Common Expressions E

COMMON EXPRESSIONS: E - I

E
eager beaver	Someone who is very enthusiastic; a hard worker. – The new trainees are all eager beavers.
earn a living	To earn enough money to pay all your living expenses. – Some workers just barely earn a living. Also: make a living
easier said than done	(about a task) Easier to name a goal than to accomplish it. – Yes, we must become number one in the market. But that is easier said than done.
easy come, easy go	An phrase that shows an easy attitude about losing something you have recently won or found. – I won a hundred dollars playing roulette, then immediately lost it all at blackjack. Oh, well, easy come, easy go.
Easy does it.	Be calm; act carefully. – That vase you are carrying is very expensive. Easy does it.
eat up	To enjoy. – Okay, everybody, eat up! (informal for "Enjoy your meal.") – This software is great. The public will eat it up.
eleventh-hour, at the	Not long before the last possibility to act. – They decided to sign the agreement at the eleventh hour.
end up	To finish or conclude. – We started off in Maine and ended up in Texas. – We began by wanting to fix it, but we ended up building a new one.
Enough is enough.	That is enough (usually spoken when you have become impatient). – You have asked for a raise four times this month. Enough is enough!
enterprise software	Large software programs that integrate all of the software needs of an entire company (enterprise), from order processing and production planning to accounting, logistics, delivery, billing, customer service, etc. Enterprise means a company (especially a new one) or a business project.
Every cloud has a silver lining.	There is always some good that can come from a bad event. – The hurricane has given the construction industry more business. Every cloud has a silver lining.
every minute counts	Time is very important. – Please finish this as soon as possible. Every minute counts.
every now and then	Occasionally, infrequently. – Every now and then, he will give us feedback. Also: every once in a while
every time you turn around	Frequently; with annoying frequency. – Every time I turn around, he asks another silly question.
every Tom, Dick, and Harry	Everybody without exception. – Every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants to have a Website.
everything but the kitchen sink	Virtually everything possible. – The thieves stole everything but the kitchen sink.
everything from A to Z	Absolutely everything. – We discussed everything from A to Z.
exploit	A neutral expression in British English and means to use something productively or for profit. [nutzen] But in the American language, it almost always means to use something selfishly for one’s own profit, or to use it unfairly. – "The workers in this factory are being exploited by management!" shouted the union organizer. [ausbeuten] To express a neutral or positive idea, we Americans say: – "We must make use of (or take advantage of) this opportunity." In this article, Senator Hatch is talking about Microsoft’s UNFAIR use of its current monopoly. exploitation [noun] the act of exploiting exploiter [noun] someone who exploits exploitable [adjective] able to be exploited exploited [adjective] has already been exploited
F
face-to-face	In person; facing each other. – We need to have a face-to-face meeting. Also: eyeball-to-eyeball
fail to do st.	If someone fails to do something, it may simply mean he or she doesn’t do it. It doesn’t always mean that they are unable to do it. - George failed to write down the telephone number. This certainly does not mean that George tried to write down the number but was unsuccessful! It just means he didn’t write it down, for whatever reason. In this article, the sentence says, - She failed to duplicate (some pages). We really don't know why she didn't duplicate the pages. Maybe she forgot to do it. Maybe she decided not to do it. If she had tried and was unsuccessful, we would probably say: - She was unable to duplicate the pages. - She wasn’t able to duplicate the pages. - She tried to duplicate the pages but was unsuccessful. Other examples of how this expression can be used: - Do not fail to be there on time. - I fail to see the humor of your statement. - I fail to understand your point. Having said all this, it can sometimes mean that the person did try to do something but was unsuccessful. [scheitern] For example: - She failed to convince him. - He failed to finish the race.
fair and square	Completely fair(ly). – They beat us fair and square.
fall back on	To rely on as safe and familiar. – IBM thought it could always fall back on its mainframe computers.
fall behind	To lose position relative to a competitor. – We can't afford to fall behind in our domestic market.
fall down on the job	To fail to do your job adequately. – He fell down on the job when he didn’t demand the shipment be sent by courier.
fall flat	To fail completely to create interest. – The joke he told fell flat.
fall flat on your face	To fail completely. – He was a great marketing VP, but he fell flat on his face as a CEO.
fall for	To fall in love with someone. – Bill fell for Shirley on their first date.
