در فروشگاه

be bound to = be certainly going to, be bound to

My parents are bound to disagree, but I’ve decided I’m moving to New York.

My parents are bound to disagree with my decision to join the circus.

The table was bound to break from all the weight put on it.

A: What do you think Dad will say about the broken window?

B: He’s bound to be angry.

day in and day out

Day in and day out, clouds hung over the village.

Day in and day out, our next door neighbors argued.

The rain fell day in and day out, flooding the small town.

A: Why does Tim look so tired?

B: He’s been studying day in and day out for the big test.

for sale

They put their house up for sale.

The car that I saw for sale yesterday has already been sold.

You can find good fruits and vegetables for sale on the street during the summer.

A: Why is your new boat for sale?

B: My wife gets seasick!

give birth (to)

She is about to give birth to her baby.

Sally gave birth to twins last week.

How many puppies does a dog usually give birth to at one time?

A: I want to have my baby in a hospital.

B: I would rather give birth in my own home.

give in

He gave in to his parents’ demands and cut his hair short.

He kept asking until I finally gave in and invited him to join us.

The protesters said they would not give in until all of their demands were met.

A: That big guy keeps telling me to do his homework.

B: Don’t give in!

hand out

The store was handing out free cosmetics samples.

Our teacher will hand out the final grades for the class on Friday.

The store was handing out free samples of cake to the customers.

A: Hey! Where did you get that donut?

B: They are handing out free food at the store.

in one’s way

I can’t see anything. This big guy is in my way.

The box was in my way, so I had to move it.

She could not see the moon because the trees were in her way.

A: Excuse me. Your chair is in my way.

B: Sorry!

make a difference

The doctor said that these pills will make a big difference.

The new paint makes a big difference. Your house looks great now!

It won’t make much difference if we take the other road.

A: I don’t like black and white movies.

B: Me neither. I think the color makes a difference.

tell A from B

I can’t tell the real fruit from the plastic one.

It was impossible to tell the real painting from the fake one.

When they are wearing the same clothes, I can’t tell one twin from the other.

A: Did you know that Sally is color blind?

B: Yeah. She can’t tell green from blue.

upside down

The sign was upside down.

Somebody hung the picture upside down.

The plane flew upside down for a few seconds.

A: What are you going to do with those roses?

B: I am going to hang them upside down to dry.

Dialogue

At the store

A: There are some socks over there for sale, let’s go look at them.

B: They are bound to be more expensive here than at Quit Mart.

A: The sign says they are only a dollar per pair. How much are they at Quit Mart?

B: Ninety cents per pair.

A: Ten cents does not really make a difference to me. I’ll just buy them here.

B: This must be a good sale. There are so many people in the way that you can hardly get to the socks.

A: Let’s go to the other side. There are fewer people over there.

B: Wow! These are designer’s socks but they are so cheap.

A: They’re not real designer’s socks. They’re fake ones

B: How can you tell the real ones from the fake ones?

A: Look at the designer’s symbol. It should go this way. But they put it on upside down.

Idioms in context

Our neighbor’s cat gave birth to kittens. Of course, as soon as my son saw the “Kittens For Sale” sign in our neighbor’s yard, he wanted to go take a look at them. My husband and I knew that if our son saw the kittens, he was bound to want one for a pet. So we tried to avoid seeing them. Day in and day out, our son kept asking when we could go see the kittens. I kept telling my son he couldn’t have a cat, but it didn’t make a difference. He wanted to see them anyway. Finally, we gave in and we all went to see them.

There were several other people at my neighbor’s house looking at the kittens. Our neighbor was standing next to the box handing out kittens left and right for people to look at. There were plenty of kittens to go around. My husband and son went to see the kittens, but I wanted nothing to do with them. I stayed near the door and tried not to be in anyone’s way.

After looking at the kittens, my son ran over to me. Come and see, Mom he said. “There are three boy kittens and two girl kittens.”

I asked my son, How can you tell the boys from the girls?

My son said, Dad told me. He turns them upside down and looks under them. I think it’s written on the bottom.”