Commonly-Used Idioms, Sayings and phrasal verbs - "T" Idioms doc

858

T
table a motion

- to postpone the discussion of something during a meeting
We tabled a motion to discuss the safety issue at another time.

tag along with (someone)

- to go with someone, to follow along with someone
The little boy tagged along with his older brother when they went to the beach.

tail between one`s legs

- feeling ashamed or beaten
The salesman resigned from his company with his tail between his legs after he told a
lie about his expense account.

tail wagging the dog

- a situation where a small part controls the whole thing
It is like the tail wagging the dog when the receptionist is able to control everything in
the office.


take Idioms


take a backseat to (someone or something)

- to accept a poorer or lower position than someone, to be second to someone or
something
I had to take a backseat to my boss when we went on the business trip.




859

take a bath (on something)

- to come to financial ruin, to lose much money on something
My aunt took a bath on the stock market last year and she is afraid to buy stocks now.

take a beating

- to lose money
My father took a beating when he sold his car.

take a bow

- to bow and receive credit for a good performance
The violinist stopped to take a bow before she went backstage with the orchestra.

take a break

- to have a short rest period in one's work
I stopped to take a break after working all morning.

take a chance/risk

- to try something where failure or bad fortune is likely
I plan to take a chance and visit my friend without phoning first.

take a course in (something)

- to enroll in a class to study/learn something
I am planning to take a course in photography next year.

take a crack at (something)

- to try/attempt to do something
"Have you decided to take a crack at writing the entrance examination?"


860

take a dig at (someone)

- to criticize someone, to say something that will irritate someone
The man is always taking a dig at his wife.

take a dim view of (something)

- to be against something, to disapprove of something
Our company takes a dim view of people who do not wear a suit and tie.

take a fancy/liking to (someone or something)

- to develop a fondness or a preference for someone or something
The woman took a fancy to the new person who she was working with.

take a gander at (someone or something)

- to examine someone or something
I asked the car mechanic to take a gander at the steering system on my car.

take a hand in (something)

- to help plan or do something
The man is always ready to take a hand in any work that needs to be done.

take a hard line (with someone)

- to be firm with someone, to have a firm policy for dealing with someone
The company takes a hard line with people who come to work late.

take a hint

- to understand what is hinted at and behave accordingly
The man is unable to take a hint and does not notice when people are angry at him.


861

take a leaf out of (someone's) book

- to behave or do something in the way that someone else would
We plan to take a leaf out of our competitor's book and advertise our product on the

Internet.

take a leak

- to urinate
The man stopped at the side of the road to take a leak when he was walking home last
night.

take a look at (someone or something)

- to examine (usually briefly) someone or something
I will take a look at the problem with the computer tomorrow.

take a look for (someone or something)

- to look for someone or something
Tomorrow I will take a look for the pen which I lost.

take a nap

- to have a brief period of sleep
I stopped to take a nap before I continued driving to see my parents.

take a new turn

- to begin a new course or direction
The campaign to clean up the river took a new turn when the large electricity
company joined in the campaign.

862

take a potshot at (someone or something)

- to criticize someone or something
The mayor of the city decided to take a potshot at his opponent in the election.

take a powder

- to leave quickly, to run away
I think that our boss took a powder right after the meeting.

take a punch at (someone)

- to strike someone with one's fist
The man in the restaurant suddenly took a punch at the waiter.

take a shine to (someone)

- to have or show a quick liking for someone
Our daughter took a shine to her new teacher and is very happy at school now.

take a shot/stab at (doing something)

- to try to do something
I plan to take a shot at golfing when I am on vacation.

take a shower/bath

- to bathe
I usually take a shower when I get home from work.

take a spill

- to have a fall, to tip over
The little boy took a spill when he was trying to learn how to ride his bicycle.


863

take a stand on (something)

- to declare firmly that one is for or against something
The politician was forced to take a stand on the tax issue.

take a toll on (someone or something)

- to damage/hurt someone or something by using it too much or by hard living
The stress and long hours at work are beginning to take a toll on my friend.

take a trip

- to go for a journey
We plan to take a trip to Italy in November.

take a turn for the better

- to start to improve or get well
The medical condition of my uncle has recently taken a turn for the better.

take a turn for the worse

- to start to get worse
The condition of the patient suddenly took a turn for the worse.

take a vacation

- to go somewhere for a vacation
I have much stress at work and I want to take a vacation next month.

take a whack at (someone)

- to hit someone
The man on the bus suddenly took a whack at the man sitting beside him.


