Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 621 other fish to fry - other more important things to do I think that he has other fish to fry and will not be happy to continue with his present job. the other side of the tracks - the poorer/richer section of a town The girl came from the other side of the tracks and was not welcome into the home of her wealthy boyfriend. the other way round - the reverse, the opposite It was the other way round. It was my friend who wanted to go swimming - not me. an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - it is easier to prevent something bad than to deal with the results An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and I decided to stay home and rest rather than go out in the cold with my sore throat. out Idioms out and about - to be able to go out and travel/move/walk around My aunt is out and about again after the operation for her knee. an out-and-out (something) - a complete or absolute something The man is an out-and-out liar and nobody believes anything that he says. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 622 out cold - to be unconscious, to have fainted The patient was out cold when the nurse went into his room to check on him. out from under (someone or something) - to be free and clear of someone or something My friend is out from under her critical older sister who has gone to live in a different city. out front - to be in the front of one's house "My bicycle is out front," said the young boy. out in force - to appear in great numbers The volunteers were out in force all weekend as they tried to collect money for the new hospital. out in left field - to be far from the right answer His question was out in left field. He has no idea what we were talking about. out in the cold - to be alone, to not be included I was out in the cold after the class went to the movie without me. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 623 out like a light - to have fallen asleep very quickly I went to bed early last night and I was out like a light. out of a clear blue sky - suddenly, without warning The orders from our boss came out of a clear blue sky and everyone was surprised. out of all proportion - of an exaggerated proportion The complaints of the students were out of all proportion to what we thought the problem was. out of bounds - to be outside the boundaries of a playing area The ball went out of bounds and the boys had to go over the fence to get it. out of breath - to be tired and breathing quickly. I was out of breath after running from the station. out of character - to be unlike one's usual character, to be inappropriate for one's character Getting into an argument with the sales clerk was out of character for my father. He almost never argues about such things. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 624 out of circulation - to be not active, to not join in what others are doing He has a new girlfriend so he will be out of circulation for awhile. out of commission - to be broken, to be not operating The old boat is out of commission and will not be operating for several months. out of condition - to be not in good physical condition I am out of condition and I need to exercise more. out of consideration for (someone or something) - with consideration for someone or something The police did not release the names of the accident victims out of consideration for the family members. out of control - to be uncontrollable/wild The soccer fans were out of control after their team won the championship. out of courtesy - in order to be polite to someone We phoned our customers out of courtesy to tell them about the late arrival of the products. out-of-date - no longer current or in style Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 625 Computer equipment becomes out-of-date very quickly. out of earshot - too far from a sound to hear it My parents were out of earshot and I could not hear what they were saying. out of favor (with someone) - to not have a person`s goodwill I have been out of favor with my boss for a few months now. out of gas - to have no gas in a vehicle, to be tired/exhausted The truck was out of gas so we could not use it last night. out of hand - to be uncontrollable/wild The party got out of hand and we had to call the police to quiet things. out of hand - immediately and without consulting anyone The police dismissed my complaint about my neighbors out of hand. out of keeping with (something) - to be not following the rules of something The early lunch was out of keeping with our policy of working until early afternoon before we had a break. out of kilter - to be not balanced right, to be not in a straight line or lined up right Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 626 The door is out of kilter and does not open very well. out of line - to be unacceptable, to be not correct His proposal to travel to New York is out of line. We can never accept it. out of luck - without good luck I was out of luck and could not find the part for my computer printer at any local store. out of necessity - because of necessity, due to need The library began to close on Saturday out of necessity. It has no money. out of one`s element - to be in a situation where one does not belong or fit in He is out of his element teaching the computer course. He does not know anything about computers. out of one`s hair - to go away because one is a nuisance The woman got her children out of her hair and was able to do some work. out of one's mind/head/senses - to be silly/senseless/crazy My friend was out of his mind to buy a new computer just before he went overseas to work. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 627 out of one`s shell - to move from silence or shyness and into friendly conversation We got the girl out of her shell and she joined in with the rest of the group. out of order - to be not working The public telephone was out of order. out of order - to be against the rules, to be not suitable His question was ruled out of order by the judge and he was not able to ask it. out of place - to be in the wrong place, to be at the wrong time, to be improper His comments at the party were out of place. He should have said them another time. out-of-pocket expenses - the actual money that one spends for business or personal use My out-of-pocket expenses for my recent business trip were very low. out of practice - to be performing poorly due to a lack of practice I am out of practice and I cannot play the trumpet very well at all. out of print - no longer available for sale from the publisher Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 628 The book is now out of print and is very difficult to obtain. out of proportion - to be showing the wrong proportion relative to something else The size of the curtains were out of proportion to the small window that we wanted to use them for. out of reach - to be not near enough to be reached or touched, unattainable The top of the bookshelf was out of reach and I could not get the dictionary easily. out of season - to be not easily available for sale at this time of year, to be not legally able to be hunted Strawberries are now out of season. The hunting of ducks is now out of season. out of service - to be not now operating The elevator has been out of service all week. out of shape - to be not in good physical condition My mother is out of shape and cannot walk for a long distance. out of sight - to be not visible The children were out of sight and we could not see them. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 629 out of sight - to be unbelievable/stunning The view from the tower was absolutely out of sight. out of (something) - to have none left of something The restaurant was out of fish so we had meat instead. out of sorts - to be in a bad mood He is out of sorts today so you should wait until tomorrow to speak to him. out of spite - with the desire to harm someone or something My friend would not help me out of spite for what he thought that I had done to him. out of step - to be not in step or keeping pace with someone The soldiers were out of step when they were marching in the parade. out of step with (someone or something) - to be out of harmony or not in agreement with someone or something The man is out of step with the rest of the group and he needs to think about what he should be doing. out of stock - to be not immediately available in a store Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 630 The hammers were out of stock when I went to the hardware store this afternoon. out of style/fashion - to be not fashionable, to be obsolete The kind of jeans that my friend wears have been out of style for a long time now. out of the blue - to be unexpected, to come from nowhere From out of the blue I asked my girlfriend if she wanted to get married. out of the corner of one's eye - at a glance, a glimpse of someone or something I saw the car coming out of the corner of my eye and quickly moved off the street. out of the frying pan and into the fire - out of one trouble and into more trouble, from something bad to something worse When he changed jobs he jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. His new job is much worse. out of the hole - to be out of debt I am working at an extra job to try and get out of the hole. out of the ordinary - to be unusual There was nothing out of the ordinary that the police saw at the scene of the accident. out of the question - to be impossible . out of gas so we could not use it last night. out of hand - to be uncontrollable/wild The party got out of hand and we had to call the police to quiet things. out of hand - immediately. never accept it. out of luck - without good luck I was out of luck and could not find the part for my computer printer at any local store. out of necessity - because of necessity,. place - to be in the wrong place, to be at the wrong time, to be improper His comments at the party were out of place. He should have said them another time. out-of-pocket expenses - the