|
|
|
|
|
after all — despite, nevertheless |
- |
I knew it! After all, I was right! |
|
all along — all the time |
, |
I knew about his little secret all along. |
|
all ears — eager to listen |
|
I am all ears. |
|
all of a sudden — suddenly |
|
All of a sudden, he refused to pay. |
|
all the same — no difference |
, |
If it’s all the same to you, let’s start at two. |
|
all thumbs — clumsy |
, |
He can’t fix anything, he’s all thumbs. |
|
apple of discord — subject of envy or quarrel |
|
This question is an apple of discord in our family. |
|
as a rule — usually |
|
As a rule, we offer a 5% discount. |
|
as far as I am concerned — in my opinion |
, |
As far as I am concerned, both the book and the movie are good. |
|
as for me/as to me — in my opinion |
|
As for me, you can rely on his support. |
|
as well — also, too |
, |
He knows math, and physics as well. |
|
at all — (not) in the smallest degree |
() |
He doesn’t know French at all. I don’t like it at all. |
|
at random — without order |
, |
He chose those places at random. |
|
at this point — at this time |
|
At this point, we can’t turn back. |
|
be about to — ready (to do) |
|
I was about to leave when you called. |
|
be after someone — insist, press |
, |
His mother is always after him to study. |
|
be all in — be extremely tired |
|
I’m all in, I’d better go to bed now. |
|
be back on one’s feet — healthy again or better financially |
|
He’s back on his feet after a long period of debt and unemployment. |
|
beat around the bush — avoid giving a clear/definite answer |
|
Stop beating around the bush! Get to the point! |
|
be beside oneself — be very upset, nervous, worried, etc. |
, . |
She was beside herself with worry / with grief. |
|
be better off — be in a better situation (financially) |
() |
He’ll be better off with a new job. |
|
be broke — have no money at all |
« » ( ) |
I spent all my money, I’m broke. |
|
be hard on something /someone— treat roughly |
- |
My son is hard on shoes, they don’t last long with him. Life was pretty hard on Tom. |
|
be high on one’s list — be one of the most important things |
|
A new car is high on my list of priorities. A new TV is not high on my list. |
|
be in charge of — be responsible for |
|
He is in charge of marketing. |
|
be in the red — be in debt |
|
Our sales were in the red last year. |
|
be into smth. — be interested in |
- |
He is into computers. She is into sports. |
|
bend over backwards — try hard |
|
I bent over backwards to help her. |
|
be on one’s way |
. |
I’m on my way. |
|
be on the safe side — not to take any chances |
|
Take an extra key, just to be on the safe side. |
|
be out of — be without |
|
We are out of bread, cheese, and sugar. |
|
be out of shape — be physically unfit |
|
He needs to exercise, he is out of shape. |
|
be out of sorts — in bad humor |
|
Leave him alone, he’s out of sorts today |
|
be pressed for time / money — be short of; not have enough |
|
I’m pressed for time now. We are pressed for money at the moment. |
|
beside the point — off the point |
, |
What I said to him privately is beside the point. |
|
be to blame — be responsible for a mistake / something wrong |
, |
Who is to blame for this awful mistake? Tom is to blame for this mix-up. |
|
be touch and go — be uncertain of the result |
; , |
He was very sick, and for some time it was touch and go, but he is better now. |
|
be up against — be opposed by, have problems, be in danger |
-, - |
Our company is up against serious attempts of hostile takeover. |
|
be up and around/about — able to be out of bed after an illness |
, |
He was sick for a month, but now he is up and around. |
|
be up to one’s ears — very busy |
|
I’m up to my ears in work. |
|
be up to something — do mischief |
, |
I have to check what the kids are up to. |
|
be up to someone — be one’s own decision or responsibility |
, |
It’s up to you to decide. It’s up to you to close the office every day at 8 o’clock. |
|
be used to — be accustomed to |
|
I’m used to hard work. He’s used to heat. |
|
big shot — important person |
|
He is a big shot around here. |
|
bite off more than one can chew— try to do more than one can |
|
I couldn’t handle two jobs and family. I really bit off more than I could chew. |
|
bite one’s tongue — stop talking |
|
I almost told her, but bit my tongue. |
|
bite the dust — die, be defeated |
, |
Many of them bit the dust in that war. |
|
black sheep — a good-for-nothing member of the family |
|
Their second son is the black sheep of the family, he is good for nothing. |
|
blind date — a meeting of a man and woman arranged by friends |
|
She refuses to go on a blind date again because she had bad experience. |
|
blow it — lose the chance |
|
He understood that he blew it. |
|
blow over — pass, end |
, |
Wait here till his anger blows over. |
|
bottom line — main result/factor |
, |
<
|
