ESL Blogs

1. Turn around :

A: stop being unsuccessful, get to be successful

- I hope the new director will turn around our failing business.
- We were losing in the first half but we managed to turn things around by the end of the game.

B: reverse the direction of something or someone

- Turn the car around and go back to the filling station for the tank cap.
- Turn around and let me dust your back.

2. Break off :
A: end a relationship, association, etc.

- They never got along well, and after one of their bitter quarrels they finally broke off their relationship.
- You shouldn't treat her like a child if you don’t want her to break off with you.

B: stop doing something

- His speech wouldn't have been bad, but he suddenly broke off in the middle of a sentence and left the auditorium.
- The business will go on until one of the parties breaks off.

3. Cut out :
A: shape or form by cutting

- She cut her cap out of some funny old material.
- They cut out thick paper swords for the children to play with.

B: delete, remove, leave out

- He’s too fat, he’d better cut bread and sugar out of his diet and do more exercise.
- I think the director should have cut out the part with the naked old man on the beach.

4. Tuck in :
A: make somebody feel comfortable in bed, put a child to bed

- She tucked the children in and said goodnight.
- Who’ll tuck me in while mummy’s away?

B: eat a lot of food with enthusiasm (informal)

- The pie is ready, come on, guys, let’s tuck in.
- All the guests hoped to tuck in to the finest foods at the wedding reception.

5. Give away :
A: give something as a gift.

- If you won the lottery, how much would you give away to charity?
- Sorry, we can’t lower the price, we’re almost giving away these products already.

B: betray; carelessly allow an advantage

- He thought nobody would recognize him in the Santa Claus costume, but his voice gave him away.
- Arsenal could hardly win after giving away two goals.

6. Take back :
A: retract something that you said.

- You can’t insult her wit rude words, take it all back.
- What I said may sound critical, but I won’t take anything back.

B: return something (e.g. to a shop)

- When we unpacked the china cups, we found one of them broken, so we took the whole stuff back.
- Thanks for your kindness, but I don’t need this ugly dress, take it back to the shop.

7. Hang up :
A: suspend something, attach at the top and let the lower part free.

- Come in, the maid will hang up your coat.
- Your clothes are so untidy; why didn’t you hang them up last night?

B: put down the telephone, end the conversation

- Gosh, I forgot to ask for her number before I hung up.
- The girl was talking and talking on the phone, but she suddenly hung up when her mother came into the room.

8. Turn in :
A: go to bed, go to sleep.

- It’s late; we’d better turn in, good night.
- She turned in quite early, but I stayed up and watched a film.

B: tell the police about someone

- The robber had been hiding for weeks, but finally he decided to turn in.
- The watchman threatened to turn them in to the police unless they give him a share of the stolen goods.

9. Call off :
A: cancel, stop.

- Quite a lot of flights were called off due to the storm last night.
- They called off their engagement because they couldn't agree on what rings to buy.

B: order to stop, restrain

- The dog bit the postman three times before it was called off.
- We’ll give in, please call off your men.

10. Tear off :
A: remove with force, separate by tearing.

- His collar and sleeves were torn off in the street fight, but fortunately he wasn't hurt much.
- Tear off a slip over there to get your number for queuing.

B: remove clothes quickly

- When they reached the oasis, everybody tore off their burnous and jumped into the water.
- It was only when he tore off the burglar’s mask that he saw it was a woman.

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