Speak English Like an American

about to – ready to; on the verge of

• It’s a good thing Bob left the furniture store when he did. Peter was so angry, he was about to throw a dining room chair at him.
• I’m glad you’re finally home. I was just about to have dinner without you.
  

after all – despite everything; when everything has been considered; the fact is

• You’d better invite Ed to your party. After all, he’s a good friend.
• It doesn’t matter what your boss thinks of you. After all, you’re going to quit your job anyway.

at least – anyway; the good thing is that...

• Tracy can’t afford to buy a car, but at least she has a good bicycle.
• We’ve run out of coffee, but at least we still have tea.

(to) break the news – to make something known

• Samantha and Michael are getting married, but they haven’t yet broken the news to their parents.
• You’d better break the news to your father carefully. After all, you don’t want him to have a heart attack!

(to) cost an arm and a leg – to be very expensive

• A college education in America costs an arm and a leg.
• All of the furniture at Honest Abe’s costs an arm and a leg!

dead-end job – a job that won’t lead to anything else

• Jim worked many dead-end jobs before finally deciding to start his own business.
• Diane realized that working as a cashier was a dead-end job.

(let’s) face it – accept a difficult reality

• Let’s face it, if Ted spent more time studying, he wouldn’t be failing so many of his classes!
• Let’s face it, if you don’t have a college degree, it can be difficult to find a high–paying job.

(to) give one the creeps – to create a feeling of disgust or horror

• Ted’s friend Matt has seven earrings in each ear and an “I Love Mom” tattoo on his arm. He really gives Nicole the creeps.
• There was a strange man following me around the grocery store. He was giving me the creeps!

(to) go back to the drawing board – to start a task over because the last try failed; to start again from the beginning

• Frank’s new business failed, so he had to go back to the drawing board.
• The president didn’t agree with our new ideas for the company, so we had to go back to the drawing board.

(to) go belly-up – to go bankrupt

• Many people lost their jobs when Enron went belly-up.
• My company lost $3 million last year. We might go belly-up.

(to) give someone the ax – to fire someone 

• Mary used to talk to her friends on the phone all day at work, until one day her boss finally gave her the ax.
• Poor Paul! He was given the ax two days before Christmas.

(to) lose one’s temper – to become very angry

• Bob always loses his temper when his kids start talking on the telephone during dinner.
  
• When Ted handed in his essay two weeks late, his teacher really lost her temper.

(to) make up one’s mind – to reach a decision; to decide

• Do you want an omelet or fried eggs? You’ll need to make up your mind quickly because the waitress is coming.
• Stephanie couldn’t make up her mind whether to attend Harvard or Stanford. Finally, she chose Stanford.

no point in – no reason to; it’s not worth (doing something)

• There’s no point in worrying about things you can’t change.
• There’s no point in going on a picnic if it’s going to rain.

(to) put up with – to endure without complaint

• I don't know how Len puts up with his mean boss every day.
• For many years, Barbara put up with her husband’s annoying behavior. Finally, she decided to leave him.

real flop or flop – a failure; to fail

The Broadway play closed after just 4 days — it was a real flop!

The company was in trouble after its new product flopped.

(to) save the day – to prevent a disaster or misfortune

• We forgot to buy champagne for our New Year’s party, but Sonia brought some and really saved the day!
• The Christmas tree was on fire, but Ted threw water on it and saved the day.

(as) sharp as a tack – very intelligent 

• Anna got a scholarship to Yale. She’s as sharp as a tack.
• Jay scored 100% on his science test. He’s as sharp as a tack.

(to) talk over – to discuss

• Dave and I spent hours talking over the details of the plan.
• Before you make any big decisions, give me a call and we’ll talk things over.

top dollar – the highest end of a price range; a lot of money

• Wait until those jeans go on sale. Why pay top dollar?
• Nicole paid top dollar for a shirt at Banana Republic.