Commonly used english part 75 potx

741

run off at the mouth

- to talk excessively
My classmate is always running off at the mouth about something.

run off copies of (something)

- to produce copies with a printing press or a copy machine
We ran off many copies of the poster for the festival.

run off with (someone)

- to go away with someone, to elope with someone
My sister ran off with her boyfriend and got married when she was quite young.

run out of patience

- to become annoyed after being patient for a period of time
The mother has run out of patience with her son.
run out of (something)

- to use all of something
The car ran out of gas in the countryside.

run out of time

- to use up all the available time
We ran out of time at the meeting so we could not discuss the staffing issue.

run over (someone or something)

- to drive on top of someone or something
We ran over a rabbit on the way to the meeting.



742

run over (something)

- to be too full and flow over the edge
The water ran over the edge of the bathtub and got everything in the room wet.

run over (something)

- to read/go over something quickly, to practice something briefly
We plan to run over the material before the meeting.

run ragged

- to be tired or exhausted
The woman is being run ragged by her three children.

run rampant

- to run or grow out of control
The use of illegal taxis is running rampant in our city.

run riot/wild

- to go out of control
The soccer fans ran riot after the game.

run scared

- to behave as if one were going to fail/lose
The politician has been running scared in his attempt to win re-election.

run short of (something)

- to not have enough of something
We ran short of money during our trip to Europe.


743

run (someone) in

- to take someone to jail, to arrest someone
The police ran the man in for questioning about the robbery.

run (someone) out

- to force someone to leave, to expel someone
The police ran the drug dealers out of town.

run (something) by (someone) again

- to say something again
I asked my colleague to run his ideas by me again.

run (something) into the ground

- to use something more than is wanted or needed, to neglect something
He ran his car into the ground and had to buy another one.

run the gauntlet

- to face a hard test or painful experience
I had to run the gauntlet of many interviews before I got the job.

run the good race

- to do the best that one can
The politician ran the good race but in the end he lost the election.

run through (money or something)

- to spend money recklessly, to use up something wastefully
We ran through a lot of money when we bought furniture for our new apartment.


744

run through (something)

- to read or practice something from the beginning to the end without stopping
I usually try to run through my speech a couple of times before I have to give it.

run to (an amount of money)

- to amount to a certain amount of money
The cost of repairing my car may run to more money than I can pay.

run/go to seed

- to become worn-out and uncared for
The small store has run to seed and few people like to go there now.

run up

- to add to the amount of something
We ran up a large bill at the department store before we went home.

run up (something)

- to pull something up on a rope
We ran up the flag early this morning before the parade began.

run up against (something)

- to encounter something
The city ran up against many problems when they were building the freeway.

run wild

- to be or go out of control
The crowd ran wild after the soccer game.

745

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to be running high

- to have one's feelings in a state of excitement or anger
Feelings about the train accident are running high and the government must give an
explanation about what happened.

a rush on (something)

- a large demand for something
There was a rush on candles after the electricity went off for three days.

Russian roulette

- a game of chance in which one bullet is placed in a revolver and the cartridge is spun
and the player aims the gun at his head and pulls the trigger
The men in the movie played Russian roulette until one of them finally died.

Russian roulette

- a potentially dangerous situation
Putting the dangerous chemicals on the old ship was like playing a game of Russian

roulette.
rustle (something) up

- to find and prepare some food etc.
We went home after the game and began to rustle up some dinner.





746

S
sack out

- to go to bed, to go to sleep
I sacked out as soon as I arrived home last evening.

a sacred cow

- something that is never criticized or laughed at even if it sometimes deserves to be
The medical insurance system is a sacred cow of the government and is never
criticized by anyone.

sadder but wiser

- unhappy about something but having learned something from the experience
The man was sadder but wiser after he learned that his wallet had been stolen.

saddle (someone) with (something)

- to give someone something undesirable or difficult to deal with
I try not to saddle my friend with the problems that I am having at work.

safe and sound

- to be safe/whole/healthy
We arrived at our destination safe and sound after a long journey.

to be on the safe side

- to take no chances
It may rain so to be on the safe side I think that I will bring my umbrella.





747

safety in numbers

- to feel safe by being surrounded by a large number of people
There was safety in numbers when the students went to complain to the principal
about their new teacher.

sage advice

- very good and wise advice
I waited for my friend to ask me for my sage advice regarding his problems.

sail into (someone)

- to scold or criticize someone very hard, to attack someone
When I entered the office my supervisor sailed into me for being late.

sail right through (something)

- to finish something quickly and easily
I was able to sail right through the material for my final exam.

sail under false colors

- to pretend to be something that one is not
The politician was sailing under false colors when he appealed to the citizens for
votes.

salt away money

- to save money
My friend has salted away much money from her new job.







748

salt of the earth

- basic and fundamentally good people
The members of our club are all the salt of the earth and are fun to spend time with.

same as (someone or something)

- to be identical to someone or something
My sister is exactly the same as the girl who lives down the block.

Same here!

- Me too! I agree!
"Same here," I replied when someone said that they were having problems with their
Internet provider.

same old story

- something that occurs or has occurred in the same way before
It is always the same old story with my friend. He borrows money but he never wants
to pay it back.

same to you

- the same comment applies to you
"The same to you," the boy said when his friend said that he was stupid.

sands of time

- the accumulated tiny amounts of time (like the sand in an hourglass)

The sands of time have done much to change the woman's attitude toward her sister.







749

save face

- to preserve one`s good reputation or dignity when something has happened to hurt it
Our boss was very embarrassed when our company lost a lot of money. However, he
was able to save face when he showed that the problems were outside of his control.

save one`s breath

- to remain silent because talking will do no good
You may as well save your breath and not talk to her as she will not believe you
anyway.

save one`s neck/skin

- to save oneself from danger or trouble
The man left the scene of the fire as soon as possible in order to save his neck.

save (something) for a rainy day

- to reserve something/money for the future

I always try to save some money for a rainy day when I get paid.

save the day

- to bring about victory or success (when defeat is likely)
The player saved the day for his team when he played his best game of the season.

save up for (something)

- to save money in order to buy something
My friend's brother is saving up for a new digital camera.







750

saved by the bell

- to be rescued from a difficult situation just in time by something that brings the
situation to a sudden end
I was saved by the bell and do not have to give my presentation until tomorrow.

saving grace

- something that saves someone or something that would otherwise be a total disaster
The man's saving grace was his mathematical ability. His other personality traits were

very strange.


say Idioms


say a mouthful

- to say something of great importance/meaning/length
"You certainly said a mouthful," I said when my friend began to tell me about his
complaint.

say grace

- to say a prayer of thanks before or after a meal
The bride's father was asked to say grace before the wedding banquet.

say one`s piece

- to say openly what one thinks
I said my piece at the meeting and then left quietly by the back door.