864

take a whack at (something)

- to try something
I took a whack at fixing the car but I was unsuccessful.

take advantage of (someone or something)

- to use someone or something for one`s own benefit

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the beach.

take after (someone)

- to resemble or act like someone (usually a parent or relative)
The boy is tall and handsome like his father and takes after him in other ways as well.

take aim at (someone or something)

- to aim a gun/camera/policy at someone or something, to focus one's attention at
someone or something
The police department plan to take aim at people who do not stop at stop signs.

take an interest in (something)

- to develop an interest in something
Recently my cousin has taken an interest in fishing.

take an oath

- to make an oath, to swear to something
I had to take an oath before I could answer questions at the public hearing.

take attendance

- to make a record of persons attending something
Our teacher always takes attendance when we arrive in the morning.


865

take back (something)

- to admit to making a wrong statement
The man was asked to take back what he had said about his boss.

take care of (someone or something)

- to look after or give attention to someone or something
You should take care of your health or you will become sick.

take care of (something)

- to deal with something, to do what is necessary to accomplish something
"Could you please take care of these letters while I make some phone calls."

take charge of (someone or something)

- to take control of someone or something
The new supervisor quickly took charge of the staff in the fast food restaurant.

take down (something)

- to write or record something that is said at a meeting/lecture/discussion
I took down many notes during the lecture last week.

take down (something)

- to take something apart, to pull something to pieces
We took down our tent when it began to rain.

take effect

- to become legally operative, to begin
The new traffic laws took effect early last month.


866

take exception to (something)

- to speak against something, to find fault with something, to be angered by something
The man took exception to the fact that everyone was able to play golf except him.

take five

- to take a five-minute rest period
We decided to take five before continuing with our work.

take great pains to do (something)

- to make a great effort to do something
The painters took great pains not to spill any paint on the carpet.

take heart

- to be encouraged, to feel brave and want to try something
I took heart from my previous failure and decided to try again.

take heed

- to be cautious
It is best to take heed when you are crossing the street.

take hold of (someone or something)

- to get in control of someone or something
Something seemed to take hold of the man and he began to act very strange.

take ill/sick

- to become sick
The woman took ill during her holiday and spent most of the time in her hotel.


867

take in (money)

- to receive/get money
We were able to take in a lot of money at the charity auction.

take in (someone)

- to let someone come in, to admit someone
The farmer took the couple in for the night after their car broke down.

take in (something)

- to go and see or visit something

We decided to take in a movie last night.

take in (something)

- to make something smaller
The tailor took in the waist of my suit pants and now they fit much better.

take in (something)

- to grasp something with the mind
The course was very difficult but I tried to take in as much as possible.

take inventory

- to make an inventory list, to count the goods in a store or warehouse
We stayed late at our store to take inventory.

take issue with (someone or something)

- to argue with someone, to dispute a point with someone, to dispute something
I decided to take issue with my supervisor when he began to criticize my work.
I took issue with my new work schedule.


868

take it

- to endure trouble/criticism/abuse
My friend is quite sensitive and cannot take it when I make a joke about him.

take it

- to get an idea or impression, to understand something from what is said or done
"I take it that you are not going to come to the graduation ceremony next week."

take it away

- to start up a performance
"Let's take it away and get the music started."

take it easy

- to relax
I have been working hard recently so I have decided to take it easy for a few days.

take it easy on (someone or something)

- to be gentle, to use less of something rather than more
I tried to take it easy on the sugar when I was making the fruit punch.

take it on the chin

- to be badly beaten or hurt, to accept trouble calmly
Our team took it on the chin at the baseball tournament last week.

take it or leave it

- to accept something or forget it
The customer was told to take it or leave it when he began to complain about the

product.


869

take it out on (someone or something)

- to be unpleasant or unkind to someone because one is angry or upset
Although the man has much stress at work he is careful not to take it out on his
friends or family.

take it slow

- to move or go slowly
I always take it slow when it is snowing.

take it upon oneself (to do something)

- to undertake to do something, to make something one's responsibility
I decided to take it upon myself to fix the broken window in our apartment.

take its toll

- to cause loss or damage
My father's new job and the long hours have begun to take its toll on his health.

take kindly to (someone or something)

- to be pleased by someone or something, to be agreeable to someone or something
The man does not take kindly to people telling him how to run his business.

take leave of one's senses

- to become irrational
I think that my neighbor has taken leave of his senses. He has been acting very
strange lately.







870

take liberties with (someone or something)

- to use or abuse someone or something
The girl is taking liberties with her friend by always borrowing her car.

take no stock in (something)

- to pay no attention to something
I am beginning to take no stock in what my next-door neighbor says.

take note of (something)

- to observe and remember something
The police are taking note of the people who go into the illegal business.

take notice of (something)

- to observe something
The city workers take notice of the houses which do not follow the local garbage
regulations.

take off

- to depart suddenly or quickly, to run away
We decided to take off when the concert ended.

take off

- to leave (used for an airplane)
The flight took off right on time.

take off after (someone or something)

- to begin to chase someone or something
The fox took off after the rabbit which jumped out of the hole.