fall for	To be deceived by (e.g., a trick, a lie). – Don't fall for his stories.
fall off	See: drop off
fall on deaf ears	(ideas and comments) To be ignored by the persons listening. – Their request for more money fell on deaf ears at the board meeting.
fall short	To fail to achieve a goal. – We wanted to sell a million units but we fell short (by 20%).
fall through	To fail to materialize (e.g., business deal, agreements). – The deal fell through when he realized he could not get enough investors.
fan the flames	To make something more intense; to make a situation worse. – The atmosphere was already bad between the union and management, but his speech fanned the flames.
far and away	Unquestionably. – Our technology is far and away the best. Also: by far
far cry from, a	Completely different from … – The result is a far cry from what we expected.
far from	[idiom] Very different from; very much not. – This is far from an ideal solution. Also: a far cry from
far from it	Absolutely not at all. – Do I want to fire you? Far from it! I want to promote you.
fat chance	Very unlikely. – He wants to be the president of the company? Fat chance.
feast or famine	Results that are alternately excellent and terrible. – The tourist industry on the island is feast or famine.
federal appeals court court	to appeal [verb] To take a lower court’s decision to a higher court for review. – We will appeal this decision! [Einspruch erheben od. einlegen] appeal [noun] – Our appeal will be heard in two months. [Berufung] In America, there are courts at the city level (for example, Miami Municipal Court), at the county level (Dade County Court), at the state level (The State Court of Florida), and at the federal level (The U.S. Federal Court System). – At each level, if you lose (as a defendant), you may appeal the case and have it heard by a higher court (an appellate court). – At the state and federal levels, there is one court that is higher than any appellate court: the supreme court. – If a case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, the decision is final. – In this article, a federal court placed an injunction against Microsoft. Microsoft appealed that action, and the federal appellate court lifted (ended) the injunction.
feel like …ing	To want to do something. – I feel like going for a walk. – I feel like having a drink.
fifty-fifty	Two equal parts. – Let’s divide the duties fifty-fifty.
figure on	See: count on
figure out	To discover the reason for something. – I couldn't figure out why he didn't want to work with us.
fill in	To complete (e.g., questionnaires, forms, applications). – Please fill in the missing information. Also: fill out
fill in for	To take someone's place temporarily. – I am filling in for John this week.
fill one in on	To give someone the information he needs. – Since you missed the last meeting, John will fill you in on the latest developments.
fill out	To complete (e.g., questionnaires, forms, applications). – Please fill out the application for a visa. Also: fill in
find fault	To find things wrong with someone or something. – He couldn’t find fault with my work.
fire away	To begin to ask many questions or to criticize freely. – If you have any questions, fire away.
first and foremost	First and most importantly. – First and foremost, the customer is always right.
First come, first served.	The first people to come will be served first. – They don’t take reservations. It’s first come, first served.
First things first.	The most important things must be done first. – First things first. Let’s finish talking about this last agenda item before we start planning the office party.
fit in	To schedule an appointment with someone. – I can fit you in on Monday morning.
flip-flop	To change your opinion completely 180°. – He said there would be no tax increase, but later he flip-flopped.
flurry	[noun] A flurry is a sudden occurrence of many things at once; a bombardment. A flurry of questions, a flurry of insults, a flurry of blows (hits in boxing), etc. all mean a series of these things in quick succession [Folge]. A flurry is also a gust of wind [Windstoß]. A snow flurry is a brief light snowfall (one where you see individual snowflakes coming at you. – He let fly a flurry of ideas that was amazing.
fly in the ointment	One small problem that spoils everything. – There’s just one fly in the ointment; he wants us to use his son’s bank.
fly off the handle	To become very angry and lose control of your emotions. – When I told him, he flew off the handle and started yelling at me.
fly-by-night	(referring to people or companies) Untrustworthy, disreputable (based on the idea of an airline that flies only at night because it’s cheaper). – Get a good consultant, not some fly-by-night person.
follow suit	To repeat someone else’s actions. – When the first bank closed, all the others followed suit.
food for thought	Something important to think about. – His speech contained a lot of food for thought.
foot the bill	To pay the bill; to pay for losses. – The government footed the bill for the failed banks.
for all intents and purposes	Virtually; practically speaking. – He is, for all intents and purposes, the real leader of the party.
