Lesson Two. To grow out of - Chapter Three

Advanced everyday english: Advanced vocabulary, phrasal verbs, idioms and expressions - Collins Steven 2011

Lesson Two. To grow out of
Chapter Three

Examples:

✵ He was most disruptive as a child but fortunately he grew out of it.

✵ My sister dreads the idea of missing out on up-and-coming trends in music, but I grew out of all that nonsense quite a while ago.

To go/come in phases (To occur at irregular intervals-e.g. business success, popularity, the desire to do/have something—note that a “phase” is a temporary stage or period of time, often in a person’s life or development)

Examples:

✵ Business tends to go in phases; for example, last week we didn’t have enough work to go round the office. This week, however, we’ve taken on more than we can handle.

✵ My passion for Indian food comes in phases; sometimes I’ll go over the top and eat it five nights in a row, then I’ll completely go off it for a month.

✵ Doctor to parent:

Your child is going through a disruptive phase, but I’m sure he’ll grow out of it within a few months.

Outlook

i. (General attitude towards life)

Examples:

✵ He no longer sulks, but by no stretch of the imagination can it be said that he has a positive outlook on life.

✵ As he went through his old diaries, it dawned on him how much his outlook had changed as the years had gone by.

ii. (Prospects, the likelihood of something getting better or worse—often used for the economic situation or weather)

Examples:

✵ Politicians are predicting an upturn in the economy, but I’m not taking their word for it. Weighing everything up, the outlook is far less promising.

✵ Weather forecaster:

The outlook for the weekend is quite bright, apart from patchy fog in the North. We’ll keep you posted with any changes.

Cumbersome (Large and heavy and therefore difficult to move or carry, a clumsy and heavy style of writing, slow and inefficient because of its large size and bureaucratic nature-e.g. a large company or government organisation)

Examples:

✵ I don’t know what came over us when we bought such a cumbersome wardrobe. Now, no one can get it to budge.

✵ Teacher to student:

You tend to waffle a lot in your compositions and your style is too cumbersome. Try to cut down on the words you use, and then your message will come over much more effectively.

✵ It’s a foregone conclusion that they won’t be able to comply with EU regulations; their local government structure is far too cumbersome.

To make ends meet (To earn enough money to survive or pay one’s bills)

Examples:

✵ He somewhat cockily makes out that they’re quite well off, but I happen to know they’ve got through all their savings and are struggling to make ends meet.

✵ Father to son:

F: When your mother and I got married, we could barely make ends meet, let alone go off around the world.

S: So you keep telling me; but I don’t want to miss out on what could be a very enlightening trip.

Tactful (Careful what one says so as to avoid upsetting someone—note the opposite of “tactful” is “tactless”, i.e. not careful about what one says)

Examples:

✵ I think he has an uninviting, cumbersome style of writing in his books, which I find unreadable...but it wouldn’t be very tactful of me to tell him.

✵ A: / think it would be more tactful of you if you didn’t bring it up until the whole thing has blown over.

 B: No, I’m sorry; I reckon we’ll all be better off if the matter is nipped in the bud right now.

✵ I can’t get over how tactless you are sometimes. Fancy telling her she was only taken on as a dogsbody.

To butt in (To interrupt a conversation)

Examples:

✵ Sorry to butt in, but I just wanted to tell you that I’m popping out to get some tea bags. Apparently, there aren’t enough to go round.

✵ Parent to child:

Stop sulking! I only told you off because you should know how rude it is to butt in when I’m talking to someone.

Image

Teacher to student:

’’You tend to waffle a lot in your compositions and your style is too cumbersome. Try to cut down on the words you use, and then your message will come over much more effectively.”

(see page 40)

To stand one in good stead (To be or have been a good preparation for the future, even if the experience seems unpleasant at the time, to be of good service to one, i.e. an object)

Examples:

✵ Looking back, it is only just beginning to dawn on me how my childhood hardships stood me in good stead later on in life. It’s a wonder I ever came through it all.

✵ This handy computer will stand you in good stead when you’ve got a backlog of work to get through.

I wouldn’t put it past him/her (“It wouldn’t surprise me if he/she did a thing like that”—usually expressed in a negative sense)

Examples:

✵ A: Do you think he’s likely to disrupt the meeting again with the same outrageous behaviour?

 B: / wouldn’t put it past him!

✵ I wouldn’t put it past her to use him as a scapegoat. Alternatively, as there’s so much at stake, she might decide to play the whole thing down.

Uneasy (Unsure, fearful, nervous, anxious—note the noun “uneasiness”, i.e. anxiety or fear)

Examples:

✵ They were a little uneasy about taking him on because he came over as rather cocky in the interview but, as it turned out, his down-to-earth approach towards sorting out problems has gone down well with their clients.

✵ We felt uneasy about our daughter going to all-night parties. Fortunately, as the years went by, we realised it was just a phase which she would grow out of.

✵ When this most recent piece of information came to light, we realised that our uneasiness had been warranted.