Common Expressions T- Z

COMMON EXPRESSIONS: T - Z

T
tag along	To follow the lead of another person, especially when going from one place to another. – He said he was going to the post office, so I asked if I could tag along. [hinterherlaufen] – Do you mind if I tag along? [Darf ich mich anschließen?]
take a back seat to	To occupy an inferior position. – When it comes to quality, our products take a back seat to no one.
take a bath	To experience serious financial loss. – We took a bath in the stock market in 1987.
take a haircut	To lose a significant amount of money on an investment. – He took a haircut on that stock.
take a joke	To accept ridicule with a smile; to be the object of a joke with good nature. – Don’t be upset. Can’t you take a joke? (often said to Someone when they have been insulted by a statement which was not intended as serious)
take a look at	To turn your attention to; to examine. – Take a look at this article and tell me what you think.
take a stand	To adopt a firm position about an issue. – You have to take a stand on this. Neutrality is not possible.
take an interest in	(1) To be concerned about or curious about. – She took an interest in poor children. (2) To share in the ownership of a property or business. – He plans to take an interest in the hotel.
take apart	(1) To dismantle or disassemble. – I plan to take apart my PC this afternoon and replace the sound card. (2) To analyze or critique (arguments, ideas, etc.). – He skillfully took apart my main argument, and then I could see my error.
take aside	To talk to privately. – Mr. Johnson took Helen aside and explained her mistake.
take back	To retract a statement. – After this experience, I take back what I said about you not being a team player.
take by storm	To win popularity quickly and widely. – This new game is taking the nation by storm.
take care	(1) Be careful; use caution. – Take care with that. It’s expensive. (2) Good-bye. – I’ll see you tomorrow. Take care. Also: take care of yourself
take care of	To see that something gets done; to assume responsibility for a task. – I’ll take care of the plants while you are away.
take charge	To take a role of responsibility; to assume control. – I’ll take charge of organizing the dinner.
take for granted	To consider as true or real. – I take for granted that you’ll be there.
take in	(1) To include. – Does your plan take in everybody? (2) To understand. – His theory is too complex for me. I can’t take it in. (3) To absorb. – There were too many things to see. I couldn’t take it all in.
take into account	To consider; to allow for. – We have to take into account that some of the people are in wheelchairs.
take issue with	To disagree with. – I take issue with your plan to monitor employees.
take it	To endure something (pain, abuse, torture, …) – I can’t take this smoke any more; I’m leaving. – I don’t mind her criticism; I can take it.
take it easy	Don’t hurry; relax. – Take it easy. We have lots of time left.
take it from me	Believe me. – Take it from me, he is a genius in these things.
take it or leave it	To accept or reject unconditionally. This is our final offer. Take it or leave it.
take note	Pay attention. – Take note. You must turn off the machine before you open the housing. Also: take notice
take notes	To write down one’s observations or what one hears. – The visitors took notes during the factory tour.
take off	(1) To remove (clothing). – Please take off your hat and coat. (2) To deduct or decrease. – We will be happy to take off 15% for you. (3) To leave or move forward quickly. – I got into my car and took off. (4) To rise in flight. – The plane will take off in one hour. (5) To expand quickly (growth, popularity). – Our sales took off in July. (6) To stay away from work for some reason. – I’m going to take off tomorrow. I’m having my wisdom tooth removed.
take off after	To start chasing someone or something. – I saw the man run away with my briefcase, so I took off after him.
take offense	To be insulted. – I took offense at the way you ignored my question in the meeting.
take on	To challenge someone or face someone in a conflict or competition. – Tomorrow the Chicago Bulls will take on the Boston Celtics. [sich auf eine Auseinandersetzung einlassen mit] To take on a job or responsibility means to accept it willingly as a challenge which you welcome. – In addition to my normal duties, I have taken on a new project. [übernehmen; annehmen]
take over	To assume control, management or possession of something. – Gene will take over the new department. – Another company is trying to take us over. takeover [noun] – the acquisition of a controlling interest in a company. There are hostile takeovers and friendly takeovers.
take part	To participate. – We want everybody to take part in the brainstorming session.
take place	To happen; to occur. – When did the accident take place?
take pride in	To be proud of. – I take pride in my work.
take shape	(1) To develop and come into form. – The new design is beginning to take shape. Also: shape up
take sides	To show support for one party in a conflict or discussion. – The monitor should not take sides in a debate.
take the bull by the horns	To address a very difficult problem directly. – We’ve avoided this for too long. It’s time to take the bull by the horns.