for good	Permanently. – He left for good last year.
for kicks	Just for fun; for entertainment. – I think he sometimes pretends to forget people’s names just for kicks.
for the asking	Simply by asking; on request. – That job is yours for the asking (all you have to do is ask for it).
for the record	For everyone to know officially. – For the record, I am against this new policy.
for what it’s worth	If there is any value to it (spoken humbly about one’s own opinion). – For what it’s worth, I’d like to say this is a great opportunity for us.
foul up	To make a mess of something. – Our communication was fouled up, and we missed each other. foulup [noun] – The whole project was a complete foulup.
free flow	Flow [noun] means a smooth uninterrupted movement of something (for example, water, air, information, …). Free flow means a flow that is especially uninterrupted or limited (for example, by laws or regulations).
from rags to riches	From poverty to wealth; from failure to success. – His life is a rags to riches story.
from start to finish	From the beginning to the end. – We had problems with this product from start to finish.
from the ground up	From the beginning (of the building of something). – She has been with the company from the ground up.
from the outset	From the beginning; from the first moment. – Our relationship has been great from the outset.
from the word go	From the beginning; from the first moment. – I didn’t trust him from the word go.
from this day on	Starting now. – From this day on, we will not allow such things to happen again.
from time to time	Occasionally. – Our department has a social event from time to time.
full steam ahead	Forward at the greatest speed possible. – Once we get government approval, it will be full steam ahead with our new drug.
G
gain ground	To make progress; to advance. – We are gaining ground in our search for a better manufacturing process.
gang up	To form a group to attack someone. – I thought everybody ganged up on Paul at the meeting.
gather speed	To increase speed gradually. – The wagon gathered speed as it rolled down the hill.
gear up	[intransitive verb] To get ready or to assemble all the things you need to be ready. – We need to gear up for the Christmas season. Gear [noun] is equipment needed to perform a task. For example, there is communications gear, fishing gear, camping gear, stereo gear, diving gear, and so on. – Let’s go fishing. My gear is in the car.
get a word in	To be able to speak when someone else is talking without pause. – I couldn’t get a word in during the meeting. Also: get a word in edgeways. – When Mary and Katie get together, you can’t get a word in edgeways.
get across	To succeed in communicating (e.g., an idea or a message). – We want to get our message across to the public.
get ahead	To be successful or make progress (e.g., in a business or a profession). – If you want to get ahead, you have to be willing to work hard.
get along with	(1) To be on good terms. – I get along with all of my colleagues. (2) To function at an acceptable level. – I cannot get along without my cell phone.
get around to	To finally give something your attention; to find time to deal with something. – I hope to get around to that problem next week.
get at	To make a point in an indirect way. – I could not understand what he was getting at. – What are you getting at, sir?
get away with	To escape the penalty for doing something wrong. – I can't believe he got away with that lie.
get back	(1) To return to a place. – I’m going to New York. I’ll get back next week. (2) To return to a topic. – I’ll get back to your question in a minute. (3) To contact someone later. – I will get back to you after I find out more information.
get by	To function normally (especially on a limited supply of something [such as money, resources, etc.] or without someone). – I think we can get by without John for a while. – Don’t worry, we’ll get by. Also: manage
get carried away	To be overcome with excitement or enthusiasm. – I’m sorry I dominated the conversation. I get carried away sometimes.
get cold feet	Become afraid. – I would have spoken up but I got cold feet.
get down to business	To become serious; to stop the social talk and start discussing serious topics. – Okay, everybody, let’s get down to business. We have a lot to talk about.
get going	(1) To begin to function well. – After a short time, our team got going. (2) To begin to leave. – It’s very late. I should get going.
get into an argument	To have a verbal fight with someone. – I don’t want to get into an argument with you. Let’s discuss this calmly.
get into high gear	To start moving or working very fast or efficiently. – I don’t really get into high gear until after lunch.
get it	To understand what is happening; to grasp the subtle truths in a situation. – Don’t you get it? This is a serious problem! – Oh, I get it! You want me to help you.
get nowhere fast	To make no progress at all. – I’m trying to convince them to sign the contract, but so far I’m getting nowhere fast.
get off	To leave work at the end of the day. – I'll buy you a drink when we get off.
