سر میز شام

At the dinner table

all in all = looking at everything, all in all

All in all, he just doesn’t seem normal.

All in all, I think the meeting went very well.

All in all, she just doesn’t seem like the right person for the job.

A: How was your trip to China?

B: All in all, it was a great experience!

burst out

burst out = suddenly do (usually with a loud noise)burst out

He suddenly burst out singing.

He burst out laughing when his friend walked in the room.

My mother burst out crying when she met me at the airport.

A: Why is your girlfriend mad at you?

B: I burst out laughing when I saw her new hairstyle.

change one’s mind

change one’s mind = switch one’s opinion about something, change one’s mind

I changed my mind and decided on green instead of blonde.

She changed her mind and bought the dress that was on sale.

If you read this book, it will change your mind about eating eggs.

A: Have you changed you mind about going to dinner?

B: Yes, sorry! I just don’t have time tonight.

criticize A for B

criticize A for B = indicate the bad point B about A, criticize A for B

They always criticized him for being slow.

His coworkers criticized him for being arrogant.

Many people criticized the president for not standing by his principles.

A: The old manager never did any work.

B: Yeah. Lots of people criticized him for being lazy.

cross out

cross out = cancel by drawing lines across, cross out

He crossed out “like” and wrote “love.”

She crossed out her ex-boyfriend’s name in her diary.

He crossed out the mistake in the essay.

A: Why did you cross out Kelly’s number in your book?

B: That’s her old phone number.

get the better of

get the better of = have power to force one to do, get the better of

My curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the letter.

His conscience got the better of him, so he called her to apologize.

I had to open the package. My curiosity got the better of me.

A: That guy at work is driving me crazy!

B: Don’t let him get the better of you!

in regard to

in regard to = concerning, in regard to

In regard to your question, the answer is yes.

In regard to your request, we are sending you information about our new product.

She called in regard to the job opening in the advertising department.

A: In regard to your last test, I think you could have done better.

B: I know. I will study harder next time.

look over

look over = read or see quickly to check, look over

He had to look over some papers before leaving work today.

Did you look over that report I left on your desk?

The teacher said he would look over our essay to give us suggestions.

A: Let’s look over our travel plans again.

B: Why? We’re just going to the store.

name A after B

name A after B = give A the same name as B, name A after B

This is your great-uncle Jim. You were named after him.

My parents named me after my grandfather.

She named her cat after a cartoon character.

A: Why is your town called Bismarck?

B: It’s named after a kind of donut.

stick around

stick around = wait, stick around

Why don’t you stick around?

Stick around! We’ll be right back!

He stuck around until his friend got off work.

A: Hey, look! Those policemen just ran into that store.

B: Let’s stick around and see what happens.

Dialogue

At the dinner table

A: How was school today?

B: Not bad. The principle announced that he wants to name the school after his favorite baseball player. And one girl in my English class burst out crying today.

C: What happened?

B: The girl sitting next to her criticized her for wearing too much make-up.

A: How rude!

B: Then the girl’s friend said she wanted to fight the rude girl after school.

C: Did any one stop the fight?

B: I don’t know. I was going to stick around after school to watch but then I changed my mind and came home right after school.

C: All in all, it sounds like an eventful day.

B: Yeah, it wasn’t bad.

Idioms in context

One Sunday morning, a puppy showed up in our yard. It stuck around all day, so in the evening I tried to get it to come inside the house. All in all it seemed like a healthy puppy. It was just a little dirty. The puppy was not wearing a collar so we had no idea who it belonged to. It stayed with us for a few days. I even named it “Brando” after my favorite movie star. But my wife criticized me for being selfish. She said, “That puppy belongs to someone and they probably want it back. You have to try and find the owner.” Eventually, my conscience got the better of me, and I changed my mind about keeping the puppy. I made a sign describing the puppy and planned to put it up around the neighborhood. My wife looked over the sign.

“Someone who is not the owner may want the puppy. I suggest you cross out the description. Then you’ll know the real owners because they will be able to describe the dog.”

I changed the sign to read, “Found: One puppy.” Then I put our phone number at the bottom of the sign. That evening, we got a call. A young woman was on the phone. She said, “I’m calling in regard to the puppy you found.” She described the puppy exactly, so we knew it was hers.

The young woman came to our house in less than an hour. When she saw the puppy, she smiled and burst out, “Oh, Lucy! It’s so good to see you again!”