take the cake	(1) To be the best example of something. – If you’re talking about leaders who lead by example, Marvin takes the cake. (2) To be the worst example of something. – I have heard terrible music in my day, but that takes the cake!
take the floor	To rise to speak formally to an audience. – When she took the floor, everyone stopped talking. have the floor – to have the right to speak; to be speaking. – Excuse me, Senator, but I have the floor now.
take the hint	To recognize an indirect suggestion. – Brian took the hint and stepped out of the room.
take to	[idiom] To become fond of doing something; to develop a pleasing habit. – We took to the new video game immediately. – John is taking to spending more time with his kids. Also: take to … like a duck takes to water.
take turns	To alternate, especially in fairness. – Each side will take turns speaking.
taken aback, be	To be surprised or shocked in a way that stops one briefly. – I was taken aback by the undisguised anger in his voice. This expression refers to the way a sailing ship loses its forward movement if a wind shift causes the sails to hang back against the masts.
talk one into	To persuade someone to do something that they at first don’t want to do. – I didn’t really plan to stop for a drink after work, but Harry talked me into it. [überreden]
talk over	To discuss thoroughly. – I’d like to talk over your ideas with you before the meeting.
tear down	(1) To demolish (buildings) or disassemble (engines). – They are going to tear down the old Rex Theater. (2) To talk about people in a very negative way behind their backs. – I don’t respect people who try to build themselves up by tearing down other people. (tear – tore – torn)
tell apart	To discern or distinguish. – The two seem identical. I can’t tell them apart.
tell it like it is	To be honest and direct about a situation. – I’m sorry the report is so negative, but I have to tell it like it is.
that makes two of us	We are alike in what we think or what we want. – I don’t like his style. – That makes two of us. – I could use a beer right now. – That makes two of us.
that’ll be the day	I don’t believe that will ever happen. – He says he will delegate more authority, but that’ll be the day!
that’s about the size of it	That sums up the situation; that’s how things are. – Do you mean we have to move? – That’s about the size of it.
think nothing of it	It’s not important; it was nothing big; you’re welcome. – Thank you for your help. – Think nothing of it.
think positive	Be optimistic; concentrate on the good rather than on the bad. – Yes, your car was stolen, but think positive. Now you can get a new one.
think twice	Reconsider something; think very carefully about it. – If I were you, I’d think twice before selling that old car.
throw away	(1) To dispose of, to discard. – This bread is old. Throw it away. (2) To waste; to fail to take advantage of something. – He is throwing away his career. [weg-, hinauswerfen]
throw good money after bad	To waste more money trying to get back money lost before, especially in a bad investment or gambling. – I think you should give up on this business. You’re just throwing good money after bad at this point.
throw in the towel	To give up; to acknowledge defeat. – I can’t afford this anymore. I’m going to throw in the towel. Also: throw in the sponge From boxing, where doing such a thing literally means you want the fight to stop.
throw someone a curve	To present someone an unexpectedly difficult situation or question. – He threw me a curve with his question about demographics. I was not expecting it. Also: throw someone a curve ball In baseball, it is possible to make the ball travel in a curved path, making it even more difficult for the batter to hit it. Such a pitch is called a curve ball.
throw up	(1) To construct quickly. – They threw up the houses in a few weeks. (2) To vomit; to become ill. – The way they treat each other makes me want to throw up. [brechen]
throw up one’s hands	To express complete hopelessness. – After an hour of failing to convince the other person, George threw up his hands and walked away. [Arme in die Luft werfen]
tie the knot	To get married. – Tom and Karen are tying the know on Saturday.
tied up	(1) Bound with string. – Be sure the package is tied up well. (2) Restricted in movement. – I was tied up in traffic this morning. (3) Busy or occupied with something. – He is tied up in a meeting right now.
till hell freezes over	Forever. – He said he would continue with the law suit until hell freezes over.
time flies	Time passes quickly. – Time flies when you’re having fun. This is also a well-known expression, often said ironically in boring situations.
time is money	One’s time is important and valuable. – You are ten minutes late. Time is money, you know.
time is ripe, the	This is a good time to do something. – The time is ripe to open a new store.
time is up	There is no more time left to do something. – All right, students, put down your pencils. Time is up.
time of my life, the	An extremely enjoyable experience. – I had the time of my life camping out last month.
time off	A break from work (usually several days or weeks). – I need to take some time off soon.
time on one’s hands	An interval with nothing to do. – The project is finished, so right now I have some time on my hands.
