Commonly used english part 26 potx

251

give credence to (someone or something)

- to believe someone or something, to credit someone or something
We did not want to give credence to the man's statement so we did not respond to it.

give credit where credit is due

- to acknowledge or thank someone who deserves it
We gave credit where credit is due and thanked the cook for her hard work.

give free rein to (someone or something)

- to allow someone to be completely in charge of something, to give someone or
something freedom
The man was given free rein to do what he wanted in his new job.

give ground

- to move back, to retreat, to stop opposing someone
Our boss refused to give ground on his plan to change the system of office
management.

give in to (someone or something)

- to give someone his or her own way, to stop opposing someone or something
The company gave in to the union`s demand for more money.

give it to (someone)

- to punish or scold someone
The father gave it to his son when the boy came back late with the car.







252

give it to (someone) straight

- to tell something to someone directly
My boss gave it to me straight about my chance to get a promotion.

give off (something)

- to send out a smell or something, to produce a smell or something
The garbage was beginning to give off a bad smell because of the hot weather.

give one`s right arm

- to give something of great value
I would give my right arm to be able to go to Italy with my friends.

give oneself away

- to show guilt, to show that you have done wrong

The girl gave herself away when she said that she had not been downtown although
her boyfriend had seen her there.

give oneself up

- to surrender, to stop hiding or running away
The robbers gave themselves up when the police surrounded the house.

give oneself up to (something)

- to let oneself enjoy something, to not hold oneself back from something
The man gave himself up to enjoy the party although he was feeling sick.

give or take (a certain amount of something)

- plus or minus a small amount
I think that the man is about 45 years old give or take five years.


253

give out

- to fail, to wear out
We went hiking last week but my legs gave out so we had to return early.

give out

- to be gone, to finish
We went camping for a week but our food gave out after only three days.

give out (a sound)

- to utter a sound
The girl gave out a loud scream when she saw the spider.

give out (something)

- to give something to people, to distribute something
We gave out more than six hundred balloons at the shopping center.

give rise to (something)

- to cause something
The problems with the heating system gave rise to several other problems.

give (someone) a black eye

- to hit someone near the eye so it becomes dark, to harm someone's reputation
I bumped into the door and it gave me a black eye.

give (someone) a blank check

- to give someone the freedom or permission to do what they think is necessary
The new coach was given a blank check by the university to try and improve the
team.


254

give (someone) a break

- to give someone a chance
We decided to give the woman a break and not complain about her bad manners.

give (someone) a bum steer

- to make a misleading suggestion
The store owner gave the police a bum steer when he told them where the robber may
have gone.

give (someone) a clean bill of health

- to declare that someone is healthy (usually done by a doctor)
My doctor gave me a clean bill of health during my recent checkup.

give (someone) a dirty look

- to frown or make an angry face at someone
I gave the woman a dirty look when she talked loudly on her cell phone.

give (someone) a fair shake

- to treat someone fairly
Our company tries to give everyone a fair shake.

give (someone) a free hand (with something)

- to give someone complete control over something
The city gave the homeowners a free hand to plan the new playground.

give (someone) a hand

- to help someone do something
"Please give me a hand to move this piano."


255

give (someone) a hard time

- to tease someone, to make trouble for someone
The girl gave her boyfriend a hard time about his new haircut.
The new supervisor is giving me a hard time.

give (someone) a head start

- to allow someone to start earlier than others
We gave my friend a head start in the treasure hunting contest.

give (someone) a piece of one's mind

- to scold or become angry with someone
When I met my friend yesterday, I gave her a piece of my mind.

give (someone) a ring/buzz

- to call someone on the telephone
I plan to give my friend a ring when I get home tonight.

give (someone) a run for their money

- to give someone a challenge
Our team gave the stronger teams a run for their money during the championship
finals.
give (someone) a start

- to startle or surprise someone
The dog gave me a start when it suddenly appeared.

give (someone) an earful

- to scold someone, to tell someone much information (usually in an angry way)
I gave my sister an earful when she phoned me.


