Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 951 up against (something) - close to The ladder was standing up against the tree in the yard. up and about - recovered from an illness He has been up and about for a couple of days since he left the hospital. up and around - out of bed and moving about, moving from one place to another I was up and around before 6:00 AM this morning. up and at 'em/them - get active and get busy We will be up and at 'em very early tomorrow morning. up and away - up into the air and into flight My parents got on the airplane and were up and away before we knew it. up-and-coming - new The woman is an up-and-coming singer. up for (something) - enthusiastic about something The entire school was up for the final football game of the season. up for grabs - available for anyone The new championship of the city is up for grabs. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 952 up front - honest, correct He was very up front when giving me the information about the new office. up in arms - equipped with guns or weapons and ready to fight, very angry The villagers were up in arms over the proposal to take some of their land away from them. up in the air (about something) - not settled, undecided Whether or not I will be able to go to London is still up in the air. up in years - old, elderly Although our grandparents are up in years they still have much energy. up one`s alley - something one is good at or enjoys Computer programming is right up his alley and he is very good at it. up one`s sleeve - kept secretly ready for the right time or for a time when needed He probably has something up his sleeve and will be able to find a job when he needs one. up the creek - in trouble She is up the creek now that she has lost her passport. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 953 up the river/creek with no paddle - in trouble and unable to do anything about it I think that we are up the river with no paddle now that our car has run out of gasoline. up to - as far as, as deep or as high as The water in the swimming pool came up to my waist. up to - until Up to last week I had never been inside a bowling alley. There were probably up to thirty people at the meeting. up-to-date - modern, the latest standards of fashion The kitchen in our apartment is not up-to-date at all. up to here with (someone/something) - sick of some continual bad or irritating behavior I have had it up to here with his coming late to work. up to it/the job - capable or fit for something If he is up to it we can let him drive the truck to the new office. up to no good - doing something bad The boys were up to no good after school. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 954 up to one's chin - very busy with, deeply involved in something He has been up to his chin in the project to build a new convention center. up to one`s ears in work - have a lot of work to do I`d like to go with you but I`m up to my ears in work at the moment. up to par/scratch/snuff - meeting normal standards, equal to the usual level or quality The man's work was not up to par and he was asked to leave his job. up to (someone) to decide (something) - to be responsible to choose or decide something It is up to the manager to decide when the meeting will start. up to (someone) to do (something) - to be responsible to do something It is up to the manager to clean the apartment lobby. up to (something) - occupied in or planning some activity that is often bad I don`t know what he was up to last night but it was probably something bad. up to the mark - meeting normal standards, equal to the usual level or quality The work was not up to the mark and the company would not pay for it. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 955 up-to-the-minute - the very latest or most recent We always try to get an up-to-the-minute weather report before we go skiing. up until - until I was in the library up until midnight last night. upper crust - rich and famous people, the highest class of people The private club was full of what looked like the upper crust of the city. upper hand - controlling power, advantage The union members have the upper hand in their negotiations with the company. ups and downs - good fortune and bad fortune He is having a few ups and downs but generally he is doing well. upset the applecart - ruin or spoil a plan or idea Try not to upset the applecart as we have spent a lot of time working on this project. upshot of (something) - result or outcome of something The upshot of the meeting was that we would no longer continue to keep the store open. uptight - worried, irritated, anxious My sister has been uptight all week because of her exams. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 956 use Idioms use every trick in the book - use every method possible The apartment manager used every trick in the book to try and make the young family leave. use one`s head/bean/noodle/noggin - think carefully about (something) You should use your head a little more and try not to make the same mistake again. use some elbow grease - use some effort We used a lot of elbow grease to clean the oven. use (someone or something) as an excuse - blame someone or something My friend always uses his busy schedule as an excuse not to help us. use strong language - use abusive or forceful language The teacher used very strong language to make the children behave. use up - use until nothing is left, spend or consume completely They used up all of the paper in the copy machine this morning. used to - accustomed to He is not used to living in such a big city. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 957 V vanish into thin air - disappear without leaving a trace The university student vanished into thin air and was never seen again. variety is the spice of life - life is made more interesting by doing new or different things My grandmother believed that variety is the spice of life and is always starting new projects. vent one's spleen - get rid of one's angry feelings I was able to vent my spleen at the manager of our apartment for the problems that she was causing. verge on (something) - come close or approach something The accident verged on becoming a major disaster but luckily it was not. very last - the end of something We were able to buy the very last tickets to the concert. very thing - the exact thing that is required The new sofa was the very thing that we needed to make our house comfortable. very well - agreed, all right "Very well, if you want me to go I will go with you." Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 958 vicious circle - unbroken sequence of cause and effect with bad results He had fallen into a vicious circle of drinking too much and then losing his job and then drinking even more. vim and vigor - energy and enthusiasm Our great aunt is always full of vim and vigor when we see her. vote down - defeat in a vote The proposal to extend the opening hours of nightclubs was voted down in the election. vote of confidence - a vote to see if a person or political party still has the majority's support The government received a vote of confidence when everyone supported their new proposal. vote of thanks - a speech expressing appreciation and thanks to a speaker or organizer The speaker received a vote of thanks from the audience. vote with one's feet - show that you don't like something by leaving Many of the citizens voted with their feet and began to move to another city. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 959 W wade into - attack, join in The football player waded into the fight to help his teammate. wait-and-see attitude - an uncertain attitude where you wait and see what will happen We decided to take a wait-and-see attitude regarding what our new boss was going to do. wait on (someone) hand and foot - serve someone in every possible way, do everything for someone He always waits on his wife hand and foot. wait tables - serve food (in a restaurant etc.) He spent the summer waiting tables at the resort. wait up (for someone) - not go to bed until someone arrives or something happens The woman always waits up for her daughter to come home. wait with bated breath - feel excited or anxious while waiting I waited with bated breath for the results of my exams. waiting in the wings - ready to do something such as take over someone's job The vice-president was waiting in the wings to help the president. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 960 wake the dead - be very loud and able to wake even those who have died Our neighbors told us that our stereo was so loud that it would wake the dead. walk Idioms walk a tightrope - be in a situation where you must be very cautious The Prime Minister is walking a tightrope regarding the international trade deal. walk all over (an opponent) - win a game easily They walked all over the other team at the soccer tournament. walk all over (someone) - treat someone badly He tried to walk all over me when I began working but after I became used to the job he stopped. walk away/off with (something) - take and go away with something, steal Somebody walked away with the computer from the library last night. walk of life - social rank, occupation People from every walk of life came to the concert in the park. walk on air - feel happy and excited She has been walking on air since she heard that she passed her exams. . teacher used very strong language to make the children behave. use up - use until nothing is left, spend or consume completely They used up all of the paper in the copy machine this morning. used. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 956 use Idioms use every trick in the book - use every method possible The apartment manager used every trick in the book to try and make the young family leave. use one`s head/bean/noodle/noggin . at the meeting. up-to-date - modern, the latest standards of fashion The kitchen in our apartment is not up-to-date at all. up to here with (someone/something) - sick of some continual