Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (64 page)
Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
Three-Word Verbs Ending with
With
Almost all three-word verbs that end with the preposition
with
require only a direct object. The first idiom that follows is one exception, requiring two objects.
take
(something)
up with
(someone)
to discuss or address an important or difficult issue with someone; to bring a complaint to someone, often a person of authority. This idiom can also be said as
take up
(something)
with
(someone). ♦
Let’s
take
this discussion
up with
our coworkers and get their opinion.
♦
They
took
the matter
up with
the director.
come down with
to become sick with a specific illness or health condition ♦
He
came down with
malaria while he was in the tropics.
♦
I think I’m
coming down with
a cold.
Note:
Come down with
is generally used to refer to colds, flu, pneumonia, malaria and some other viral conditions, but it’s not generally used to talk about more serious conditions such as AIDS, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and the like.
come up with
1.
to find information after a search ♦
I checked the Internet and
came up with
some good sources.
♦
Did you
come up with
anything after looking at the report?
2.
to invent or create by thinking or teamwork; to fabricate or create and present something new ♦
The committee
came up with
some ideas to cut overhead costs.
♦
After years of research, they finally
came up with
a biodegradable plastic.
come out with
to present a new product to the public ♦
Some auto companies are
coming out with
cars that have computer screens.
♦
When they
came out with
Cabbage Patch Dolls, every child wanted one.
do away with
to eliminate or get rid of something; to fire, dismiss, or kill someone ♦
Many banks have
done away with
their clocks, so patrons can’t see how long they wait.
♦
They’re planning to
do away with
the treasurer position.
fall in with
to begin associating with, often by accident or misjudgment ♦
He
fell in with
a street gang when he was just 14 years old.
♦
In Europe we
fell in with
some other travelers and spent time traveling together.
Note:
Fall in with
is often used to imply an unfortunate or bad association, but it can mean a beneficial or good association too.
Three-Word Verbs in Context
The following short paragraph incorporates some of the three-word verbs in this section:
In the past many people
came down with
hepatitis from unclean food and water. In an effort to
do away with
this disease, medical science has
come up with
a vaccine that prevents hepatitis. Since drug companies have
come out with
this vaccine, there are fewer cases of hepatitis, but it will be impossible to
do away with
this disease completely until someone
comes up with
a cure.
The following short paragraph incorporates some of the three-word verbs in this section:
A number of local businesses have been robbed recently, the thieves
making off with
thousands of dollars in merchandise. The business community is
fed up with
this situation, saying, “We won’t
put up with
this violation of our community.” They’ve
taken
the matter
up with
state officials who, along with local police, promise that the criminals will not
get away with
these crimes.
get away with
to escape from punishment or blame for a crime or wrongdoing; to be undiscovered as one who played a trick ♦
They let their children
get away with
too much; they’re very relaxed about discipline.
♦
The high school seniors didn’t
get away with
their prank of putting detergent in the swimming pool.
make off with
to leave or escape, taking something that belongs to someone else, usually intentionally ♦
The thieves
made off with
all of their money and jewelry.
♦
Hey, who
made off with
my stapler?
run off with
1.
to leave a marriage or romantic relationship to be with someone else, often moving to another location ♦
He
ran off with
his wife’s best friend!
♦
She
ran off with
her boyfriend, when her parents disapproved of him.
2.
to leave, taking something that belongs to someone else, usually accidentally ♦
Sorry, I accidentally
ran off with
your notebook.
♦
Wait. Don’t
run off with
my pen.
put up with
to tolerate or endure something ♦
She finally divorced him after
putting up with
his drinking problem for years.
♦
Their teacher won’t
put up with
any teasing in the classroom.
take up with
to associate or be involved with, romantically, socially, or in business ♦
She
took up with
an artist and eventually married him.
♦
I wish he would
take up with
a more serious-minded crowd.
APPENDIX I
EXPRESSIONS WITH DO, FIX, HAVE, MAKE, AND TAKE
Some of the most frequently used expressions in American English are formed with the following verbs:
do
fix
have
make
take
These simple verbs, combined with nouns, create expressions that people use to talk about everyday life, routine activities, and common personal interaction. Phrases such as
do laundry, fix dinner, have a cold, make a mistake,
and
take a bath
are examples of this category of idiomatic language. Though these expressions may seem commonplace or simple, they can be difficult for non-native speakers because of:
- The non-literal use of the verb.
