From A to Z – Idioms and slang Part VII

Learning phrasal verbs in English is tricky and often frustrating. It is essential; however, that you try and learn as many possible meanings and their uses, as English natives will rarely use anything else.

1.    Rub someone (up) the wrong way: irritate someone: bother or annoy someone.
«All my little brother says is ‘why?’ usually I’m patient with him, but sometimes all his questions rub me (up) the wrong way.
2.    Savvy: knowledgeable about something.
«If you’re having problems with your hard disk, talk to Jim. He’s very computer-savvy. «
3.    State of the art: using the latest technology.
«The company is very proud of the equipment in its computer room. It’s state of the art.»
4.    Tell A White lie: soy something that isn’t true in order not to hurt or offend someone.
«The cake that Susan made tasted terrible, but i knew that she made it because she wanted to please me, so when she asked if i liked it, i told a white lie and said it was good.»
5.    Tight-fisted: very frugal: unwilling to spend money unnecessarily
A: Do you think Charlie will donate any money to the activities fund? B: No way! He’s too tight-fisted!
6.    A tightwad / tight -arse: someone who is very frugal and unwilling to spend money unnecessarily.
A: Will Charlie donate any money to the activities fund? B: Absolutely not! He’s o real tightwad / tight – arse!»
7.    Until hell freezes over: forever
«Chris can practice the piano until hell freezes over? But he’ll never play well because he’s tone-deaf.»
Note: This expression is used to describe something that will not change, no matter how long or how often it’s done.
8.    To waste away: when something has not been used for o while / has no use to anyone
Why doesn’t anyone use that computer? It’s just wasting away in the spare room.
9.    Wet behind the ears: inexperienced and naive.
«Don’t include Fred as port of the bargaining team. He’s just started working here and is still too wet behind the ears.
10.    Wishy-washy: uncommitted/ indirect/without on opinion of one’s own.
«Don’t be so wishy-washy. Tell us how you really feel.»
11.    Xerox (verb: pronounced zeerox). This is actually a brand name of the photocopying machine: American English: to photocopy.
As soon as I’ve xeroxed these documents I’m going home.
12.    Yucky: terrible: distasteful: very unpleasant
«Don’t eat the soup of the cafeteria. It’s yucky!»
13.    Zilch: nothing
A: «How much money do you have?» B: «Zilch. I ‘m broke until payday.»
14.    Zap (verb): to cook / warm up food in a microwave.
This coffee’s gone cold I’m going to zap it!
15.    Zap (verb): to destroy or obliterate
The stealth bomber, unknowingly zapped their own troops in the early morning raid.

Powered by CAPMAN