Commonly used english part 92 ppsx

Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 911 tie up (traffic) - to slow down traffic, to cause road traffic to stop The accident tied up the highway traffic for two hours last night. tie up with (someone or something) - to enter into an association or partnership with someone or something Our company decided to tie up with a company from Sweden to make the pollution equipment. . tied to one's mother's apron strings - to be dominated or dependent on one's mother The boy is tied to his mother's apron strings and he never wants to leave home. tied up - to be busy I was tied up yesterday and did not have enough time to telephone my friend. tight spot - a difficult situation We are in a very tight spot since the top salesman quit. tight squeeze - a difficult financial situation Our company is in a tight squeeze now that sales are down from last year. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 912 tighten one`s belt - to economize, to spend less money I will have to tighten my belt until the economy improves. tightfisted with money - to not want to spend any money The man is very tightfisted with money and he never likes to spend it at all. tilt at windmills - to fight battles with imaginary or unimportant enemies or issues My friend is tilting at windmills by fighting his boss for no reason. time Idioms time after time - repeatedly The teacher told the student time after time to be careful with her spelling. time and time again - repeatedly, over and over The teacher told the students time and time again that they must do their homework. time flies - time passes very quickly Time flies and suddenly summer was over and autumn had begun. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 913 the time is ripe - exactly the right time has come The time is ripe to start teaching our child how to brush his teeth. the time of one`s life - a wonderful time My cousin had the time of her life when she went to Rome last summer. time off - free time when one does not have to work I had some time off last week so I was able to do some extra reading. time out - the time when a game or other event is temporarily stopped for some reason During the game we took some time out to rest. time to catch one's breath - enough time to relax or behave normally I did not have time to catch my breath because I was working hard all morning. time was (when) - at a time in the past Time was when everybody in our town kept their doors unlocked all of the time. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 914 . tip (someone) off - to warn/inform someone The bank tipped off the police that there was going to be a robbery at the bank. tip the balance - to have important or decisive influence, to decide something The man's ability to speak French tipped the balance in his favor to get the job at the embassy. tip the scales at (something) - to weigh a certain amount The wrestler tipped the scales at over 200 kilograms. tire (someone) out - to make someone very tired The climb up the stairs tired the elderly woman out. tired out - to be very tired My father was tired out after working hard all day. tit for tat - equal treatment in return for something, a fair exchange The government policy was tit for tat to any attacks against its territory. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 915 to Idioms to a fault - to do something so very well or to be something so good that it is almost bad My friend is honest to a fault and will not say anything unless it is the absolute truth. to a great/large extent - mainly, largely To a great extent everybody in the town has been informed of the new parking regulations. to a T - perfectly, exactly The new job fits me to a T. to and fro - from one place to another and then back again, back and forth We went to and fro between the two items as we tried to decide what to buy. to be on the safe side - to be safe, to be cautious, to be very well prepared I decided to take my umbrella to school to be on the safe side. to be safe - to be cautious, to be careful I took some extra money out of the bank just to be safe and have enough money for the weekend. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 916 to be sure - without a doubt, certainly "To be sure it would be better to talk to the store manager rather than the clerk." to beat the band - very much, very fast We were working to beat the band in order to finish our work early and go home. to boot - in addition, also Our hot water tank is not working and to boot our kitchen stove is also having problems. to date - until the present time To date there is no indication that the workers are going to negotiate a new contract. to heel - to be under control The army brought the citizens to heel as soon as they entered the town. to hell and gone - very much gone, gone to hell The situation was already to hell and gone when the manager arrived at the office. to no avail - with no effect, unsuccessful My complaints to the company were to no avail and nothing was done. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 917 to one's heart's content - as much as one wants I used the video camera to my heart's content before I had to return it to my friend. to one`s name - in one`s ownership The man is a very good dresser although he does not have a penny to his name. to order - according to a buyer's specifications regarding size/color etc. I bought three suits which were made to order when I visited Hong Kong last year. to pieces - into broken pieces or fragments, destroyed, not working My car fell to pieces during my recent trip. to pieces - very much, greatly The man loves his little girl to pieces. to put it mildly - to understate something, to say something politely To put it mildly the food at the restaurant was some of the worst that I have ever tasted. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 918 to say nothing of (someone or something) - to not even mention the importance of someone or something The hotel itself was very expensive to say nothing of the cost of the restaurants in the hotel. to say the least - at the very least, without dwelling on the subject After walking all day I am tired to say the least. to some extent - to some degree, partly My answer to the professor's question was correct to some extent but in general it was not what the professor wanted. to (someone's) liking - in a way that pleases someone The cook in my favorite restaurant always cooks the food exactly to my liking. to (someone's) way of thinking - in someone's opinion To my way of thinking we should not spend any more money on the new project. to speak of - important, worth talking about We did not do anything to speak of during our summer vacation. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 919 to the best of one's ability - as well as one is able I always play sports to the best of my ability. to the best of one's knowledge - as far as one knows, from one's knowledge To the best of my knowledge there have been no telephone calls for me today. to the bitter end - to the very end We stayed to the bitter end and watched our team lose very badly to the other team. to the bone - thoroughly, entirely I became wet to the bone during the heavy rain. to the contrary - contrary to what has been stated/thought Everybody thought that the boy was bored at the dinner but to the contrary he was quite interested. to the core - all the way through, basically The local government is corrupt to the core and everybody wants the mayor to leave office. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 920 to the ends of the earth - to the most remote and most inaccessible points on the earth My professor went to the ends of the earth to find material for his university thesis. to the extent that - to the degree that, in so far as "To the extent that I am able, I will be happy to help you." to the eye - as it is seen, apparently To the eye the hotel looked very nice but when we entered it was not very good at all. to the full - very much, fully My father always tries to live his life to the full. to the hilt - to the maximum amount, completely My friend has been in debt to the hilt since he bought his new car. to the last - to the end, to the conclusion We stayed at the party to the last and then helped clean the hall. to the letter - exactly, precisely The police officer always follows the law to the letter. . two hours last night. tie up with (someone or something) - to enter into an association or partnership with someone or something Our company decided to tie up with a company from Sweden. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 917 to one's heart's content - as much as one wants I used the video camera to my heart's content before I had to return it to my friend. to one`s. subject After walking all day I am tired to say the least. to some extent - to some degree, partly My answer to the professor's question was correct to some extent but in general it