Commonly used english part 23 ppt

221

get a raw deal

- to receive unfair or bad treatment
The secretary got a raw deal when she was forced to work late everyday.

get a rise out of (someone)

- to tease or have fun with someone by making him or her angry or annoyed
We got a rise out of the teacher when we opened the window in the cold weather.

get a slap on the wrist

- to receive a light punishment for doing something wrong
The judge gave the boy a slap on the wrist and decided not to punish him severely for
his crime.

get a suntan

- to make your skin browner/darker by exposing it to the rays of the sun
The girl went to the beach to get a suntan.

get a toehold (somewhere)

- to find a starting point somewhere
The new political party is beginning to get a toehold in rural areas.

get a whiff of (something)

- to learn a little about something (almost by chance)
Whenever the reporters get a whiff of a scandal they become excited and start asking
questions.







222

get a wiggle on

- to hurry up, to get going
"Get a wiggle on. I want to arrive at the party before the other guests."

get a word in

- to find a chance to say something when others are talking
The customer could not get a word in while talking to the salesman.

get a word in edgewise

- to manage to join a conversation
I could not get a word in edgewise so I left the meeting.

get across (something) to (someone)

- to explain or say something so that someone can understand it

It was difficult to get across the importance of the school safety rules to the children.

get after (someone) to do (something)

- to urge someone to do something that he or she should do but has neglected
I will get after the repairman to fix the computer as soon as he returns.

get ahead

- to advance or be successful
The woman works hard at her job in order to get ahead.

get ahead of (oneself)

- to do or say something sooner than you should
I was getting ahead of myself when I started asking questions about the job that I did
not have.


223

get ahold of (someone or something)

- to make contact with someone, to obtain something
I have been trying very hard to get ahold of my old high school teacher.

get along

- to leave
It`s late so I must get along now.

get along in years

- to grow older
My parents are getting along in years but they are still very healthy.

get along on (something)

- to manage to survive or do well with something
My friend is able to get along on very little money.
The young woman gets along on her good looks very well.

get along on a shoestring

- to manage with very little money
I had to get along on a shoestring during university.

get along (with someone)

- to have a good relationship with someone
I get along with everybody at my company.

get an earful

- to hear much talk/criticism/complaints about something
Our boss got an earful when he asked the employees if they had any complaints.


224

get around

- to go to different places, to move about
My friend gets around and has been to many different cities.

get around to (do something)

- to finally find time to do something
The apartment manager finally got around to fixing our bath.

get at (someone or something)

- to attack or hit someone or something
Our dog tried to get at the other dog.

get at (something)

- to mean something
I do not know what the man was trying to get at during the meeting.

get away

- to succeed in leaving, to escape
I was able to get away from work early so I went shopping.

get away from it all

- to go on a holiday
We want to get away from it all this summer and relax somewhere.

get away with murder

- to do something very bad without being caught or punished
The students were able to get away with murder while the substitute teacher was in
the school.


225

get away with (something)

- to do something that one should not do and not get caught
The criminal got away with stealing the money and was never caught.

get back

- to return
We got back from London early yesterday afternoon.

get back at (someone)

- to do something bad to someone who has done something bad to you
The girl is angry at her boyfriend and she is getting back at him by not answering the
telephone.

get back to (someone)

- to communicate something to someone at a later time, to contact someone later
We were very careful that our complaints did not get back to the school principal.

get back to (something)

- to return to something
I needed a rest before I could get back to my work.

get back together (with someone)

- to resume a relationship or marriage after separating
The couple got back together after separating for three months.

get behind

- to fail to maintain a desired pace or level of progress, to become late
If you get behind with your homework you will never pass many courses.


226

get behind (a person or idea)

- to support/help someone or something
Many people decided to get behind the candidate who promised to cut taxes.

get better

- to improve one's skill at doing something, to improve one's health
The little boy is getting better at riding his bicycle.

get by (on something)

- to be able to satisfy your needs with a certain amount of something (usually related
to money)
The man is able to get by on his salary because he does not spend much money.

get carried away

- to be overcome by emotion or enthusiasm, to lose one's control or judgement
I got carried away yesterday and cleaned all of my apartment.

get close to (someone)

- to become close friends with someone
The woman tried very hard to get close to her youngest daughter.

get close to (something)

- to be almost as good as something, to almost reach or arrive at a goal
The charity is getting close to the final amount of money that they expect to collect.

get cold feet

- to become afraid at the last minute
The student got cold feet and cancelled his plans to go to China.


227

get cracking

- to hurry up, to start moving fast, to get started

We must get cracking on this job if we want to finish it before dinner.

get down to brass tacks

- to begin discussing/doing something immediately
"Let`s get down to brass tacks and finish this job quickly."

get down to business

- to begin to get serious
When the meeting began everybody got down to business and began to discuss the
important issues.

get down to (something)

- to get started to do something
"Let`s get down to work so we can go home early."

get down to the nitty-gritty

- to get down to the facts
The teacher called us into her office to get down to the nitty-gritty of what had
happened earlier.

get dressed up

- to put on one's best clothes
I usually get dressed up when I go to a nice restaurant.

228

get engaged (to/with someone)

- to make a plan to marry someone
My cousin decided to get engaged last month.

get even (with someone)

- to get revenge on someone
My sister wants to get even with her friend for being late for the concert.

the get-go

- the beginning
Right from the get-go I did not like the new manager.

get going

- to begin, to act, to go
"Let's get going and begin to clean the house."

get going

- to become excited/angry

When the man gets going he will never stop complaining.

get hold of (someone)

- to find a person so that you can speak with him or her
I tried to get hold of my brother last week but he was out of town.

get hold of (something)

- to get possession of something
"If you get hold of a dictionary, could you please let me borrow it for a few minutes."


229

get in on (something)

- to become involved in something
My friend wants to get in on the planning of the summer festival.

get in on the ground floor

- to start at the beginning of something (in hopes of future gain)
I am hoping to get in on the ground floor of the new company.

get in (someone's) hair

- to bother or irritate someone
The woman complained that her young child was always getting in her hair.

get in touch with someone

- to contact someone
I plan to get in touch with my friend when I arrive in New York in August.

get into

- to enter, to go into something
I do not want any water to get into my car.

get into a class/college/university

- to secure a place in a class/college/university
My friend wants to get into a good university.

get into a jam

- to become involved in trouble or a problem
I got into a jam when I lost the keys to my apartment.


230

get into a stew about/over (someone or something)

- to be worried or upset about someone or something
My mother is getting into a stew about my aunt not phoning.

get into hot water

- to get into trouble or difficulty
We got into hot water when they found us in the building after it had closed.

get into (something)

- to become involved in something, to become interested in something
I did not want to get into a conversation with the strange man.
Recently, I have started to get into jazz music.

get into the act

- to try to be part of whatever is happening
Everybody at the party wanted to get into the act and join the singers.

get into the swing of things

- to adapt to a new environment or situation
My friend got into the swing of things after the party started.

get into trouble

- to become involved in some kind of trouble
The young boys try not to get into trouble when they are left at home alone.

get involved with (someone)

- to become associated with someone (often romantically)
The bank teller got involved with the bank manager several months ago .