Commonly used english part 74 ppsx

731

rough-and-tumble

- to be rough, a hard fighting or arguing style that does not follow any rules or laws
It was a rough-and-tumble meeting at the city planning office last night.

a rough guess

- an approximate estimate/guess
I made a rough guess about how many people would come to the party.

rough it

- to live in uncomfortable conditions without the usual comforts (such as on a
camping trip)
We were forced to rough it for a few days when the storm knocked out the electricity
supply.

rough up (someone)

- to attack or hurt someone physically
The three men roughed up the waiter at the hotel and were arrested by the police.


round Idioms
round off (something)

- to change a number to the next higher or lower whole number
We rounded off the figure as it was much too big.

round out (something)

- to finish something by doing something special
We rounded out the celebration with a meal in a restaurant.



732

round-robin letter

- a letter written by a group of people with each person writing part of the letter
We sent a round-robin letter to the other members of the staff to try and get help for
the annual flea market.

round-robin meeting/discussion/debate

- a meeting or discussion in which each person in a group takes part
We had a round-robin panel discussion on what we could do to help protect the
environment.

round-robin tournament/contest

- a game or contest in which each player or team plays every other player or team in
turn
A round-robin tournament was held in order to choose the best team in the city.

round-trip ticket

- a train/bus/plane ticket that allows one to go to the destination and return home
We purchased a round-trip ticket because it was cheaper than a one-way ticket.

round up (someone or something)

- to bring together or collect someone or something
We were able to round up enough people to play a game of soccer last night.













733

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royal treatment

- very good treatment
My parents received the royal treatment when they went to visit their relatives.

rub Idioms
rub elbows/shoulders with (someone)

- to be in the same place as other people, to meet and mix with other people
At the party we were able to rub shoulders with many important people.

rub off on (someone)

- to transmit a characteristic of one person to someone else
The woman's habit of talking all the time has rubbed off on her friend as well.

rub out (someone or something)

- to destroy something completely, to kill/eliminate someone
The government troops rubbed out the entire village.

rub salt in (someone's) wound

- to deliberately make someone's unhappiness/shame/misfortune worse
My supervisor rubbed salt in my wound when he continued to criticize me for my
mistake.






734

rub (someone's) nose in it

- to remind someone of something that he or she has done wrong
Our supervisor always likes to rub our nose in it if we make a mistake.

rub (someone) the wrong way

- to irritate others with something that one says or does
The woman's rude behavior always rubs me the wrong way.

rub (something) in

- to talk or joke about something that someone said or did
"I know that I made a mistake but you should not rub it in."

rub (something) off

- to remove or to be removed by rubbing, to erase something
The teacher rubbed off the writing on the whiteboard.


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ruffle feathers

- to point feathers outward (used for a bird)
The bird ruffled its feathers as the cat approached the cage.

ruffle (someone's) feathers

- to upset or annoy someone
I do not want to ruffle my friend's feathers as he is in a bad mood today.



735

ruin of (someone or something)

- the cause of someone's destruction/failure
I think that the poor business skills of my uncle will be the ruin of him.

a rule of thumb

- a basic or accepted pattern or rule
It is a rule of thumb in the fire department that nobody goes into a burning building by
themselves.

rule out (someone or something)

- to decide against or eliminate someone or something
They still have not ruled out using the new player during the tournament.

rule the roost

- to be the dominant figure in a family
The woman seems rather quiet but she rules the roost in her family.

rump session

- a meeting held after a larger meeting
After the convention I attended a rump session which was very interesting.


run Idioms
run a fever/temperature

- to have a body temperature higher than normal
The little boy was running a fever so his parents decided to call the doctor.




736

run a risk of (something)

- to be open to danger or loss
You run a risk of going to jail if you drive after drinking.

run a tight ship

- to run an organization/one's life/a ship in an orderly and disciplined manner
My friend runs a tight ship and makes few mistakes in his life.

run afoul of (someone or something)

- to get into trouble with someone or something
The young man ran afoul of the law and got into much trouble.

run after (someone) or (something)

- to chase someone
The young boys were running after the small dog.

run an errand

- to take a short trip to do a specific thing
I was late for work because I had to run an errand in the morning.

run around

- to go to various places to do things
We ran around all day and now we are very tired.

run around in circles

- to act confused, to do a lot but accomplish little
I have been running around in circles all day but I can`t seem to get anything done.


737

run around like a chicken with its head cut off

- to be in a state of chaos, to run around with what seems to be no purpose
I spent the morning running around like a chicken with its head cut off when I heard

that my mother was in the hospital.

run around with (someone)

- to be friends and do things with someone or with a group
My cousin's son is running around with a bad group of people.

run away with (someone)

- to go away with someone, to elope with someone
The girl ran away with her boyfriend and got married.

run away with (someone)

- to take hold of someone
Their imagination ran away with the boys when they went to the circus and then
decided that they wanted to join the circus.

run away with (something)

- to take something quickly and secretly without permission or by stealing
Someone ran away with the new computer so now we do not have one.

run away with (something)

- to be much better than others, to win easily
Our hometown team ran away with the football championship.

738

run circles/rings around (someone)

- to outrun/outdo someone
The young boy is able to run circles around the others in his school.

run counter to (something)

- to be in opposition to something
The actions of the manager run counter to what he has always said that he believes.

run down (someone or something)

- to crash against and knock down someone or something
A car ran down my dog last week.

run down (someone)

- to say bad things about someone, to criticize someone
The girl is always running down her friends. That is why nobody likes her.

to be run down

- to get into poor health or condition, to look bad
My friend has become run down since she started working at night.

run for it

- to dash for safety, to make a speedy escape
When it started raining we ran for it and tried to get to the bus shelter.

run for one's life

- to run away to save one's life
I ran for my life when I met the bear on the camping trip.


739

run hot and cold

- to be sometimes good/useful/effective/positive and sometimes the opposite
The reviews of the new movie are running hot and cold and I do not know if I will go
to see it.

run in (somewhere)

- to make a brief visit or stop somewhere
I ran in to see my sister at her office before I left for the weekend.

run in the family

- to be a common family characteristic
Being a left-handed golfer runs in our family.

run into a brick wall

- to come to a barrier against further progress
I run into a brick wall whenever I try to talk to my boss about a problem at work.

run into (someone)

- to meet someone by chance
I ran into my cousin when I was at the supermarket.

run into (someone or something)

- to hit someone or something, to crash into someone or something
The car ran into the truck on the highway.








740

run into (something)

- to add up to something, to total something
If you decide to stay in expensive hotels during your holiday it will run into a lot of
money.

run into (something)

- to mix with something, to join with something
During the hot weather the red paint ran into the white paint.

run into (something - a fact/difficulty/problems/trouble)

- to experience something, to encounter something
I ran into trouble when I tried to cross the border with no visa.
I ran into several facts about dinosaurs last night.

run like clockwork

- to run or progress very well
The new production system runs like clockwork.

run low on (something)

- to near the end of a supply of something
We are running low on rice so I must buy some soon.

run-of-the-mill

- ordinary, usual
The restaurant was in a run-of-the-mill building but the food was superb.