871

take off clothes/shoes etc.

- to remove clothes shoes etc.
"Please take off your shoes before you enter our house."

take off one's hat to (someone)

- to offer praise for someone's good accomplishments
You have to take off your hat to the person who organized the sporting event.

take off time

- to be absent from work
I was sick and I had to take off a week from work.

take off weight

- to decrease one's weight
My friend is trying to take off weight with her new diet.

take offense at (someone or something)

- to become resentful of someone or something
The audience took offense at the remarks by the comedian.

take office

- to begin serving as an elected or appointed official
The new mayor of the city is expected to take office next week.

take on (someone)

- to give a job to someone, to hire/employ someone
The factory took on fifty new employees last month.

872

take on (something)

- to begin to do something, to commit oneself to something
Recently my father has begun to take on too many things at work and he has become
very tired.

take on (something)

- to load (something)
The ship took on most of its cargo the week before it left the port.

take on the look/appearance of (something)

- to begin to have the look of something
My friend has begun to take on the look of a university professor although he has only
been working at the university for a short time.

take on too much

- to undertake to do too much work or too many tasks
My aunt is taking on too much and is very tired recently.

take one's cue from (someone)

- to use another's behavior or reactions as a guide to one's own
The musicians took their cue from the conductor when the orchestra performed the
musical piece.

take one`s hat off to (someone)

- to admire/respect/praise someone
You have to take your hat off to our boss. He has built his company from almost
nothing.





873

take one's leave of (someone)

- to say goodbye to someone and leave
The Princess took her leave of the Queen and left the room.

take one's own life

- to kill oneself, to commit suicide
The young man took his own life several weeks ago.

take one`s own medicine

- to accept punishment without complaining
He likes to criticize others but he can never take his own medicine when others
criticize him.
take one`s time

- to do something without hurrying

My friend took his time to return the book that he had borrowed.

take out a loan

- to get a loan of money
I had to take out a loan to buy the car.

take out (someone)

- to go on a date with someone
I finally had a chance to take out the new woman from my class last week.

take out (something)

- to remove something from somewhere, to extract something
The teacher asked us to take out our books.
I took out some onions from the refridgerator.


874

take over (something)

- to take control of something, to take command of something
A large foreign company took control of our company last month.

take part in (something)

- to participate in something
"Are you planning to take part in the seminar next week?"

take pity on (someone or something)

- to feel sorry for someone or something
I took pity on the man who was begging and I gave him some money.

take place

- to happen, to occur
The soccer game took place on the coldest day of the year.

take precedence over (someone or something)

- to have the right to come before someone or something else
The rights of people who do not smoke take precedence over the rights of smokers in
many cities.

take pride in (something)

- to do something with pride
The couple take pride in their beautiful house.

take responsibility for (someone or something)

- to accept responsibility for (someone or something)
My friend refuses to take responsibility for his problems.


875

take root

- to begin to take hold or have effect
The ideas of honesty and good manners are beginning to take root in the school
children.

take shape

- to begin to be organized and specific (plans/ideas/arguments)
The plans for our school reunion are beginnning to take shape.

take sick/ill

- to become ill
The little boy took sick early last night.

take sides

- to support one side or the other side
"You should not take sides in some arguments or both sides will be angry at you."

take (someone or something) at face value

- to take someone or something as it first appears to be
I took the sign at face value and drove very slowly through the construction area.

take (someone) at his or her word

- to believe what someone says and act accordingly
I decided to take the woman at her word when she invited me to see her pottery

demonstration.







876

take (someone's) breath away

- to overwhelm someone with beauty or grandeur
The beauty of the mountains took my breath away.

take (someone or somewhere) by storm

- to win the favor of someone or somewhere, to become popular with a group of
people
The new rock band took the country by storm.

take (someone) by surprise

- to startle someone, to surprise someone
The sudden resignation of the mayor took everyone by surprise.

take (someone) down a notch/peg or two

- to reprimand/scold someone who is acting arrogant, to make someone less proud or
sure of himself or herself

The manager took the secretary down a notch or two with his criticism of her work.

take (someone) for a ride

- to play a trick on or fool someone, to take unfair advantage of someone
The used car salesman took me for a ride. The car that I bought is not very good.

take (someone) for an idiot/fool

- to assume that someone is stupid
The salesman tried to take me for a fool when he tried to sell me the car for a very
high price.






