Commonly used english part 47 potx

Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 461 lay one's hands on (something) - find something, acquire something If I can lay my hands on a slide projector, I will show you the pictures of my holiday tonight. lay out (money) - spend or pay some money My friend will have to lay out a lot of money for his new apartment. lay out (something) - plan something We will lay out our plan for the new building at the next meeting. to lay over - to arrive somewhere and wait some time before continuing a journey We were told that we will have to lay over in London for nine hours before we go on to Kenya. lay (someone) to rest - to bury someone We laid my uncle to rest in a nice ceremony last night. lay (something) on (someone) - direct blame or guilt on someone The company tried to lay the computer problems on one of the managers. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 462 lay (something) on the line - speak directly and firmly about something The librarian finally had to lay it on the line and told everyone not to bring drinks into the library. lay (something) to rest - to put an end to a rumor, to finish dealing with a problem and forget about it We want to lay to rest the rumors about the financial problems in the company. lay the blame on (someone or something) - blame someone or something We laid the blame on my friend for making us late for the concert. lay the groundwork for (something) - to build the foundation or basis of something, to do the basic work that will lead to future success The new training program will lay the groundwork for the future success of the company. lay up (a vessel) - take a vessel out of active service, put a boat in a boat dock or a garage The weather was getting cold so they decided to lay up their boat for the winter. lay up (something) - collect a supply of something, save something for future use, store something We are planning to lay up some canned fruit for the winter. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 463 lay waste (to something) - destroy and leave something in ruins, wreck something The army troops laid waste to the enemy territory. . layaway plan - a plan in which someone pays part of some money that is owed and then pays the rest later and the store keeps the item until the full price has been paid I decided to buy the television set on the department store`s layaway plan. lead Idioms lead a dog`s life - live a hard life, work hard and be treated unkindly He says that he has been leading a dog`s life since he started his new job. lead off - begin, start, open The golfer was the first to lead off in the tournament. lead (someone) by the nose - have full control of someone, make or persuade someone to do what you want He isn`t very aggressive and always lets his boss lead him by the nose. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 464 lead (someone) down the garden path - deceive someone The woman was leading her boyfriend down the garden path when she promised to marry him. lead (someone) on - insincerely encourage someone I think my friend was leading me on when he told me about the new job. lead (someone) on a merry chase - lead someone on a chase with no purpose The criminal led the police on a merry chase before they finally arrested him. lead (someone) to believe (something) - imply something to someone The salesman led me to believe that he would be able to deliver the product within a week. lead (someone) to do (something) - cause someone to do something The loud scream from the dining room led the chef to ruin his main dish of the evening. lead/live the life of Riley - live an easy life of luxury, live a pleasant life My father has been leading the life of Riley since he retired from his job. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 465 lead the way - go first and show others how to go somewhere, guide someone I had to lead the way because nobody knew where the new office was located. lead up to (something) - prepare the way for something The concerts in the park were leading up to the final band contest of the music festival. . a leading question - a question that suggests the kind of answer that you want to hear The lawyer asked the man a leading question when he asked him why he had lied about the money. He had never lied about money. leaf through (something) - look through a book/magazine/newspaper without reading it in detail I leafed through several magazines while I was sitting in the doctor's office. leak out (something) - disclose special/secret information to the press The information about the illegal donations were leaked out to the press. lean on (someone) - pressure someone by blackmail or threats of physical violence to make him or her do something The gang decided to lean on the small shop owner to get him to sell his property. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 466 lean over backwards (to do something or to help someone) - do everything possible to please someone My cousin leaned over backwards to help my father when he was sick. lean toward (doing something) - tend toward doing something At the moment we are leaning toward buying a laptop computer rather than a desktop computer. leap to conclusions - decide something without having all the facts Our teacher leaped to conclusions when she accused the boy of breaking the window. learn (something) by heart - memorize something I quickly learned my library card number by heart. learn (something) by rote - memorize something without thinking about what is being learned The children learned the material by rote but they didn't really understand it. learn (something) from the bottom up - learn something thoroughly from the beginning The young man learned about the company from the bottom up before his father retired. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 467 learn (something) the hard way - learn something by experience (often something unpleasant) The young man learned things the hard way when he was sent to jail for stealing the computer. learn the ropes - learn how to do a job He is a new employee and is still learning the ropes. learn to live with (something) - learn to adapt to something unpleasant or painful My mother and father must learn to live with not having a supermarket next door to them. least of all - the least, of smallest importance I don't like any of the choices offered, least of all the one that we were forced to choose. leave Idioms leave a bad taste in one`s mouth - leave a bad impression, make one feel disgusted The way that the company fired the workers left a bad taste in everyone`s mouth. leave a lot to be desired - be inadequate The job performance of the new employee leaves a lot to be desired. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 468 leave no stone unturned - try in every way to do something, do everything possible The police left no stone unturned when they were looking for the little girl who was lost. leave one to one's fate - abandon someone to whatever may happen The tour was suddenly canceled and we were left to our fate regarding an attempt to get our money refunded. leave one's mark on (someone or something) - affect the behavior and performance of another person or of something The former president left his mark on the way that the company was run for many years after he retired. leave oneself wide open for (something) - fail to protect oneself from criticism or ridicule The actions of our manager left him wide open for criticism from everybody in our company. leave (someone) alone - to not disturb someone "Please leave me alone so I can finish this essay." leave (someone or something) behind - leave someone or something somewhere I left my coat behind in the restaurant. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 469 leave (someone) flat - fail to entertain or stimulate someone, leave someone with no money My friend's attempt at making a joke left everyone in the room flat. leave (someone) for dead - abandon someone as being dead The hiker was left for dead when the rescue group could find no indication of where he was. leave (someone) high and dry - leave someone helpless The employees were left high and dry when the company went out of business. leave (someone) holding the bag - leave someone to take the blame for something My friend left me holding the bag when he ran away from the accident. leave (someone or something) in (someone's) hands - give someone control of or responsibility for someone or something I left the planning for the barbecue in my father's hands. leave (someone) in peace - stop bothering someone The woman was happy when her family went out and left her in peace for several hours. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 470 leave (someone) in the lurch - desert or leave someone alone and in trouble, refuse to help or support someone My coworker left me in the lurch when he didn`t come and help me as he had promised earlier in the day. leave (someone) out in the cold - exclude someone We made an effort not to leave my friend out in the cold when we were planning the birthday party. leave (something) hanging (in the air) - leave something undecided or unsettled Whether or not they will be leaving next year was left hanging in the air at the end of the meeting. leave (something) on - leave something running or operating I always leave the lights on when I am working around the house. leave (something) open - leave a date or time unscheduled I plan to leave next Wednesday open so that I can meet my friend for lunch. leave (something) out - omit something He told me about the accident but he left out some of the main points. . someone pays part of some money that is owed and then pays the rest later and the store keeps the item until the full price has been paid I decided to buy the television set on the department store`s. (money) - spend or pay some money My friend will have to lay out a lot of money for his new apartment. lay out (something) - plan something We will lay out our plan for the new building. - decide something without having all the facts Our teacher leaped to conclusions when she accused the boy of breaking the window. learn (something) by heart - memorize something I quickly