Get off it!	Don’t talk nonsense. – Get off it. You don’t know the pope.
get one’s act together	To begin to behave more appropriately or effectively; to get organized. – If they ever get their act together, they will be hard to beat.
get over	To recover from a surprise, disappointment, illness, etc. – I can't get over the fact that John won the lottery. – Did you get over your headache?
get over with	To begin and finish something unpleasant. – Okay, let's get this meeting over with.
get straight	To understand something correctly. – Let me get this straight. You say you quit your job?
get the hang of	To develop the basic skills involved in doing something. – I’m not a good surfer yet, but I’m getting the hang of it.
get the last laugh	To be in a superior position at the finish of something. – He always said I didn’t know about stocks, but I got the last laugh when I made a fortune on Wall Street.
get the picture	To understand the whole situation. – Oh, now I get the picture. You want me to help you fix it. Also: get it – Oh, I get it. You need my help with this.
get through to	(1) To reach someone by telephone. – I couldn't get through to him yesterday. (2) To make your point understood by someone. – I finally got through to him when I told him what it would cost.
get through with	To finish something. – When you get through with that job, come and see me. (through = finished)
get to first base	To accomplish the first step in a series of steps. – We can’t get to first base with them. They won’t even return our calls.
get to me	To bother or disturb me. – The way he always talks about himself really gets to me.
get tough	To enforce rules, give orders, or make demands in a firm manner. – We have to get tough with customers that don’t pay on time.
get used to	To become accustomed to someone or something. – This is a very noisy office, but you’ll get used to it.
get your feet wet	To have your first experience with something. – Don’t be afraid of computers. Once you get your feet wet, you’ll love them.
get your foot in the door	To make the necessary first step in establishing a working relationship. – I don’t have an appointment yet, but his secretary likes me, so I think I have my foot in the door.
get your money’s worth	To get everything you should get. – I recommend that movie. You’ll get your money’s worth.
give a break	To give someone a chance or another chance. – Give me a break. Tell me who I should talk to.
give a hand	(1) To help someone. – You look like you are having trouble. Let me give you a hand. (2) To give someone applause. – Ladies and gentlemen, please give a hand to the winner of our contest.
give a hard time	To give someone unnecessary difficulty. – I don’t know why, but the waiter gave me a hard time.
give away	(1) To give something without charge. – They are giving away samples. (2) To reveal something. – His body language gave away his true feelings.
give hell	To scold someone severely. – My wife gave me hell for missing the dinner party.
give in	To yield or surrender one’s position. – They were so tired after three days of negotiating, they finally just gave in and agreed to everything.
give the benefit of the doubt	To choose to believe someone in a situation where such belief is not clearly justified. – I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn’t know who I am.
give the cold shoulder	To ignore someone in a personal way. – I said hello to her but she gave me the cold shoulder.
give up	To stop doing something because it seems impossible. – If they don't buy something soon, I am going to give up trying to sell them anything.
give-and-take	Flexibility; a willingness to compromise or trade off. – There is usually very little give-and-take when you negotiate with them.
go about	To do something in one’s own way. – Tell me how you go about acquiring new business.
go against	To conflict with something. – His reasoning goes against all logic.
go ahead	To proceed. – When he asked for permission to hire another person, I told him to go ahead.
go along with	To agree with someone's idea or opinion. – I go along with John on this matter.
go away	(1) To leave a place; depart; travel somewhere. – The couple stayed for a while, then went away. (2) To disappear – I wish my headache would go away. [verschwinden]
go beyond	To exceed something. – His performance went beyond everyone’s expectations.
go broke	To lose all money and assets with no chance to make more. – He bought a shoe store and went broke in a year.
go down	To reduce or be made lower. – Prices will go down soon, I hope.
go down the tubes	To become ruined or wasted. – Eventually, the business went down the tubes.
go down well	To be received with enthusiasm. – My idea for improving production went down well at the meeting.
go downhill	To become worse and worse. – This company has been going downhill ever since the merger.
