o Jim doesn't seem very athletic at tennis, but if you're not careful, he'll
get the better of you.
o Lynn gets frustrated when Bruce gets the better of her in arguments.
No matter what she says, he always has a clever response.to break loose: to become free or loose, to escape
o During the bad storm, the boat broke loose from the landing and
drifted out to sea.
o One bicyclist broke loose from the pack of racers and pulled ahead
towards the finish line.
on edge: nervous, anxious; upset, irritable
o Cynthia was on edge all day about the important presentation she had
to give to the local citizens group.
o I don't like being around Jake when he's on edge like that. Someone
should tell him to calm down and relax.
to waste one's breath: not be able to convince someone
This idiom is used when someone is wasting time trying to convince another
person. The idiom to save one's breath is related and means not to waste
effort trying to convince someone.
o Don't argue with Frank any longer. You are wasting your breath trying
to get him to agree with you.
o I have already decided what I'm going to do. You can't change my mind,
so save your breath.
to cut short: to make shorter, to interrupt (S)
o The moderator asked the speaker to cut short his talk because there
wasn't much time remaining for questions from the audience.
o We were very unfortunate when we received bad news from home that
forced us to cut our trip short.
LESSON 32
to step in: to become involved or concerned with something; to enter a place
for a brief time (also: to step into)
o When the children started fighting on the play-ground, a teacher had to
step in and stop the fight.
o The supervisor asked one of the employees to step in her office for a
moment.
o Would you step into the hallway so that I can show you the information
posted on the bulletin board?
to step down: to retire or leave a top position, to resign
o Next May the principal will step down after thirty-five years of service
to the school.
o The angry shareholders wanted the company president to step down
because of the stock scandal.
to step on: to treat severely, to discipline; to go faster, to work more quickly