3.1.1.1.1.1.1: General Idioms I

General Idioms I

1. Quite a few: Many; a lot of; lots of

I have quite a few old friends who live here in Seattle despite the fact that none of us comes from Seattle originally.  There are quite a few students from Africa in my classes.

2. Back and forth: Backward and forward; to go from one place to another place and then back to the original place

When people play tennis or ping pong, they hit the ball back and forth.  Every day I go back and forth from home to school and from school to home.  When people are nervous, they sometimes pace back and forth.

3. To keep track of something: To keep a written record of something

I keep track of the checks I write in my check register.  I have to keep track of my students’ attendance so that I can report how often each student has come to class each quarter.  My wife keeps track of how much money we spend on groceries each month.

4. To make good time: To travel quickly at good speed; not to be delayed on a trip because of traffic

When I travel long distances, I try to drive at night so that I can make good time.  I made good time when I went to Olympia last week to visit some friends because there wasn’t very much traffic on I-5.  To make good time is not the same as have a good time.

5. Once in a while: Sometimes or occasionally; not often

I eat in restaurants once in a while, but not very often.  Once in a while, I go to baseball games during the summer.  It is sunny in Seattle once in a while in winter.

6. To catch fire: To begin to burn

When I was a boy, a friend of mine and I were playing in a field of dry grass, and my friend was playing with matches.  You guessed it:  The field caught fire and the fire department had to come and put out the fire.  (My friend and I both ran home, afraid that our parents would find out that it was he and I who caused the fire.  They never found out.)  Another time, another friend was also playing with matches and almost caused my house to burn down.  Luckily, we were able to put out the fire right away.  I have never played with fire.  I am not stupid.

7. To keep out: Not to enter; not to go into someplace

In places where it is dangerous for people to go, there is almost always a keep out sign on the doors or gates, warning people not to enter.  Young kids will sometimes put a keep out sign on the doors to their bedrooms because they don’t want their mothers to go into their rooms and see how messy the rooms are.

8. To look into: To investigate; to try to find the reason something happened or the possibility for something to happen

The police looked into the robbery of some banks in Seattle last year.  My son is looking into getting into a Japanese university on a scholarship next year.

9. To take hold of: To grasp tightly with your hand or hands

I took hold of the little girl’s hand when we were crossing the street.  People take hold of the overhead or side bars when they are standing up and riding on buses so that they won’t fall down when the buses start or stop suddenly.

10. To burn down: To burn to the ground - said of things that are not moveable (things that stay in one place such as houses, buildings, forests, etc.)

A house in my neighborhood recently burned down because of an electrical fire in the basement.  During an earthquake, a lot of houses were destroyed when they caught fire and burned down.

11. To burn up: To burn completely - said of moveable things

The wood in the fireplace burned up after a couple of hours and the fire went out.  The jilted man burned up the old love letters he had received from his old girlfriend when she broke up with him and married someone else.

12. To burn out: To stop functioning or become useless - said of electrical equipment or light bulbs; also said of people when they become tired of doing a job they have done for a long time.

I had to change a light bulb in my basement last week because the old bulb had burned out.  My friend burned out the motor on his shop vacuum cleaner when he used it for too long and it overheated and the motor burned out.  My friend who had taught for over forty years retired in December 2011 because he was burned out on teaching.