Go for it.	Advice to try for success in spite of the chances of failure. – If you are thinking about running for congress, my advice is: go for it.
go hand in hand	Belong together; to be found together naturally. – Computer sales go hand in hand with software sales.
go haywire	To malfunction badly. – All of our plans went haywire when John quit.
go into	to discuss something in detail. – I'll tell you about the meeting later; I don't have time to go into it now.
go off	(1) To explode or be fired. – The gun went off just before the bomb went off. (2) To ring or sound. – My alarm clock goes off each morning at six.
go on	(1) To continue doing something. – Please go on with your work; I don't want to interrupt you. (2) To be in progress; to happen. – I think a party is going on next door.
go on and on about	To talk continuously about something in great detail. – She went on and on about how nobody understood her. – He went on and on about his operation. [sich ständig aufhalten an]
go out of style	To stop being popular. – I hope this kind of management never goes out of style.
go over	See: go through (2)
go over big	To enjoy popular success. – We think this new flavor will go over big.
go over well	To be well-received. – Your presentation went over well.
go overboard	To do too much; to do more than is appropriate. – Everyone thinks he went overboard in praising his host.
go through	(1) To practice doing something before the real thing. – Let's go through our strategy for tomorrow's negotiation. (2) To inspect the items in a container. – The customs official went through my bags. (3) To live through a bad experience. – I wouldn't want to go through what they went through. (4) To exhaust or deplete some resource. – They went through their savings before he got well again. (5) To be approved in a bureaucratic process. – Your request for a transfer went through.
go through the motions	To do only the minimum and without any real interest in what you are doing. – He’s only going through the motions of looking for the problem.
go through the roof	To explode with anger like a rocket. – When he finds out about this, he will go through the roof.
go to any length	Do anything necessary. – We will go to any length to buy the picture.
go to bat	To do or say something in order to show support for someone (from baseball). – She needs someone to go to bat for her in this crisis.
go to great lengths	To take a great deal of trouble for something; to go to extremes. – He’ll go to great lengths to create a good team. Also: go to any lengths.
go together	(for two things) To look, sound, or taste good together. – Those two colors go together.
go under	To fail (e.g., a business). – Many small farms went under as a result of the drought.
go up	To increase. – Prices of electronic gear will not go up again.
go without	See: do without
go without saying	To be obvious. – It goes without saying that we must also increase our spending on R&D.
Got that?	Did you understand everything I said? – Tell him to call me at 234-4398. Got that? Also: Have you got that? Do you have that? Did you get that?
grand slam	A home run with runners on all three bases (the most runs, 4, that can be scored on one play). – Your proposal was more than just good. It was a grand slam.
great deal, a	[idiom] A large but indefinite quantity; very much. Also: a good deal – I have a great deal of difficulty with your proposal.
grow something	Until recently, this expression only referred to agriculture, gardening or ranching. You can grow flowers, grow vegetables, grow cattle or sheep, and so on. In business, we can say that something grew (grow - grew - grown) without attributing the cause. – Our market share grew last year. But if we want to identify the cause of this growth, we can say that someone made something grow. – We made our market share grow last year. In the last few years, it has become common to use the expression to grow something (revenues, sales, market share, etc.) the same as you would tomatoes, roses, etc. – We grew our market share last year.
H
had better	Ought to, should. This is used to give strong advice. – You had better see a doctor about that cough. It sounds serious. – I’d better stay and finish this. It has to be on the boss’ desk by tomorrow. Also: had best – We had best go now. It’s very late.
hammer out	To produce (solutions, agreements, compromises, …) after much hard work. (intellectual effort seen as similar to shaping metal with a hammer) – It took us weeks to hammer out an agreement.
hand it to	To give credit to someone; to recognize good performance. – You have to hand it to her. She did a great job.
hand out	To distribute. – I will hand out copies after my presentation. handout [noun] something (usually paper) to be distributed. – Did you get all the handouts at the meeting?
hand over	To release to another person’s control or ownership. – Mr. Brown will hand over the company to his son.
hands down	Without question or doubt. – He won the election hands down.
hands off	An order to someone not to touch or interfere with something. – Hands off the car. I just waxed it. Also: keep your hands off
handwriting on the wall	A warning or intuition about imminent danger. – He could see the handwriting on the wall and started to look for a new jo b. Also: writing on the wall
hang in there	Continue to try your best in a difficult situation. – I know it seems like you’ll never learn it, but just hang in there. You’ll learn.
hang out to dry	To abandon someone in their hour of need. – When the strategy failed, Jim was hung out to dry by everyone around him.
hang your head	Express shame at something you have done. – You did your best. There is no reason to hang your head.
