در اداره

as of yet = until this time; so far, as of yet.

As of yet, she’s never had a boyfriend.

As of yet, he has not been paid by the company.

The date for the final test has not been announced as of yet.

Are the new computers in?

I’m sorry, sir. They have not arrived as of yet.

at one’s fingertips = easily available; at hand, at one’s fingertips.

He has the information at his fingertips.

I don’t have that information at my fingertips right now. Can you wait a minute?

Keep all of your important papers at your fingertips at all times.

Wow! Your Palm Pilot is really great!

Yeah. It keeps important information right at my fingertips.

brand-new = never used; totally new, brand-new.

It’s my brand new refrigerator!

Their brand-new car was stolen yesterday.

I bought a brand-new stereo to go with my television and DVD player.

Your shoes look very clean.

Actually, they’re brand-new.

cut in = go in front of someone unfairly; interrupt someone talking, cut in.

I hate when people cut in line!

I hate it when people cut in line at the movies.

She was telling a joke but her brother cut in and told the rest of it.

That man just cut in front of us!

How rude!

dwell on = worry about or consider for a long timed, dwell on.

I know you got a bad grade, but try not to dwell on it.

She could not help dwelling on the fact that her mother was sick.

I know you lost your wallet, but try not to dwell on it.

I can’t stop thinking about my old girlfriend.

Don’t dwell on her. I’m sure you will find love again.

get a hold of = contact; reach, get a hold of

Hello. Jimmy? You’ll never believe who I got a hold of!

He couldn’t get hold of his friend to tell him the plans were changed.

Please write down a phone number where we can get a hold of you.

Did you get a hold of Mike?

No. His line was busy.

learn (something) by heart = memorize; study to know without thinking, learn (something) by heart.

He’s my favorite! I’ve learned all his songs by heart!

She can’t read music, so she learns all the songs by heart.

I had to learn the whole book by heart in elementary school.

How did remember all those math equations?

I learned them by heart.

mix up = confuse, mix up

I often mix up my friends’ phone numbers.

I mixed up your names. Could you say that again?

The office mixed up the addresses and sent the wrong forms to the two customers.

You are supposed to come tomorrow, not today.

Sorry! I mixed up the dates.

take by surprise = surprise; come without warning, take by surprise.

The phone call took him by surprise.

His friend’s visit took him by surprise.

When he asked her to marry him, he took her completely by surprise.

I can’t believe that your mother joined the army!

Yes. She took us all by surprise.

take time off = miss work for some time with permission, take time off.

She took time off to enjoy a vacation in the sun.

I have to take time off next week to go to the doctor.

Our company is very strict about taking time off.

Why don’t we go to Paris next weekend?

I’m not sure if I can take time off work.

Dialogue, at the office

Carol has Bob come in to work yet?

Not as of yet. Would you like me to call him?

Yes, please. Do you know his phone number?

Yes, I keep all of the sales representetives’ contact numbers at my fingertips here at my desk. They are just too many to learn by heart.

See if he is at home. I think we mixed up the vacation schedule. Both Bob and Sam asked to take time off the same week. Sam was given the vacation but Bob wasn’t. But I don’t know if Bob was told the right information.

I’ll call him as soon as I get a chance.

Thanks Carol. Let me know if you get a hold of him.

Idioms in context

My boyfriend took time off from work one Friday to move to a new apartment. It was a lot of hard work. When I got home later that evening, I was exhausted. I wanted to give my boyfriend a call and cancel our plans for the next day.

My boyfriend also got a brand-new phone number for his new apartment, but as of yet I had not learned it by heart. I usually keep all the phone numbers I need at my fingertips in my day planner.

Unfortunately, I had not written his number down. The only way I could think of to get a hold of my boyfriend was to call the operator and ask for Mike William’s phone number.

I called the number that the operator gave me, but I was taken by surprise when a woman answered the phone. “Hello,” she said.

I asked, “Can I speak to Mike?”

The woman said, “He is taking a shower right now.”

I was shocked. At first, I didn’t say anything.

“Is there anything that—?” she started to ask, but I cut in.

“Tell him to call his girlfriend when he gets out of the shower.” I hung up the phone quickly without waiting for the woman’s answer. I was a bit upset.

However, I tried not to dwell on the fact that a woman was in my boyfriend’s apartment while he was in the shower. I knew Mike made friends with the neighbors when he moved in, so I assumed the woman was his neighbor. She was probably just helping him clean the place up.

An hour passed and Mike had not called me back. I called again, and a man answered the phone. “Hello,” he said. The voice was strange.

All of a sudden I realized that it was the wrong number. The operator had mixed up my boyfriend’s number with another man named Mike Williams.

I said, “You’re not Mike!”

The man said, “And you’re not my girlfriend. I’ve been trying to explain that to my wife for over an hour.”