Commonly used english part 22 ppsx

211

frighten (someone) out of his or her wits

- to frighten someone severely
The little boy was frightened out of his wits by the big dog.

frighten (someone) to death

- to frighten someone severely
I almost frightened the woman to death when I met her on the dark stairs.

frighten the living daylights out of (someone)

- to frighten someone very badly
The horror movie frightened the living daylights out of the young girl.

fritter (something) away

- to waste something little by little
The man frittered away all of the money that he had won in the contest.

from Idioms


from A to Z

- everything about something
The man knows about cars from A to Z.

from cradle to grave

- from birth to death
The government looks after its citizens with good medical care from cradle to grave.



212

from dawn to dusk

- from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun
The farmworkers worked from dawn to dusk everyday in order to pick the lettuce
crop.

from day to day

- one day at a time
We did not know from day to day if the weather would be good enough for the
birthday picnic.

from door to door

- moving from one door to another
The children went from door to door to collect money for the earthquake victims.

from hand to hand

- from one person to another person and then to another
We passed the papers from hand to hand until they were all distributed.

from head to toe

- from the top of one's head to one's feet
The boy was covered in mud from head to toe.

from near and far

- from all around
The people came from near and far to see the new stadium.







213

from now on

- from this moment forward
From now on I will study Italian every day.

from rags to riches

- from poverty to wealth
The family went from rags to riches when oil was discovered on their farm.

from scratch

- from the very beginning
He decided to build the house from scratch.

from side to side

- moving from one side to the other again and again
The boat was rocking from side to side during the big storm.

from start to finish

- from the beginning to the end
The welcoming dinner was a great success from start to finish .

from stem to stern

- from one end to the other, from the front to the back of a ship
The boat was damaged from stem to stern after the big storm.

from the bottom of one`s heart

- with great feeling, sincerely
I thanked the doctor from the bottom of my heart for helping my daughter when she
was sick.


214

from the ground up

- from the beginning (as in building a house or other building or a business)
My uncle built his business from the ground up.

from the heart

- sincerely, honestly
The boy gave his girlfriend some flowers with a message from the heart.

from the outset

- from the beginning
I knew from the outset that the recipe would be loved by everybody.

from the top

- from the beginning
"Let's take it from the top and begin again."

from the word go

- from the beginning
From the word go we knew that there would be problems with the new contract.

from time to time

- occasionally
We go to that restaurant from time to time.

from tip to toe

- from the top to the bottom
We made an effort to clean the statue from tip to toe.


215

from way back

- since a long time ago, for a long time
I know my friend from way back. In fact, we went to elementary school together.

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fruits of one's labor

- the results of one's work
We decided to enjoy the fruits of our labor so we went on a long holiday to Europe.

full-fledged

- complete, having everything that is needed to be something
My cousin became a full-fledged nurse before she went to Saudi Arabia to work for a
year.

full of beans

- to be in high spirits, to be energetic
My aunt is full of beans today. She must be excited about something.

full of hot air

- to be full of nonsense, to be talking nonsense
I knew that the man was full of hot air when he began to tell us how to make lots of
money.

full of it

- to be full of nonsense
I thought that the woman was full of it when she told me that the business was closed.


216

full of oneself

- to be conceited, to be self-important
The girl was full of herself and would only talk about things that were important to
her.

full steam ahead

- with as much energy and enthusiasm as possible
It was full steam ahead with the project to build the new stadium.

fun and games

- a very difficult task (often used ironically)
It was fun and games today when I wrote my two final exams.

funny bone

- the place at the back of the elbow that tingles when hit
I hit my funny bone today and it still hurts a little.

funny business

- illegal activity
The truck driver was involved in some funny business that was probably illegal.

funny ha-ha

- amusing, comical
It was not funny ha-ha but it was still a little bit amusing.





217

G
gain ground

- to go forward, to make progress
The toy company is gaining ground in their effort to sell more products.

game that two can play

- a good or bad strategy that two competing sides can both use
The insults from my friend are a game that two can play and if she wants to continue
then so can I.

gang up on (someone)

- to attack someone in a group
The children tried to gang up on the boy but he ran away.

gas up

- to fill up a gas tank
We must gas up before we leave on our holiday tomorrow.

gear up for (something)

- to prepare for something
The city is gearing up for the Olympic games.

gee whiz

- used as an exclamation to show surprise or other strong feelings
"Gee whiz! Are we really going to go to France for our holiday?"





218

generous to a fault

- to be too generous
My friend is generous to a fault and he sometimes gives too much to his friends.

get Idioms


get a bang out of (someone or something)

- to receive special pleasure from someone or something
My father gets a bang out of the funny birthday cards that we send him.

get a break

- to get an opportunity or good deal
I got a break when my friend sold me his car for a cheap price.

get a bright idea

- to have a clever thought or idea occur to you (often used as sarcasm)
My father got the bright idea that he should buy a motorcycle.

get a checkup

- to receive a physical examination by a doctor
I go to the doctor every year to get a checkup.

get a clean bill of health

- to be pronounced healthy by a doctor
I got a clean bill of health when I went to see the doctor.



219

get a dirty look from (someone)

- to receive a frown from someone
I got a dirty look from the man who was sitting next to my crying child.

get a feel for (something)

- to become accustomed to something and learn how it works, to learn how to do
something
I am beginning to get a feel for my new job.

get a fix on (something)

- to receive a reading of a distant object by electronic means
We were able to get a fix on the island and took the boat safely to the harbor.

get a foothold (somewhere)

- to find a starting point somewhere
The new political party is beginning to get a foothold in the big cities.

get a grasp of (something)

- to begin to understand something
I am beginning to get a grasp of how to operate the new computer system.

get a grip of oneself

- to take control of one`s feelings
The man got a grip of himself and calmed down.

get a head start (on someone or something)

- to start earlier than someone or something, to start earlier than usual
We tried to get a head start on our holiday.


220

get a kick out of (someone or something)

- to enjoy someone or something
My father got a kick out of seeing his old school friend.

get a load of (someone or something)

- to take a good look at someone or something
"Get a load of that man over there with the four dogs."

get a load off one's feet

- to sit down and relax
I sat down and tried to get a load off my feet.

get a load off one's mind

- to express what one is thinking or worried about
I talked with my supervisor and was able to get a load off my mind regarding our
recent conflict.

get a lot of mileage out of (something)

- to get much use from something (like a car)
I hope to get a lot of mileage out of the new sneakers that I bought last week.

get a lump in one's throat

- to feel like there is something in one's throat (like you are going to cry)
My sister got a lump in her throat when she watched her daughter's graduation.

get a move on

- to hurry up
"Please get a move on. We are already three hours late."