time out, call a	An official interruption in a game. – The coach called a time out so he could talk to his players. Also: take a time out This expression can be used in any situation where a pause is needed. – We’ve been working really hard. Let’s take a time out.
tip of the iceberg	The beginning signs of a much larger problem. – Decreasing orders is only the tip of the iceberg.
tire out	See: wear out (3)
too good to be true	Unbelievably good. – The results of the market survey are too good to be true. This can be an expression of joy or scepticism.
too little, too late	Not good enough as a solution and also not in time. – By the time they sold the division, they were nearing bankruptcy. It was a case of too little, too late.
too many cooks spoil the broth	Too many people trying to be in charge will result in failure. – They experimented with management by committee, but it was just a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. [viele Köche verderben den Brei]
took the words right out of my mouth, you	To agree completely with what someone has just said. – The problem is with marketing. – You took the words right out of my mouth.
touch base with	To contact or establish communication with someone. – I’ll touch base with you when I get back from my trip. – Be sure to touch base with me, John. In baseball, a basic rule is that a runner must touch each base as he advances toward home. Likewise in business, it is often important to contact certain people at certain times in order to pass along information or to get approval or advice. touch all the bases – to contact everyone; to follow all the rules. – If you want to get the support you need, you must touch all the bases.
touch down	To land on the ground. – Ladies and gentlemen, the plane will touch down in fifteen minutes. touchdown [noun] – a major success. – We scored a touchdown with this latest product. In American football, a touchdown is scored by carrying the ball across the goal line or catching it in the end zone. It is worth six points.
touch wood	See: knock on wood
touch-and-go	Extremely uncertain or risky. – We landed in a heavy storm with smoke coming from the engine. It was really touch-and-go for a while.
tout	To describe something in positive terms in hopes that others will give their support. – They touted their city as a good place to raise a family.
train of thought	A series or sequence of connected thoughts; a path of reasoning. – That interruption made me lose my train of thought.
tune in	To be aware or responsive to something or to someone. – He is tuned in to the problems of the elderly.
tune out	To purposely ignore or disregard all or part of one’s environment. – He is able to tune out when he has to concentrate. – I just tune out his negative comments. [ausblenden]
tune up	To adjust the working of a motor or engine. – I need someone to tune up my car.
turn around	To reverse direction 180 degrees. – He turned the business around in six months. turnaround [noun] – a change from bad to good. – These sales figures represent a complete turnaround for our company.
turn down	(1) To reject (an offer, a proposal, a request, etc.). – I’m afraid I have to turn down your request for more people. (2) To decrease (sound, light, heat, etc.). – Would you please turn down your radio?
turn in	(1) To submit (a report, a test). st). – To whom should I turn in this report? (2) To go to bed. – It’s very late and I’m tired. I think I’ll turn in.
turn off	(1) To stop the flow of (electricity, water, etc.). – Where do you turn off the lights? (2) To affect (a person) negatively. – People who smoke turn me off.
turn on	(1) To start the flow of (electricity, water, etc.). – May I turn on the heater? (2) To affect (a person) positively. – A really difficult math problem turns him on. (3) To affect (a person) sexually. – Long blond hair turns him on. (4) To suddenly attack. – That dog has been known to turn on people.
turn out	(1) To shut off (lights). – The last one to leave has to turn out the lights. (2) To appear for an event; to show up – Thousands of people turned out for the free concert. 3) To be considered (in the end). – He turned out to be right after all. (4) To produce or manufacture. – They turn out 50,000 units per month.
turn over	(1) To invert, bringing the bottom to the top. – Please turn over the page. (2) To rotate or cycle. – The engine will turn over but it will not start. (3) To consider or think about. – I plan to turn over the idea in my mind. (4) To do busines, measured in dollars. – We should turn over six million the first quarter. (5) To transfer ownership. – He turned over the company to his son.
turn up	(1) To increase the flow of (sound, light, heat, etc.). – Would you turn up the volume on the stereo? (2) To appear or arrive. – How many people turned up for the party? (3) To be found (after being lost). – Your keys will turn up eventually.
two strikes against	To have strong factors or arguments that are not in your favor. – Peter has two strikes against him, so John will probably get the job. In baseball, if a batter fails to hit the ball in three tries, he strikes out; that is, he fails. Before that, if he fails two times to hit the ball, we say he has two strikes, or two strikes against him. In other words, one more bad thing and he fails. You can use this expression for any situation where a person (or a plan, etc.) must avoid one more bad thing if he expects to be successful.