For example, the verb
fix
means repair, but
fix dinner
doesn’t mean to repair it! - The seemingly arbitrary choice of verbs.
For example, why is it correct to say
make
a mistake
,
and not
do
a mistake? - The use of a different verb than is common in other languages to express the same idea.
For example, American English uses
have
in “Let’s have our coffee,” but a number of other languages use the equivalent of the verb
take
to express this idea.
Some of the expressions found here may not be considered true idioms, but are idiomatic or unconventional in some way that makes them confusing or difficult to learn and to use correctly.
This appendix is designed to help you sort out when to use
do
or
make, have
or
take,
and so on. The first (and main) section of this appendix is organized by topic. The final section is organized by verb and includes additional idioms that don’t fall into one of the topic categories.
Housework Idioms with
Do
and
Make
Most idioms related to work in and around the house use the verbs
make
and
do
. For example, the idioms
do housework
and
do chores
mean to clean and tidy about the house. Here they are in context:
- I usually
do the housework
on Saturday morning. - Come on kids, you have to
do your chores.
Grammar Note:
The same idea can be expressed as
have housework to do
or
have chores to do:
- You boys
have chores to do
before you go out to play.
In the following idioms,
do
means to clean or wash:
do the laundry
(wash clothes) ♦
I
did
five loads of
laundry
this morning.
do the dishes
(wash dishes) ♦
Please
do
your own
dishes.
Don’t leave them for me to do.
do the floors
(mop floors) ♦
I just
did the floors,
so don’t walk on them till they’re dry.
In the following idioms,
do
means to complete or take responsibility for doing a task:
do the vacuuming
(vacuum the carpets and floors) ♦
Your job is to
do the vacuuming.
do the dusting
(dust) ♦
As soon as I
do the dusting,
the house gets dusty again!
do the cleaning up
(clean up the house) ♦
We
did
some
cleaning up
before our guest arrived.
do the lawn
(mow the lawn) ♦
Jared, go help your dad
do the lawn.
Grammar Note:
In all of the above expressions that use the verb
do
, an adjective (such as
some, a little
) or a possessive adjective (such as
my, our
) can be placed between the verb and its object (the cleaning word). Such adjectives would replace the word
the.
The following cleaning-related idioms use the verb
make:
make the beds
(neatly arrange the sheets and covers on a bed) ♦
Penny
, go make
your
bed.
make things neat (
or
tidy)
(clean up and tidy a little) ♦
Let’s
make things neat
before Aunt Lucy gets here.
make a mess
(create a messy or disorganized state) ♦
I always
make a
huge
mess
in the kitchen when I cook, but I clean it up.
make work for someone
(cause someone to do extra work) ♦
Her three little children
make
a lot of
work for her.
Money Idioms with
Have
and
Make
Most idioms related to money use the verb
make
and a few use the verb
have.
First you must
make money
(earn money), then if you’ve earned a lot of money, you might
have money
(be rich). The expression to
make one’s money
can mean either to earn money or to become rich, depending on the context. Here are some examples of these idioms:
- I don’t
make much money
at this job, but I like the work
. - His family
has money
, so they bought him an expensive, nice car! - She
made her money
in the computer component industry
.
Note
:
To
have
money also means to possess money (“I
have
some money in my pocket”), but this is the literal meaning, not the idiomatic meaning of to be rich.
The idiom
to make it rich
means to become rich (legally or illegally) through a business endeavor. For example
- She has
made it rich
as a fashion designer. - He
made it rich
selling on the black market.
The following idioms also mean to earn a lot of money and become rich:
make a mint
make a fortune
make big bucks
For example:
- I
made a mint
when I sold my company!
By contrast, the following idioms mean to earn very little money at a low-paying job:
make peanuts
make next to nothing
For example:
- I
make peanuts
working with kids, but I love the job.
To
make a living
basically means to earn money on which to live, to earn living expenses. People sometimes say “I
make a living,
” meaning “I earn enough money to pay my bills and live moderately comfortably, but I’m not rich.”
Make a living
is also used to ask or talk about one’s occupation or type of work. In this context, one can say either
a living
or
my living, your living,
and so on.
- How do you
make a living? - I
make my living
as a photographer.