happen to be	To be something by chance or coincidence. – I happen to be available next Friday. – He happens to be my neighbor. [zufällig etwas/jemand sein] happen to do … [idiom] To do something by chance or by coincidence. – I happen to know a good dentist, if you need one. – I happened to meet an interesting fellow this morning. – I happened to find some money in your car. [zufällig etwas tun]
happy camper	Someone who is a satisfied participant; a contented person. – I really enjoyed the seminar. I was one happy camper the whole time. It is also used in negative ways: – When they told him he was being transferred, he was not a happy camper.
happy hour	Some bars offer drinks at reduced prices to attract customers on their way home from work, usually from around five o’clock until around six or seven o’clock. This is called happy hour. – The bar around the corner has a happy hour from five till seven.
have a ball	To have a really good time; to enjoy oneself greatly. – I really had a ball on my trip to Hawaii. – Have a ball on your vacation!
head and shoulders above …	Greatly superior to … – Some people think Betamax was head and shoulders above VHS.
head start	An advantage gained by an earlier beginning. – They got a head start when the FDA approved their drug first.
heart of the matter	The central or critical point of an issue; the key to understanding something. – The heart of the matter is he does not want to be here.
here goes	An announcement that precedes an attempt to do something unfamiliar or difficult. – I’m nervous about calling her, but … here goes! – I’m not sure I can do this, but here goes. See: here goes nothing See: here one goes again
here goes nothing	This expression means you don’t expect to succeed but failure would not be particularly bad. – I don’t think this can possibly work, but here goes nothing.
here one goes again	Someone is repeating the same action or speech that he or she often does. – Here he goes again, talking about the good old days. – Here we go again. There’s no hot water. [jetzt fängt er schon wieder damit an]
Here’s to …	A simple way to toast someone or something. With glasses raised: – Here’s to a successful joint venture. – Here’s to a great friend.
hire	In American English, hire only means to give someone a job in your organization [anstellen]. It does NOT mean to pay for the temporary use of something, like a car [mieten]. For that, we use the word rent. - I hired a new employee today. She has excellent experience. - I rented a car and drove all around the west coast on my vacation. - I rent my apartment. I don’t own it.
hit a home run	To have a great success (from baseball). – They really hit a home run with their latest product.
hit pay dirt	To discover something of value; to find gold. – Ray Kroc hit pay dirt when he met the McDonald brothers.
hit the bull’s eye	See: hit the mark
hit the ceiling	To explode with anger. – The boss hit the ceiling when he saw Terry’s expense report.
hit the hay	To go to bed. – It’s getting late. I think I’ll hit the hay. Also: to hit the sack.
hit the jackpot	To be very successful suddenly; to win a lot of money. – Sally hit the jackpot with her first novel. It was a best seller.
hit the mark	To be absolutely correct or accurate. – You hit the mark when you said we have to reduce our production time. Also: hit the bull’s eye (the center of a shooting target) Also: hit the nail on the head
hit the nail on the head	See: hit the mark
hit the road	To leave; to begin a journey. – It’s late. I’d better hit the road. I have to get up early.
hit the sack	See: hit the hay
hit the spot	To give complete satisfaction; to be exactly what is needed. – On a hot day, after playing tennis, a cold beer really hits the spot.
hit-or-miss	[idiom] At random; haphazard. – His method seems to be hit-or-miss. I don’t trust him. [willkürlich, wahllos]
ho-hum	A sound that is made when one yawns from boredom. [adjective] not exciting or interesting. – They gave a ho-hum performance.
hold against	To keep in mind something about a person (a fact or an event) and to dislike them for it. – Ever since I was promoted before him, he has held it against me.
hold down	To keep (prices, costs) at a low level. – We have to hold our costs down.
hold on
hold on	(1) Wait a minute; stop for a moment. – Hold on! Don’t open that door yet. (2) Maintain your possession or control over something; don’t let it get away. – Hold on to that. It will be valuable some day. (3) To remain on a telephone line. – Hold on. I’ll see if he’s here.
hold up	(1) To rob someone face to face. – A man held up John in a downtown parking garage and took all of his money and credit cards. (2) To delay someone. – I’m sorry I’m late; traffic held me up.
hold your horses	Don’t go so fast; slow down; be patient. – Hold your horses! I’m on my way.
