Idioms Lesson 31

To go through: 1.to undergo, to experience

2. to consume, to use (also: to use up) I can’t believe you had to go through

such an awful experience. You’re lucky the plane didn’t crash!

Frank said they had gone through all the toilet paper, but Bill didn’t believe they had used it all up

To go without saying: to be known without the need to mention—but mentioning it anyway

It goes without saying that anyone who does not study for the final will fail it.

Almost always begins with IT and is followed by THAT

TO GO must be conjugated

To put (someone) on: to mislead by joking or tricking

I don’t believe that the final has a hundred vocabulary words on it. The teacher must be putting us on.

You’re putting me on! There is no cat in my backpack!

To keep one’s head: to remain calm in an emergency

I admire her aplomb; she kept her head while everyone else was freaking out.

Change ONE’S to a possessive pronoun: his, her, my, our, etc.

To lose one’s head: not to think clearly; to lose self control

She must have completely lost her head, because no one in their right mind would wear that out in public.

If the politician hadn’t gotten stirred up and lost his head, he never would have spoken with such vitriol against his opponent.

Change ONE’S to a possessive pronoun

Narrow-minded: not willing to accept the ideas of others (ant: open-minded)

She is so insular and narrow-minded I don’t know how she manages to function.

Narrow-minded people are often guilty of discrimination against groups of people with whom they have nothing in common.

To stand up: 1. to withstand use or wear

2. to fail to appear for a date or social engagement

My car has stood up well to the effects of time and wear.

I can’t believe you stood me up last night! I was stuck waiting at the restaurant for a whole hour!

For usage 2, always use a noun or pronoun between stand and up.

To get the better of: to win or defeat by gaining an advantage over someone

He might not seem very smart, but he’s tricky and he will easily get the better of you in a debate.

You are 18, and your brother is 10, but you always let him get the better of you in an argument!

To break loose: to become free or loose; to escape (also to break free)

During a hurricane, boats often break loose of their mooring and drift away.

No matter how hard she tries, she can’t break free of her addiction to smoking.

On edge: nervous, anxious; upset or irritable

I don’t mean to snap at you, but this job interview really has me on edge.

I don’t like being around Jake when he’s on edge like that. I’m always afraid he’ll hurt someone.

To waste one’s breath: to speak uselessly

Don’t waste your breath trying to argue with him; he’s so narrow-minded he never sees anyone’s opinion but his own.

You’re wasting your breath complaining about the government.

To cut short: to make shorter or interrupt

I was cut short by a phone call while trying to explain to my son why peanut butter and ketchup don’t go well together.

It is never pleasant when you have to cut your vacation short to deal with bad news from home.