To
make payments
means to pay one’s bills and pay on one’s debts:
- Please
make your payment
on the first of the month. - You’ll
make payments
on that school loan for a long time.
[See
make ends meet, make a fast buck
in Chapter 6. Also see
make bank, make big bucks, make money hand over fist
in Chapter 5.]
Appointment Idioms with
Have
and
Make
Idioms with
have
and
make
can be used in reference to setting up a plan or scheduling an appointment, meeting, or date. Use
make
to talk about the actual arranging of the time and place, as in “I need to
make
an appointment.” Then use
have
to talk about something that is already arranged, as in “I
have
a doctor’s appointment for next Tuesday.”
Here are some arrangements with which you can use
have
or
make:
an appointment
♦
I’d like to
make an appointment
with Dr. Logan.
an agreement
♦
My housemate and I
have an agreement
to take turns doing the dishes.
a date
(a scheduled plan to do something, or a romantic date) ♦
We
made a date
to meet for lunch Monday.
a plan
(a scheme to accomplish or solve something) ♦
We
have a plan,
but we don’t know if it will work.
plans
(an agreement to do something at a certain time) ♦
I’m not free on Saturday; I already
have plans.
Conversation Idioms with
Have
and
Make
If you
make conversation,
you talk casually, usually about unimportant things.
Making conversation
is also called
making small talk.
If you
have a conversatio
n, you talk more seriously or for a longer period of time, possibly about an important topic. Here are some examples:
- A reception is a good place to meet people and
make conversation. - Americans often
make small talk with strangers
while waiting in line. - We need to
have a conversation
about your future school plans.
When you
have a discussion
you talk seriously about something important.
Having a discussion
is a lot like
having a conversation,
and the two terms are often interchangeable, but a discussion implies a more formal situation. For example
- We
had
an interesting
discussion
on genetic engineering in class today.
Have
is also used in the following ways to mean present or offer an idea:
have an opinion
♦
I
have opinions,
but I can’t express them well in English.
have a (good) point
♦
You
have a very good point,
Sue.
have advice
♦
Do you
have
any
advice
on how I should handle the problem?
have something to say
♦
I
have something to say
about this issue.
In reference to communication problems,
have
means to engage in or experience, as in the following examples:
have an argument
♦
We
had a big argument
about who should take out the garbage.
have a disagreement
♦
When employees
have a disagreement
they come and talk to me.
have a misunderstanding
♦
I think we’ve
had a misunderstanding.
Let’s talk and straighten it out.
[See also
take advice
later in this chapter.]
You can also
make a point
(state an idea well). If it’s a good point it will
make sense
(be logical, rational, practical). Here are some examples of these two idioms:
- He
made
some
good points
about the benefits of using wind power. - You’ve
made
your
point.
Now let someone else speak. - I like your suggestion. It
makes
a lot of
sense. - What are you talking about? You’re not
making sense.
Food Idioms with
Fix, Make,
and
Take
Fix
and
make
can be used interchangeably to mean
prepare food to eat.
Here are some examples:
- If you’re going to
fix
yourself a cup of coffee, would you
make
one for me too? - I’m going to
make
a sandwich for lunch.
Fix
and
make
can be used whether the meal is elaborate, like a Thanksgiving dinner, or less complex, like breakfast. These verbs tend to be used when the food requires very little preparation, such as instant coffee, a microwaveable meal, or a frozen dinner.
When It’s Okay to
Take
a Meal
People say
take lunch
or
take dinner
in the workplace.
Take lunch
or
take dinner
is really another way of saying
take a lunch break
or
dinner break
(the verb “take” is used with the word “break”). Here are some examples showing how to use
take:
- After the meeting, everyone should
take lunch. - You can
take your dinner
after Kelly
takes hers.
Here are some other uses of
take
at work:
- take a coffee break
- take a cigarette break
[See
take a break
and related idioms later in this chapter.]
Another context in which people say
take
is when ordering in a restaurant. The server
takes the order,
and the restaurant patron
takes something from the menu.
The patron can also
have
something from the menu. Here are some examples:
Server:
- May I
take
your order? - I can
take
your drink order, now.
Patron:
- I’ll
take
the roasted chicken and a salad. - We’ll
take
one child’s spaghetti entrée and two adult entrées.
