We are going to be exploring the world of the idioms a little bit more, this is the second lesson of advanced idioms. They seem to be difficult, but if you pay attention, you will realize that they are similar in meaning to Spanish expressions.
To work out: to exercise; to develop, to devise (a plan).
-Jane works
out at the fitness center every other morning before going to school.
-The advertising department worked out a plan to increase company sales.
-We couldn't come up with a good
plan for solving the problem, but we agree to work
it out at a later date.
To back up: to drive or go backwards; to defend, to
support; to return to a previous thought.
-I couldn't back my car up because
there was a bicycle in the driveway behind me.
-Ursula asked her friends to back her up when she
went to court to fight a ticket for an illegal lane change on the highway.
-Wait a minute. Could you back up and say that
again?.
To back out: to drive a vehicle out of a parking space; to
withdraw support, to fail to fulfill a promise or obligation.
-The parking lot attendant had
to back another car out
before he could get to mine.
-We were all ready to sign the
contracts when one of the parties to the agreement backed
out.
To have one's heart set on: to desire greatly, to be
determined to.
-She has
her heart set on taking a trip abroad. She's been thinking about if for
months.
-Todd has
his heart set on going to medical school and becoming a doctor.
To buy up: to buy the complete stock of.
-Before the hurricane struck,
residents bought up all the food and water in
local stores.
-The government plans to buy up all surplus grain in order to stabilize the
prize.
To buy out: to purchase a business or company; to
purchase all of a person's chares or stock.
-Larger companies often buy out smaller companies that are having financial
difficulties.
-Mr. Lee has been trying for
come time to buy his partner out so that he can control the company by himself.
To sell out: to sell all items; to arrange for the sale of
a company or business.
-That store is closing its doors
for good and is selling out everything this
weekend.
-If my new business enterprise
is successful, I'll sell it out for a few million dollars.
To catch on: to become popular or widespread; to
understand, to appreciate a joke. This idiom is often used with the preposition
to for the second definition.
-Fashions of the past often catch on again among young people.
-When the teacher speaks quickly
like that, can you catch on easily?.
-His joke was very funny at the
time, but when I told it to others later, nobody seemed to catch on. I had to
tell the joke again before anyone could catch on to
it.
To be cut out for: to have the necessary skills or talent for.
This idiom is most often used in the negative or in questions.
-John is
certainly not cut out for the work of a trial
lawyer.
-Are you certain that you are cut out for that kind of job?.
To throw out: to discard; to remove by force; to refuse to
consider, to reject.
-Instead of throwing out our paper waste in the office, we should
recycle it.
-When a fight broke out between
two people on the dance floor, the management threw
them out.
-The judge threw the case out
because there was insufficient evidence to try the defendant successfully.
To throw up: to erect or construct quickly; to vomit.
-The Red Cross threw up temporary shelters for the homeless victims
of the earthquake.
-The ill patient is unable to
digest her food properly, so she is throwing all
of it up.
To clear up: to make understandable (also: to straighten out); to become sunny.
-The teacher tried to clear up confusion about the meaning of the difficult
paragraph in the reading.
-It's rather cloudy this
morning. Do you think that it will clear up
later?.