U
under someone’s wing	Guided or protected by someone. – Mr. Moore took me under his wing when I joined the company.
under the gun	Under pressure to perform work before a deadline. – We are under the gun to get this finished before Tuesday.
under the impression	Assuming or believeing something. – I am operating under the impression that my work will make a difference.
under the table	In secret and illegally (regarding payments in return for favors; bribery). – I’m sure they are giving them something under the table.
under the weather	Feeling not well. – Patricia is a little under the weather today.
under the wire, just	In terms of deadlines, just in time. – He submitted his tax returns just under the wire.
under wraps	Concealed; kept in a secret place away from public eyes. – We are keeping the plans for our new office building under wraps.
unit	Here unit means a part of a larger organization that functions as an entity. It could be a work team or a department or any other large or small group that is complete in itself. It is a general term, also used in the military. [Einheit] – They were together in the same army unit for a while.
up front	(1) In advance. – They want us to pay 25% up front. (2) Open and honest. – She is always up front with me. (3) In the forward section (in an airplane or large room). – Let’s sit up front, near the stage.
up in the air	Not certain or settled yet. – The decision about what to do with the surplus is up in the air.
up to a point	To a certain degree. – I agree with you up to a point. But …
used to	Formerly (when talking about a habitual activity that took place in the past but not any more). – He used to smoke. (He stopped smoking at some point.) – I used to live in Iowa. (Now I live somewhere else.) Compare with: be used to
V
various and sundry	Of different kinds; miscellaneous. – There are various and sundry items on sale at the computer store.
verge on	To approach or come close to. – His behavior verges on the criminal.
vested interest	A personal stake in something. – He should not be sitting on the board of one company when he has a vested interest in a rival company.
vicious circle	A number of events that lead in a circle, and each time the starting condition gets worse. – Because your product is defective, the more you sell, the more dissatisfied customers there are who tell more and more people about your poor product. It’s a vicious circle.
vote with one’s feet	To express your dissatisfaction by leaving. – Several people voted with their feet and walked out during his speech.
W
wait-and-see	[idiom] To wait patiently until events have run their course before forming an opinion or making a decision. – Will the stock market reach bottom soon? We’ll have to wait and see.
wakeup call	Any event or information that increases your awareness of a need for action or preparation.
walk off with	(1) To win easily. – Pete Sampras walked away with the championship. (2) To steal. – Somebody walked away with my camera. Also: walk off with
walk on eggs	See: walk on eggshells
walk on eggshells	To proceed very cautiously. – You have to walk on eggs with them when the subject of overtime comes up. [wie auf Eiern gehen]
walk out	(1) To go on strike. – The workers walked out on Monday. (2) To leave as a sign of disapproval. – The play was so bad, we walked out after the first act.
walking papers	A lay-off. – As part of the downsizing, ten more people got their walking papers this week.
waste one’s breath	To speak with no chance of being heard or having any effect. – You’re wasting your breath when you talk to him. He doesn’t care about the problem.
water over the dam	Something that is done and past and which should be forgotten. – Our unfortunate disagreement is water over the dam. I’ve forgotten all about it.
water under the bridge	See: water over the dam
way to go	An expression of approval and encouragement after someone has done something good. – Congratulations on your promotion. Way to go! This phrase is short for That’s the way to go.
weak link	The weakest (least reliable, slowest, etc.) member of a group. – Kevin is the weak link in sales. This phrase comes from a longer expression: A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
wear and tear	Damage and deterioration due to normal use over time. – These tires will take an extraordinary amount of wear and tear.
wear out	(1) [intransitive verb] To become unusable due to long or heavy use. – My shoes have worn out. (2) [transitive verb] To cause to become unusable due to long or heavy use. – I have worn out my shoes. (3) To exhaust one’s energy Also: tire out – I am worn out from cleaning the garage. (wear – wore – worn)
wear thin	To weaken or diminish. – My patience is wearing thin. – His jokes are wearing thin.
weather the storm	To survive difficult situations. – This is a bad business cycle, but if we can weather the storm, we’ll be in very good shape. Based on ships at sea during a storm.
weigh one’s words	To be very careful to use the correct words. – I’ll have to weigh my words carefully when I speak to him. He is very sensitive to criticism.
well off	In fortunate circumstances, especially with regard to money. – He was very well off when he died.
wet behind the ears	Inexperienced. – The new engineer is really wet behind the ears.
