Commonly used english part 50 pdf

491

live beyond one's means

- spend more money than one can afford
The couple have been living beyond their means and are now in serious financial
difficulty.

live by one's wits

- survive by being clever
The boy lives by his wits and never has any problems dealing with life.

live down (something)

- remove blame or distrust by good conduct, cause something to be forgiven by not
repeating it
Our supervisor is trying to live down his reputation of being a hard person to work
for.

live for the moment

- live without planning for the future
The young man lives for the moment and has no money saved for the future.

live from hand to mouth

- live on little money and in poor circumstances
Her brother is an artist and must live from hand to mouth because he has no money.

live happily ever after

- live in happiness after a specific event
It was a very beautiful movie and in the end everybody lived happily ever after.






492

live high on/off the hog

- live very luxuriously or comfortably
He has been living high on the hog since he won the money in the lottery.

live in

- live at the place where one works
The young woman got a job where she could live in with a family with three children.

live in an ivory tower

- be unaware of the realities of everyday life
The university professor lives in an ivory tower and does not seem to understand what
is going on in the world.

live it up

- have a good time
He likes to live it up every weekend when he gets paid.

live off the fat of the land

- grow and live on one's own food
The early pioneers went to the mountain valley and were able to live off the fat of the
land.

live on borrowed time

- continue to live/operate longer than circumstances would suggest
My old car has been living on borrowed time for a long time now.







493

live out of a suitcase

- stay away from your home while travelling with only the belongings in your suitcase
I dislike my job because I am often away from home and must live out of a suitcase.

live (something) down

- overcome the shame or embarrassment of something

It was difficult for the woman to live down the embarrassment and shame of the fact
that she had stolen some money at her job.

live through (something)

- endure something
The people in the town lived through one of the worst disasters in many years.

live up to one's end of the bargain

- do as was promised in a bargain
The young boy did not live up to his end of the bargain when he did not make an
effort to finish his homework before watching television.

live up to (something)

- act according to something, fulfill expectations
He is trying very hard to live up to his reputation as a smart busnessman.

live within one's means

- spend no more money than one has
The young couple work hard to live within their means and they always have lots of
money to spend.

494

the living end

- great, fantastic, the ultimate
My sister said that her new boyfriend was the living end.

loaded

- have lots of money
My new boss is really loaded.

lock horns with (someone)

- get into an argument with someone
I locked horns with a woman who I work with and we had a big argument last week.

lock (something) in

- make something (such as a rate of interest) permanent over a period of time
We locked in the mortgage of our house for a period of five years because the interest
rates were low.

lock, stock, and barrel

- everything
The small corner store went out of business and sold everything lock, stock, and
barrel.

lock the barn door after the horse is stolen

- be careful or try to make something safe after it is too late
If you try and prevent a flood after the rains have started it is like locking the barn
door after the horse is stolen.






495

lock (something) up

- to be assured of success
The candidate has already locked up the nomination to be a candidate in the next
election.

long and the short of it

- all the facts, the whole story
I phoned my friend and he told me the long and the short of it regarding the reason
why he got fired.

long face

- a sad look, a disappointed look
He had a long face when he came into work this morning. Something must have
happened to him.

a long haul

- a long distance or trip
He is a long-haul trucker and is always out of town working.

the long haul

- a long period of time during which work continues or something is done
He has decided to stay here for the long haul and will not return to his home.

a long shot

- a bet or other risk taken though not likely to succeed
It was a long shot that he would get the job so he was very happy when he did get it.






496

look Idioms
look a gift horse in the mouth

- complain if a gift is not perfect
"Even if you don`t like the present from your company you shouldn`t complain.
Remember, don`t look a gift horse in the mouth."

look after (someone)

- take care or attend to someone
She has been looking after her mother since her mother's recent illness.

look at (someone) cross-eyed

- look at someone provocatively
When the man in the bus looked at the other man cross-eyed they seemed like they
were going to have a fight.

look at the world through rose-colored glasses

- see only the good things about something, be too optimistic
I told my friend to be more realistic and not to always look at the world through rose-
colored glasses.

look down on (someone or something)

- regard someone or something with contempt or a feeling of superiority
My cousin looks down on the activities and life of most small towns.

look down one`s nose at (someone or something)

- show your dislike of someone or something
He always looks down his nose at the other members of his class.



497

look for (something)

- try to find something, hunt/search for something
She has been looking for her credit card all morning but she can`t find it.

look for (something to happen)

- think/expect that something is likely to happen
They are looking for our manager to become the next sales director of the company.

look for trouble

- do something that may cause trouble
The young boys spend every Saturday evening walking around and looking for
trouble.

look forward to (something)

- anticipate something with pleasure
We have been looking forward to the concert for a long time.

look good on paper

- something appears to be a good plan (but maybe not in actual practice)
My supervisor's plan looks good on paper but in reality I don't think that it will be
successful.

look high and low for (someone or something)

- look carefully in every possible place for someone or something

We looked high and low for my grandmother's hearing aide but we could not find it.







498

look in on (someone)

- go to see someone, make a short visit to someone, make a call on someone to see if
they are doing well
"Could you please look in on the baby and see if she is sleeping."

look into (something)

- investigate or check something
They have been looking into the cause of the accident for many months.

look like a million dollars

- look well and prosperous, appear healthy and happy
He looked like a million dollars when I saw him at the party last weekend.

look like death warmed over

- look very ill
The elderly man looked like death warmed over when he went to the hospital.

look like (something)

- to predict something
It looks like it is going to rain this evening.

look like something the cat dragged in

- look very shabby or worn
My friend looked like something the cat dragged in when he arrived home from work
last night.







499

look like the cat that ate/swallowed the canary

- seem very self-satisified, look like you have just had some kind of success
He looked like the cat that ate the canary when he came in with a smile on his face
after receiving his special bonus.

look on

- be a spectator
There were many people who gathered to look on after the car accident.

look on (someone) as (something)

- view or think of someone as something
Everybody in our neighborhood looks on my neighbor as someone to talk to if they
have a problem.

look out

- take care, be careful, be on guard
"Look out! There is a large truck coming down the highway."

look out for (someone)

- provide protection and care for someone
"Please look out for my sister when she stays with you this summer."

look out for (someone or something)

- be alert or watchful, keep looking for something
"Could you please look out for any old vinyl records that you may find."







500

look over (something)

- inspect/survey/examine something
"Please take some time to look over these documents before you sign them."

look (someone) in the eye/face

- face someone directly
I looked the man in the eye when I asked him to move his car out of my way.

look (someone) up

- seek and find someone
When I was in New York City I looked up my friend from university.

look the other way

- ignore something
Our boss looks the other way when his staff are one or two minutes late.

look through (something)

- to search through something, to examine something with one's eyes
I looked through my desk for my house keys.

look through (something)

- to see through something like a window
I looked through the window at the beautiful sunset.

look to (someone)

- depend on someone, go to someone for help
My friend looks to his mother for help when he has a problem.