LESSON 6

 

under the weather: not feeling well, sick

• John stayed home from work because he was feeling under the weather.
• When you cat cold, you feel under the weather.

to hang up: to place clothes on a hook or hanger (S); to replace the receiver on the phone at the end of a conversation (S)

• Would you like me to hang up your coat for you in the closet?
• The operator told me to hang the phone up and call the number again.

to count on: to trust someone in time of need (also: to depend on)

• I can count on my parents to help me in an emergency.
• Don't depend on Frank to lend you any money; he doesn't have any.

to make friends: to become friendly with others

• Patricia is a shy girl and doesn't make friends easily.
• During the cruise Ronald made friends with almost everyone on the ship.

out of order: not in working condition

• The elevator was out or order, so we had to walk to the tenth floor of the building.
• We couldn't use the soft drink machine because it was out of order.

to get to: to be able to do something special; to arrive at a place, such as home, work, etc. for the second definition, do not use the preposition to with the words home or there.

• The children got to stay up late and watch a good movie for the family.
• I missed the bus and couldn't get to the office until ten o'clock.
• When are you planning to get home tonight?

few and far between: not frequent, unusual, rare

• The times that our children get to stay up late are few and far between.
• Airplane travel is very safe because accidents are few and far between.

to look over: to examine, to inspect closely (also: to go over, to read over, to check over) (S)

Go over is different from the other forms because it is not separable.

• I want to look my homework over again before I give it to the teacher.
• The politician went over his speech before the important presentation.
• You should never sign any legal paper without checking it over first.

to have (time) off: to have free time, not to have to work (also: to take time off (S))

The related form (S) to take time off is used when someone makes a decision to have free time, sometimes when others might not agree with the decision.

• Every morning the company workers have time off for a coffee break.
• Several workers took the afternoon off to go to a baseball game.

to go on: to happen; to resume, to continue (also: to keep on)

• Many people gathered near the accident to see what was going on.
• I didn't mean to interrupt you. Please go on.
• The speaker kept on talking even though most of the audience had left.

to put out: extinguish, to cause to stop functioning (S)

To put out has the same meaning as to turn off (Lesson 1) for a light fixture.

• No smoking is allowed in here. Please put out your cigarette.
• The fire fighters worked hard to put the brush fire out.
• Please put out the light before you leave. Okay, I'll put it out.

all of a sudden: suddenly, without warning (also: all at once)

• All of a sudden Ed appeared at the door. We weren't expecting him to drop by.
• All at once Millie got up and left the house without any explanation.