Commonly used english part 9 ppsx

Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 81 carry the ball - to be in charge of something The vice-president was forced to carry the ball while the president was away. carry the day - to win or be successful His fine performance in our company carried the day for us. carry the torch - to show loyalty to a cause or a person The man has been carrying the torch for the candidate for a long time. carry the weight of the world on one's shoulders - to appear to be burdened by all the problems of the world My aunt feels that she is working too hard and that she is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. carry through with (something) - to put a plan into action The company carried through with its plan to open a new factory. . a case in point - an example that proves something or helps to make something clear What the man said is a case in point about what I have been saying all year. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 82 a case of mistaken identity - an incorrect identification of someone It was a case of mistaken identity when the police arrested the wrong person. cash-and-carry - a system where you pay cash for some goods and then carry them away The supermarkets in our city always operate on a cash-and-carry basis. cash cow - a good source of money His new business is a cash cow and he is making much money. cash in (something) - to exchange something for money We decided to cash in the coupons because we needed some money. cash in on (something) - to make a lot of money at something The small city cashed in on their success after the winter Olympics. cash on the barrelhead - to pay cash to buy something It was cash only at the store and we were forced to pay cash on the barrelhead for everything. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 83 cast Idioms cast around/about for (someone or something) - to look for someone or something We have been casting around for a new file clerk in our company. cast aspersions on (someone) - to make insulting remarks about someone The woman is always casting aspersions on her colleagues at work. cast doubts on (someone or something) - to cause someone or something to be doubted The first witness at the trial cast doubts on the testimony of the main witness. cast in the same mold - to be very similar The two sisters were cast in the same mold and were almost identical. cast one's lot in with (someone) - to join with someone and accept whatever happens The woman cast her lot in with the company and worked hard to keep the business going. cast one's vote - to vote We arrived early to cast our vote in the election. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 84 cast pearls before swine - to waste something valuable on someone who does not appreciate it Giving the woman the gold earrings was like casting pearls before swine. cast the first stone - to be the first to blame someone The man was the one to cast the first stone and now he is fighting with his neighbor. . castles in the air - daydreams My sister is always building castles in the air and is very unrealistic. cat burglar - a burglar who enters a building by climbing a wall etc. Our stereo was stolen when a cat burglar entered our apartment. cat gets one`s tongue - the inability to say something I think that the cat got our supervisor's tongue. She has not said anything since the meeting started. catch Idioms catch-22 - a situation which contradicts itself, a paradoxical situation It was a catch-22 situation and if I went to work there would be problems but if I did not go to work there would also be problems. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 85 catch a cold - to become sick with a cold I caught a cold because of the rain and the cold weather. catch-as-catch-can - in any way possible We are in the middle of moving house so our meals are catch-as-catch-can. catch fire - to begin to burn We were very careful that the wooden house would not catch fire. catch forty winks - to get some sleep I was very tired so I stopped my car in order to catch forty winks. catch on - to understand something, to learn about something I was finally able to catch on and understand the math problem. catch on - to become popular Recently ballroom dancing has begun to catch on with many people. catch one`s breath - to stop to rest and regain one`s normal breathing After running from the station it took a moment to catch my breath. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 86 catch (someone`s) eye - to attract someone`s attention I tried to catch my friend's eye but she did not notice me. catch some Z's - to get some sleep I needed to catch some Z's after working hard all weekend. catch sight of (someone or something) - to see someone or something briefly The police caught sight of the robber and began to chase him. catch (someone) in the act of (doing something) - to catch someone doing something illegal or private The police caught the politician in the act of taking money from the business owner. catch (someone) napping - to find someone asleep, to find someone unprepared for something The boss caught the employee napping and became very angry. catch (someone) off balance - to surprise someone who is not prepared We were caught off balance when we discovered that our business license was no good. catch (someone) off guard - to catch a person at a time of carelessness I was caught off guard when the teacher asked me about my homework. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 87 catch (someone) red-handed - to find someone in the middle of doing something wrong The clerk caught the boy red-handed when he was stealing the candy. catch up on (something) - to do something that you have not had time to do, to learn about something (the daily news or news about old friends) I need to catch up on some of my reading this weekend. I met my friend and we caught up on some news. catch up with (someone or something) - to become even with someone (in a race or in schoolwork etc.) I think that it is too late to catch up with the rest of the class now. . caught in the middle/cross fire - to be caught between two opposing people or groups so it is difficult to remain neutral I was caught in the middle when my friend and his girlfriend had a big fight. caught short - to not have enough of something (usually money) when you need it I was caught short last month and could not pay my credit card bill. caught unaware - to be surprised and unprepared for something Everybody was caught unaware by the sudden change in government policy. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 88 cause a stir - to cause people to become agitated and alarmed about something The soccer player caused a stir when he began to criticize the referee. cause eyebrows to raise - to shock people I caused eyebrows to raise when I decided not to accept the award from my company. cause tongues to wag - to give people something to gossip about My sister caused tongues to wag when she came to the party without her husband. cave in - to weaken and be forced to give something up The company caved in to the union`s demand for more money. chalk (something) up to (something) - to recognize something as the cause of something else We were able to chalk our success up to our new boat. chalk up (something) - to record something The stock prices of the company chalked up a big increase last week. champ at the bit - to be ready and anxious to do something Everybody was champing at the bit to start writing the test. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 89 chance (something) - to risk doing something We did not want to chance driving during the storm so we stayed home. chance upon (someone or something) - to find someone or something by chance I chanced upon a very interesting book during my research. change hands - to be transferred from one person to another The small business changed hands many times during the last several years. change horses in midstream - to make new plans or choose a new leader in the middle of an important activity The company changed horses in midstream and totally changed their policy. change of heart - a change in the way one feels about something The woman had a change of heart and decided to let her child go to the circus. change of pace - the addition of some variety to one's life We decided to go to the lake for a change of pace and to get away from our busy schedules. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 90 change of scenery - a move to a different place where things are different My sister and her husband have decided to move because they want a change of scenery. change one`s mind - to change one`s decision My friend changed his mind and said that he would not go to the movie tonight. change one`s tune - to make a change in one`s story/statement/opinion/policy Our supervisor has changed his tune recently and agrees that we need to do things differently. change the subject - to begin talking about something different I tried to change the subject when my friend began to talk about the money that I owed him. in charge of something - to be responsible for an activity or group of people Our teacher is in charge of selling tickets for the school dance. cheat on (someone) - to be unfaithful to someone The man began cheating on his wife which was the cause of their divorce. . alarmed about something The soccer player caused a stir when he began to criticize the referee. cause eyebrows to raise - to shock people I caused eyebrows to raise when I decided not to. cause tongues to wag - to give people something to gossip about My sister caused tongues to wag when she came to the party without her husband. cave in - to weaken and be forced to give something. enters a building by climbing a wall etc. Our stereo was stolen when a cat burglar entered our apartment. cat gets one`s tongue - the inability to say something I think that the cat got our