what about	(1) Would you like … – What about a game of chess? Also: how about (2) What do you think about … – What about that meeting yesterday? (3) Concerning what? – Can I talk to you? – Sure. What about?
what do you know, well	What a surprise. – Well, what do you know. The sun is shining. This can be used sincerely or ironically.
what it takes	The necessary qualities or expertise. – I think he has what it takes to be a CEO.
what’s the idea	What do you think you are doing? Why are you doing that? – Hey, what’s the idea? You just put my cream in your coffee.
what’s the matter	What is the difficulty? What is the problem? – What’s the matter? You look unhappy.
where there’s a will there’s a way	If one really desires something, one can have it. – Everyone told him he couldn’t get into medical school, and today he’s a member of the faculty. I guess where there’s a will, there’s a way.
white lie	A small lie told to protect someone’s feelings or to be polite. – Jerry asked me if I could see that he is losing weight, so I told him a white lie.
whole new ballgame, a	A completely different situation. – Ladies and gentlemen, it is now a whole new ballgame. We have merged with the third largest company in our industry.
whole thing, the	Everything in all its aspects; the complete situation. – The whole thing made me think they didn’t know what they were doing. – I want to forget about the whole thing.
wild card	An unpredictable person or event. – Of course, the wild card in your strategy is the exchange rate. In some poker games, a certain card or kind of card is wild, which means it can count as whatever the owner wants it to be.
wind up	[phrasal verb] (1) To arrive at a place or in a situation at the end of a course of action. – After driving for hours, we wound up in the wrong town. – I hope to wind up a millionaire with my great idea. (2) To conclude; to finish. – The meeting should wind up at five o'clock.
wine and dine	To entertain with food and drink. – I have to wine and dine a client tonight.
with all due respect	Although I think highly of you … – With all due respect, Mr. President, I see things differently. This is a very safe phrase to use when you must disagree or correct someone in a higher position.
with regard to	See: in regard to
with respect to	See: in regard to
without batting an eye	Showing no emotion or hesitation. – He read the bad news without batting an eye. In this expression, "to bat" means "to blink".
word for word	Precisely the way it is written or said. – He memorized the company’s mission statement word for word.
word of mouth, by	Orally from one person to another. – Sometimes the best advertising is by word of mouth.
work out	(1) To accomplish by work or effort. – We can surely work out the answer by noon. (2) To develop or formulate. – He wants us to work out a new process. (3) To prove successful. – I hope your plan works out. (4) To do physical exercise. – We work out three times a week.
write down	To put in words on paper. – Please write down what I say.
write off	To reduce an asset’s book value over time. – We can write off the new machinery over twelve years. (2) To cancel an account as worthless. – The bank wrote off its bad loans. (3) To regard as worthless. – After his string of failures, everyone wrote him off.
write off to	To label (a bad event) as … – Let’s write this trip off to inexperience and try to forget the whole thing.
write out	To express in writing, especially in detail. – Write out your complaint on this paper.
X Y Z
X-rated	Sexually explicit; obscene. – My client wanted to go to an X-rated night club.
year in, year out	Every year regularly. – He spends Christmas in Bermuda, year in, year out.
you can say that again	I totally agree with what you are saying. – The Yankees had a great year. – You can say that again.
you can’t take it with you	Spend your money while you are still alive. – Don’t be so cheap. You can’t take it with you, you know.
you don’t say	(1) That’s amazing. Is it true? – Gary is getting married. – You don’t say. (2) I find that information totally boring. – I can lift 300 pounds. – You don’t say.
you know	You see; do you remember; as you already are aware. – You know, we did very well last month. – Louis is overworked, you know. Why don’t you help him?
you never know	Anything is possible. – They may change their minds. You never know.
you’d better believe it	You can be sure it’s true. – Did you win money at poker last night? – You’d better believe it! Also: you better believe it
you’re telling me	I’m well aware of that. – She’s a beautiful woman. – You’re telling me!
you’re welcome	No thanks are necessary; I was happy to do it for you. – Thanks for the information. – You’re welcome. Also: don’t mention it / that’s quite all right / no problem
you’ve lost me	I can’t understand what you are saying; I’m confused. – I’m sorry, you’ve lost me. What was that again?
your guess is as good as mine	I don’t know any more than you do. – How much does he have? – Your guess is as good as mine.
zero in on	To direct one’s attention to (a precise object); to concentrate or focus on. – I want you all to zero in on this overhead foil.
zoom in on	To focus on; examine closely. – The discussion leader asked the group to zoom in on their one common problem.