain one`s normal breathing
After running from the station it took a moment to catch my breath.





86

catch (someone`s) eye

- to attract someone`s attention
I tried to catch my friend's eye but she did not notice me.

catch some Z's

- to get some sleep
I needed to catch some Z's after working hard all weekend.

catch sight of (someone or something)

- to see someone or something briefly
The police caught sight of the robber and began to chase him.

catch (someone) in the act of (doing something)

- to catch someone doing something illegal or private

The police caught the politician in the act of taking money from the business owner.

catch (someone) napping

- to find someone asleep, to find someone unprepared for something
The boss caught the employee napping and became very angry.

catch (someone) off balance

- to surprise someone who is not prepared
We were caught off balance when we discovered that our business license was no
good.

catch (someone) off guard

- to catch a person at a time of carelessness
I was caught off guard when the teacher asked me about my homework.


87

catch (someone) red-handed

- to find someone in the middle of doing something wrong
The clerk caught the boy red-handed when he was stealing the candy.

catch up on (something)

- to do something that you have not had time to do, to learn about something (the
daily news or news about old friends)

I need to catch up on some of my reading this weekend.
I met my friend and we caught up on some news.
catch up with (someone or something)

- to become even with someone (in a race or in schoolwork etc.)
I think that it is too late to catch up with the rest of the class now.

.



caught in the middle/cross fire

- to be caught between two opposing people or groups so it is difficult to remain
neutral
I was caught in the middle when my friend and his girlfriend had a big fight.

caught short

- to not have enough of something (usually money) when you need it
I was caught short last month and could not pay my credit card bill.

caught unaware

- to be surprised and unprepared for something
Everybody was caught unaware by the sudden change in government policy.


88

cause a stir

- to cause people to become agitated and alarmed about something
The soccer player caused a stir when he began to criticize the referee.

cause eyebrows to raise

- to shock people
I caused eyebrows to raise when I decided not to accept the award from my company.

cause tongues to wag

- to give people something to gossip about
My sister caused tongues to wag when she came to the party without her husband.

cave in

- to weaken and be forced to give something up
The company caved in to the union`s demand for more money.

chalk (something) up to (something)

- to recognize something as the cause of something else
We were able to chalk our success up to our new boat.

chalk up (something)

- to record something
The stock prices of the company chalked up a big increase last week.

champ at the bit

- to be ready and anxious to do something
Everybody was champing at the bit to start writing the test.


89

chance (something)

- to risk doing something
We did not want to chance driving during the storm so we stayed home.

chance upon (someone or something)

- to find someone or something by chance
I chanced upon a very interesting book during my research.

change hands

- to be transferred from one person to another
The small business changed hands many times during the last several years.

change horses in midstream

- to make new plans or choose a new leader in the middle of an important activity
The company changed horses in midstream and totally changed their policy.

change of heart

- a change in the way one feels about something
The woman had a change of heart and decided to let her child go to the circus.

change of pace

- the addition of some variety to one's life
We decided to go to the lake for a change of pace and to get away from our busy
schedules.








90

change of scenery

- a move to a different place where things are different
My sister and her husband have decided to move because they want a change of
scenery.

change one`s mind

- to change one`s decision
My friend changed his mind and said that he would not go to the movie tonight.

change one`s tune

- to make a change in one`s story/statement/opinion/policy
Our supervisor has changed his tune recently and agrees that we need to do things
differently.

change the subject

- to begin talking about something different
I tried to change the subject when my friend began to talk about the money that I
owed him.

in charge of something

- to be responsible for an activity or group of people
Our teacher is in charge of selling tickets for the school dance.

cheat on (someone)

- to be unfaithful to someone
The man began cheating on his wife which was the cause of their divorce.