hope against hope	To hope for something with very little reason or justification. – We are hoping against hope for return of the lost money.
hopping mad	In the American language, mad has two meanings: (1) crazy, and (2) angry. This expression means extremely angry. – When Irene found out about her plants, she was hopping mad.
hurry up	To go faster. – Hurry up, Bob! The taxi is waiting outside.
hush money	Money paid to buy someone’s silence. – They gave hush money to everyone familiar with the research.
hype	[noun] A short version of hyperbole (high-per-bo-lee), meaning extravagant [maßlos] exaggeration [Übertreibung]. – Hype is so common in American advertising that we now expect it. – Some people do not appreciate hype in advertising. [Hyperbel] hype [verb] To advertise extravagantly. Hype is so common in American advertising that to hype often means the same as to advertise. – Let’s hype this as the best ice cream in the world.
I
I’ll say	Absolutely, I strongly agree. – Was the food good? – I’ll say. And lots of it, too.
if worse comes to worst	If the worst possible outcome happens; worst case scenario. – If worse comes to worst, we can always sell the house.
in … terms	[idiom] When measured with … as a standard. When compared with … . – A minute in her terms is about fifteen by my clock.
in a big way	To a great extent; in a way that is easily recognized. – The company is expanding in a big way.
in a nutshell	In a few words; concisely. – In a nutshell, we recommend buying their company.
in care of	Through someone; by way of someone. – I’m sending the letter in care of his mother. On an envelope, it is written: c/o
in case	If it should happen that. Also: in the event that – In case I can’t come to the meeting, Frank will give the presentation. [falls]
in case of	If there should happen to be. – In case of a fire, please take this exit.
in charge	In a position of leadership. – May I speak to the person in charge? in charge of – having control over or responsibility for. – He’s in charge of marketing.
in demand	Popular; wanted by many people. – As a consultant, he is very much in demand.
in due course	After an appropriate time. – I will answer that question in due course.
in effect	For all practical purposes. – This means that in effect, we have no budget left. put into effect – make operational. – When will they put the new rules into effect? go into effect – to become operational. – The law goes into effect on January 1^st.
in favor of	In support of; approving. – How many are in favor of the proposal? [für]
in good hands	In competent or safe care. – Your car will be in safe hands with me.
in light of	Taking into consideration; based upon the fact of. Also: in view of. – In light of the situation, I think we should wait a while. [angesichts]
in line	In conformity or agreement.
in no time	Immediately; instantly. Also: in no time at all, in less than no time, in nothing flat. – I’ll be finished in no time.
in one’s own backyard	In one’s own domain or area. – We found the best person for the job in our own backyard.
in one’s own interest	For one’s own advantage or benefit. – It would be in your own interest to compromise here.
in plain English	In clear, simple language. – Tell me, doctor, what does this mean in plain English?
in reference to	See: in regard to
in regard to	Conerning; about. Also: with regard to, in reference to, with respect to. – In regard to your last letter, we feel it is too early to enter discussions at this time.
in short supply	In an amount that is less than what is needed; difficult to find or obtain. – Good cooks are in short supply around here.
in so many words	Literally, explicitely, exactly. – He didn’t tell me in so many words, but I got the message he isn’t going to be here next year.
in someone’s shoes	Acting for another person or experiencing something as another person might. Also: in someone else’s shoes, in someone’s place. – If you were in someone else’s shoes, what would you do? – I’m glad I’m not in his place.
in stock	Available for use or sale. Also: on hand. – We have many different brands in stock. Oppposite: out of stock
in store	In readiness; in preparation for future use. – You’ll enjoy the workshop. We have a lot of interesting activities in store. In store for someone means awaiting someone; planned for someone. – We have a big surprise in store for you.
in terms of	(1) As measured by; on the basis of. – How much is it in terms of dollars? (2) In relation to; with reference to. – This food has very little in terms of vitamins.
in the act	In the process of doing something. – I was in the act of locking up when the phone rang.
in the bag	Virtually accomplished or won. – They thought the game was in the bag, but then the unthinkable happened.
in the ballpark (A ball park is a baseball stadium.)	Close to the correct answer. – That’s not exactly right, but you’re in the ballpark.
in the black	Financially solvent; having money or profits. – My bank account is still in the black. Opposite: in the red
in the clear	Free from danger or suspicion of wrongdoing. – After establishing an alibi, the man was in the clear.
