در کلاس درس

lesson 29

as to = about; related to, as to

I was given no explanation as to why my hair is turning blue.

She was given no explanation as to why her electricity was cut off.

We have information as to the location of the missing boy.

What were you and that man talking about?

He gave me some tips as to where I could find a good used car.

by and large = overall; on the whole, by and large

By and large, the food is very good at that restaurant.

By and large, the public transportation in New York City is very reliable.

It was a good performance by and large.

How was business last year?

By and large it was successful.

due to = because of, due to

Due to the amount of alcohol he drank, he couldn’t drive home.

Due to the strike, the subway is not running today.

The game was canceled due to the storm.

Why aren’t you at the picnic?

It was cancelled due to high winds.

fall behind = be late; be behind, fall behind

She fell behind in school because she was sick for a few weeks.

They fell behind schedule and could not meet the deadline.

She fell behind at work because her computer crashed.

How did your team do?

They fell behind in the second half and lost the game.

lose track of = not be aware of; not pay attention to, lose track of

It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re reading a good book.

I always lose track of how much I spend on clothes.

He lost track of his dog in the crowded park.

This vacation is so relaxing!

Yes, I’ve lost track of the days!

make believe = pretend to be true, make believe

She used to make believe she could fly.

I used to make believe I could walk on water.

She made believe she was sick so that her mom would not make her go to school.

Why is your son wearing a pot on his head?

He’s making believe that he’s a robot.

on no account = never; in no instance, on no account

On no account should you mix electricity and water.

On no account should you open the door if you don’t know who is there.

On no account should you give your credit card number to strangers.

I can’t believe there was a worm in your hamburger!

On no account am I going to eat at that place again!

originate from = come from; start from, originate from

He was sure that the e-mail message originated from someone in the office.

The legend originated from the Native American tribes in the southwest.

The letter originated from Paris.

My grandparents were from Germany.

My ancestors originated from Norway.

pull one’s leg = trick or fool one, pull one’s leg

Come on. You’re pulling my leg!

You’re not a spy. You’re pulling my leg!

He told her he was French, but he was pulling her leg.

Stop pulling my leg!

I’m serious! There is a snake in my house!

throw up = vomit, throw up

He threw up at the party last night.

If you drink too much, you will throw up.

The baby threw up on her grandfather’s suit.

Did you see Bill and Monica kissing at the party last night?

Yes, It made me want to throw up!

Dialogue

In class

Did you finish the essay we have to turn in today, May?

No, I didn’t write my paper due to this awesome website I found last night while I was surfing. While I was on this site chatting, I lost track of time. Then I looked at the clock and it was one in the morning.

What? I hope you’re just pulling my leg. You know the teacher told us that on no account should we miss any essay deadline. She doesn’t accept any late papers.

Don’t worry! I’m going to make believe I’m sick.

Unless you throw up in class, I don’t think she’s going to believe you.

Hey, that’s a great idea.

Idioms in context

I hate to fly, but I recently had to take a plane to a conference. One reason I hate to fly is that I get airsick. Before this flight, I took some medicine so I wouldn’t throw up on the plane.

Another reason I hate to fly is that I don’t like to talk to strangers. On this flight, I made believe I was asleep so the person next to me wouldn’t bother me.

By and large, the flight itself wasn’t too bad when we were in the air. But there were always problems on the ground. For example, we had to stop in St.Louis and change planes.

But the flight I had to change to was delayed. The flight I needed to catch originated from Washington, D.C,but it fell behind schedule due to bad weather. I had to wait in the airport for two hours!

Then, when we finally got to Los Angeles, the pilot had trouble finding the gate. We landed but the plane kept driving around. I knew that on no account should you get out of your seat while the plane is moving, so I started looking through one of the magazines on the plane.

I came across an interesting article, so I lost track of time. But we must have been driving around for ten minutes at least. I asked a flight attendant for an explanation as to the delay. She said, “I think we’re lost.”

I wasn’t sure if he was serious, so I said, “You’re pulling my leg.” At that moment the pilot came on the intercom and asked, “Does anyone know where Gate 12 is?”