256

give (someone) an inch and they will take a mile

- if you give someone a little they will want more, some people are never satisfied
If you give the children an inch they will take a mile so you should be strict
sometimes.

give (someone) credit for (something)

- to acknowledge or thank someone for something that they have done
Everybody gave the man credit for saving the life of the girl.

give (someone) enough rope and he or she will hang themself

- give someone enough time and freedom to do what they want and they will make a
mistake or get into trouble and be caught
"Don`t worry about trying to fight him. If you give him enough rope he will hang
himself."

give (someone) one`s word

- to make a promise to someone
My friend gave me his word that he would meet me at the library.

give (someone) pause to think

- to cause someone to stop and think
The accident on the highway gave everyone pause to think.

give (someone) the ax

- to fire an employee
We gave the new employee the ax because he was always late for work.






257

give (someone) the benefit of the doubt

- to assume/believe that someone is right or innocent of something
I gave the man the benefit of the doubt but I still think that he is lying.

give (someone) the boot

- to fire someone, to force someone to leave a place
The manager gave our friend the boot when he began yelling in the restaurant.

give (someone) the brush-off

- to send someone away, to ignore someone
I gave the woman the brush-off when I saw her in the supermarket.

give (someone) the bum's rush

- to make someone leave a place quickly
The club owner gave us the bum's rush when we began to make too much noise.

give (someone) the cold shoulder

- to be unfriendly to someone
I gave the woman the cold shoulder at the party.

give (someone) the creeps

- to make someone feel uncomfortable
The girl next door is very strange. She gives me the creeps.

give (someone) the eye

- to look or stare at someone (especially in a cold or unfriendly way)
The store manager began to give me the eye so I left.


258

give (someone) the green light/the go-ahead

- to give someone permission to begin a project
The city gave us the green light to begin work on the new housing project.

give (someone) the low-down (on someone or something)

- to tell someone the full story about someone or something
I gave my friend the low-down on our plans for the weekend.

give (someone or something) the once-over

- to visually examine someone or something quickly
We gave the man the once-over when he walked into the restaurant.

give (someone) the red-carpet treatment

- to give someone very special treatment
The city gave the politician the red-carpet treatment when he came for a visit.

give (someone) the runaround

- to give excuses and delays to someone
We tried to get a refund for our airplane tickets but the company gave us the

runaround.

give (someone) the shirt off one's back

- to be very generous to someone
My uncle is very kind and he will give you the shirt off his back.

give (someone) the slip

- to escape from someone
The bank robbers tried to give the police the slip but they were soon caught.


259

give (someone) the third degree

- to question someone in great detail
The woman gave her son the third degree when he returned home.

give (someone) their due

- to give someone the credit that they deserve
You have to give our company president his due. He has saved the company from
bankruptcy.

give (someone) what's coming to him or her

- to give someone what they deserve
I gave my neighbor what's coming to her when I complained to the police about her

dog.

give (something) a shot

- to try something
I plan to give golfing a shot during my summer holidays.

give (something) a whirl

- to attempt to do something
I decided to give singing a whirl so I joined a singing club.

give (something) one's best shot

- to try very hard
I plan to give the new job my best shot.







260

give the devil his due

- to give credit to someone who deserves it even if you dislike him or her
I do not like to work with my coworker because he is lazy. However, you have to give
the devil his due. He always gets the job done.

give up

- to abandon/stop something
I have decided to give up my plan to work in Hong Kong for a year.

give up the ghost

- to stop working, to die
My old car finally gave up the ghost so I must buy another one.

give up the ship

- to stop fighting, to stop trying or hoping to do something
"Please don`t give up the ship and quit this company. You still have a useful role to
play."

give voice to (one's feelings)

- to express what one feels or thinks
The man has begun to give voice to his feelings about his new job.

give way

- to collapse, to fail
The dam gave way and the water flooded the farmland below.