in the dark	(1) In secret. – They worked on the invention in the dark. (2) In a state of ignorance. – They kept everybody in the dark until it was finished.
in the driver’s seat	In control; in a position of authority. – Well, I guess that puts me in the driver’s seat. Also: in the saddle
in the final analysis	When all things are considered. Also: in the last analysis – In the final analysis, we have to improve our customer relations.
in the first place	(1)From the beginning; before anything else. – If you had told me that in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess. (2) As the first of several items in order of importance. – In the first place, I don’t have enough money. In the second place, I don’t like their food.
in the hole	(1) In debt; in financial trouble. [slang] – The flooding put a lot of farmers in the hole.
in the know	Having access to secret or special information. Also: in the loop – He wasn’t in the know about the project.
in the long run	Over a long period of time; in the end. – In the long run, we can’t afford to live like this.
in the loop	See: in the know
in the neighborhood of	Approximately; roughly. Also: in the region of – They spent (somewhere) in the neighborhood of two million dollars.
in the picture	To be involved in or informed about a situation. – In every situation, he wants to be in the picture. to put someone in the picture — to inform someone about a situation. – Let me put you in the picture concerning Ralph and the marketing survey.
in the red	In debt. – We were in the red the last two quarters.
in the right	To have the support of facts or justice. – The driver in the blue car was in the right.
in the running	Having a chance to win or succeed. – Our company is in the running for the Baldridge Award.
in the same breath	At or almost at the same time. Also: in one breath – She talks about how bad the food is and in the same breathe she complains about how small the portions are.
in the same league	On the same level of skill or quality. – They aren’t even in the same league with us.
in the short run	Over a short period of time. – This will only solve your problem in the short run.
in the wake of	As a consequence or following immediately after. – In the wake of the financial crisis, saving increased.
in the works	In the process of being developed; in the planning stage. – We have three new products in the works.
in the wrong	Mistaken; at fault. – When I am in the wrong, I admit it.
in time	Happening or arriving before a deadline. – Some arrived an hour before we sailed and others arrived just moments before we sailed. But everybody arrived in time. Just in time – Happening or arriving near a deadline but definitely before it. – We arrived just in time to see the curtain go up. On time – Happening or arriving exactly at the planned time. – Our trains always run on time.
in touch with	In communication with. – I am in touch with him on a regular basis. get in touch – To initiate contact. – Get in touch with Don when you arrive. stay in touch – To maintain contact. Also: keep in touch – Be sure to stay in touch after you to California.
in trouble with	In difficulties with someone, especially someone in authority. – I’m afraid you are in trouble with the union. get into trouble with: – If you do that, you could into trouble with the law.
in turn	[idiom] In the proper order or in sequence. – I would like each person in turn to give his or her opinion about this.
in vain	With no success. – All of his efforts were in vain. [vergeblich, vergebens]
in view	(1) In sight; visible. – The airport is in view. (2) Under consideration. – Let’s keep this suggestion in view as we talk about the new structure.
in view of	See: in light of
in your face	Aggressively confrontational. – There are using an in-your-face style of advertising. This expression stems from basketball where an aggressive style of defense puts a player very close to an opposing player.
inside track	A position of special advantage. – The fact that he has direct experience gives him an inside track for that new position.
IPO	Short for Initial Public Offering, the first time a company offers stock to the public on a stock exchange. – It is an eagerly awaited IPO.
iron out	Work out, settle, resolve a disagreement or difficulty. Also: straighten out – They were able to iron out all of the problems with the production process. – John and Mary ironed out their differences.
irons in the fire	Activities currently in progress. – Don’t worry about me. I have a couple of irons in the fire.
it figures	It was to be expected. – Jack won the golf tournament? It figures. He always wins.
it takes two to tango	Both parties contribute to their common success (or failure). – Compromise on this project is absolutely necessary. It takes two to tango. – You can’t blame just one side for the failure of the negotiation. It takes two to tango, you know.
it’s all over but the shouting	Victory is assured, only time remains. – The other team cannot possibly win at this point. It’s all over but the shouting.
it’s someone’s funeral	Someone’s action is self-destructive (and I don’t care too much). – Carl wants to admit to the boss that he’s responsible for the poor presentation? Well, it’s his funeral.