Commonly used english part 13 pdf

Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 121 cry bloody murder - to scream like something very serious has happened The woman cried bloody murder when the young man tried to steal her purse. cry out for (someone or something) - to need someone or something badly, to lack something The new room that we built cries out for new furniture. The baby cried out for her mother. cry over spilt milk - to cry or complain about something that has already happened "Don`t cry over spilt milk. You can never change the past." cry uncle - to admit defeat or that you have lost He finally had to cry uncle when the other wrestler pinned him to the mat. cry wolf - to warn of danger that is not there The man has been crying wolf for many years and now nobody believes him. crying need for (someone or something) - a desperate need for someone or something There is a crying need for nurses in the local hospital. a crying shame - a very unfortunate situation It was a crying shame that the class trip to Spain was cancelled. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 122 cue (someone) in - to tell someone what is going on I did not know what to do until somebody cued me in on what was happening. (not one`s) cup of tea - (not) something that one enjoys It is not my cup of tea so I think that I will stay home and not go to the art gallery. curiosity killed the cat - being nosy and interested in the business of other people may cause someone trouble "Don`t keep asking so many questions. Remember curiosity killed the cat." curl up and die - to retreat and die I wanted to curl up and die when I saw my old boyfriend at the party. curry favor with (someone) - to flatter someone to get his or her help or friendship Our boss has been working hard to curry favor with the other members of the committee. cut Idioms cut a fine figure - to look good I plan to cut a fine figure when I go to the job interview next week. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 123 cut a wide swath - to attract a lot of attention The man cuts a wide swath when he enters a room. a cut above (someone or something) - a little better than someone or something The new principal is a cut above the previous one. cut across - to cross or go through something instead of going around it We decided to cut across the field because we were in a hurry to get to school. cut and run - to leave as quickly as possible We cut and run as soon as we had finished delivering the goods. cut and dried - to be previously decided, to be prearranged The decision was cut and dried and nobody asked for our opinion. cut back on (something) - to use fewer or use less of something We were forced to cut back on the number of people who were invited to the party. cut both ways - to serve both sides of an argument What the man said cuts both ways and we should carefully think about it. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 124 cut class - to not go to class I cut class last week and went to a movie. cut corners - to economize We will have to cut corners in order to save money for our holiday. cut down on something - to use less of something Recently the man has cut down on his smoking in order to become more healthy. cut from the same cloth - to share a lot of similarities The two cousins were cut from the same cloth and were similar in every way. cut no ice with (someone) - to have no influence on someone The excuses of the girl cut no ice with her teacher or the principal. cut off one`s nose to spite one`s face - to make things worse for oneself because one is angry at someone else The man is cutting off his nose to spite his face. Taking revenge on his neighbor will only cause him more problems. cut one's eyeteeth on (something) - to have done something since one was very young The man cut his eyeteeth on fixing bicycles and he is now an expert. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 125 cut one's losses - to reduce one's losses We decided to cut our losses and sell our business before it lost too much money. cut out for (something) - to have a talent for something, to be suited for something I do not think that I am cut out for all of the travelling that is required for this job. cut out (something) - to eliminate something My cousin decided to cut out chocolate in order to lose weight. cut out the deadwood - to remove unproductive people from a job The company began to cut out the deadwood and fired many people. cut (someone) a check - to write a check to someone We cut the man a check for the work that he had done. cut (someone) down to size - to prove that someone is not as good as he or she thinks I cut my colleague down to size when I criticized what he had said at the meeting. cut (someone) in - to give someone a share of something I cut my friend in on the profits from selling the computers. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 126 cut (someone) off - to stop someone from saying something, to disconnect someone on the phone I tried to tell my father about the accident but he cut me off before I had a chance. cut (someone) to the quick - to hurt someone's feelings very badly The woman cut her friend to the quick when she criticized her new clothes. cut the mustard - to reach the required standard for something The man does not cut the mustard and he will never be able to work here. cut to the chase - to get to the important matter of something The lawyer cut to the chase and was able to get all of the information quickly. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 127 D daily grind - the everyday work routine My father is tired of the daily grind of working and will retire soon. dance to a different tune - to change one's behavior or attitude Our boss began dancing to a different tune when his head salesman decided to quit. dance with death - to do something that is very risky The teenagers were dancing with death when they began to race their cars. dare (someone) to do (something) - to challenge someone to do something The little boy dared his friend to throw a rock at the window. dark horse - a political candidate who is little known to the general public The woman candidate was a dark horse but she won the election easily. darken (someone's) door - to visit someone or somewhere The man has never darkened the door of the library in his town. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 128 dash off - to leave quickly We dashed off as soon as the concert ended. dash (something) off - to write or finish something quickly I plan to dash off a letter before I go to work. date back to (a previous time) - to go back to a previous time The old building dates back to 1850. Davy Jone's locker - the bottom of the sea (as a grave) When the boat sank all of the crew members went to Davy Jone's locker. dawn on (someone) - to become clear or occur to someone It finally dawned on me why my friend was angry. day after day - everyday Day after day the woman goes to the school to meet her child. day and night - all of the time We worked day and night to finish the project before the end of the month. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 129 day in and day out - regularly, all of the time My father goes to that restaurant for lunch day in and day out and he never gets tired of it. day-to-day - daily, everyday The president was not involved in the day-to-day running of the university. daylight robbery - the extreme overcharging of money for something The amount of money which they charged for the gasoline was daylight robbery. days running - several days in a row There were concerts at the auditorium for six days running. dead Idioms dead ahead - to be directly ahead There was a truck dead ahead so we put on the car brakes suddenly. dead as a doornail - to be very dead The man was as dead as a doornail after the car accident. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 130 dead center - the exact middle I easily hit the target dead center. dead duck - a person or a thing in a hopeless situation The man is a dead duck and he has no hope of recovering his former position. dead end - the end of a road, an impasse The negotiations between the players and the owners have come to a dead end. dead in one's/its tracks - to be stopped exactly where someone or something is at the moment The police stopped the robber dead in his tracks. dead letter - a piece of mail that cannot be delivered or returned to the sender The letter with no return address went back to the post office as a dead letter. dead loss - a total loss The money that I gave to my friend is a dead loss and none of it will be returned. dead on one's feet - to be exhausted I was dead on my feet after working all day in my garden. . and die - to retreat and die I wanted to curl up and die when I saw my old boyfriend at the party. curry favor with (someone) - to flatter someone to get his or her help or friendship. use less of something We were forced to cut back on the number of people who were invited to the party. cut both ways - to serve both sides of an argument What the man said cuts both ways. very dead The man was as dead as a doornail after the car accident. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 130 dead center - the exact middle I easily hit the target dead center. dead duck - a