877

take (someone) for granted

- to accept someone without gratitude or as a matter of course
Everybody takes the office clerk for granted and nobody ever thanks her.

take (someone) for (someone or something)

- to mistake someone for someone or something
The man took the boy for a robber and called the police.

take (someone) hostage

- to kidnap or seize someone to be a hostage
The bank robbers took several people hostage during the bank robbery.

take (someone) into one's confidence

- to tell a secret to someone and trust that person to keep the secret
The bank manager took the customer into his confidence and told him about the
banking problems.

take (someone or something) on

- to undertake to deal with someone or something
I decided to take the extra work on in order to make some extra money.

take (someone's) part

- to take a side in an argument
My friend always takes my part when I am having an argument with someone.

take (someone's) pulse

- to measure the beats of a person's pulse
The doctor took the patient's pulse when she arrived at the hospital.


878

take (someone or something) seriously

- to think that someone or something is important
The principal did not take the suggestion of the teacher seriously.

take (someone) to task

- to scold someone for something that they have done wrong
The supervisor took me to task for arriving late for work.

take (someone) to the cleaners

- to take/win all of someone`s money, to cheat someone
The salesman took the woman to the cleaners when he sold her the bad product.
The man went to the casino and was taken to the cleaners by the card dealers.

take (someone) under one`s wing/wings

- to protect and help someone
The supervisor took the new employee under his wing and began to teach him about
the company.

take (someone) up on (something)

- to take advantage of someone's offer of something
I took my friend up on his offer to let me borrow his new car.

take (someone or something) wrong

- to misunderstand someone or something
The man took what I said wrong and became very angry.

879

take (something)

- to endure something
I find it very difficult to take the woman's constant complaining.

take (something) by storm

- to capture something by a sudden or very bold attack
The army took the town by storm and was able to capture all of the enemy soldiers.

take (something) for granted

- to assume that something is a certain way or is correct
"I took it for granted that you knew him. Otherwise I would have introduced you."

take (something) in stride

- to accept good or bad luck and continue on
The boxer took his loss in stride and began to prepare for his next fight.
take (something) into account

- to remember and consider something
"Please take into account the fact that the girl has only been studying French for a few
weeks."

take (something) lying down

- to endure something unpleasant without fighting back
I am very angry and will not take what he says lying down.

take (something) on faith

- to accept or believe something with little or no evidence
I took it on faith that the friend of my boss was an honest person.


880

take (something) on the chin

- to experience and endure a direct blow or assault
The man always takes things on the chin and he never complains.

take (something) out on (someone or something)

- to direct one's anger or fear onto someone or something
The woman often takes her anger out on her husband.

take (something) personally

- to interpret a remark as if it were meant for or critical of oneself

I wish that my colleague would not take everything that I say personally.

take (something) the wrong way

- to understand something as wrong or insulting
The waiter took my comments the wrong way and became a little angry.

take (something) to heart

- to consider something seriously
You should not really take what he says to heart. He is really very kind.

take (something) to one's grave

- to carry a secret with you until you die
The woman plans to take the secret about her sister to her grave.

take (something/it) to the bank

- to have/do something that is a sure thing, to do/have something that you can count
on no matter what happens
The business proposal is a sure thing and you can take it to the bank.


881

take (something) up with (someone)

- to raise and discuss a matter with someone
Our supervisor plans to take the issue of overtime up with the senior managers.

take (something) with a grain of salt

- to not take something that someone has said seriously
You can take everything that our teacher says with a grain of salt.

take steps to (prevent/do something)

- to begin to make plans or arrangements for something, to make preparations for
something
Our company has begun to take steps to stop people from smoking in the office
building.

take stock

- to count items of merchandise or supplies that are in stock, to take inventory
The store will be closed next week while the company is taking stock.

take stock in (something)

- to have faith in something, to believe in something (usually used in the negative)
The woman took no stock in the idea that women could not work as firefighters as
well as men.

take stock of (something)

- to carefully study a situation or a number of possibilities or opportunities
After taking stock of the situation the man decided that it would be difficult to
continue working for the company.

882

take that tack

- to take a course of action or do something that is different from the preceding course
of action
I decided to take that tack when I realized that I was making no progress with my
previous plans.

take the bitter with the sweet

- to accept the bad things along with the good things
You have to take the bitter with the sweet when you are an athlete.

take the bull by the horns

- to take some kind of action
My aunt decided to take the bull by the horns and started to plan the family reunion.

take the cake

- to be the best or the worst
The woman's manners take the cake. They are very bad.

take the day off

- to choose not to go to work for one day
I decided to take the day off because I was not feeling well.

take the edge off (something)

- to lessen/weaken/soften something
We had a drink of hot chocolate to take the edge off the cold weather.