Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (62 page)
Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
pull through (NS)
Pull through
is used to talk about managing to survive a life-threatening illness or injury or a financial hardship ♦
Grandpa had a serious heart attack, but somehow he
pulled through. ♦
When times were especially hard, she always said: “Don’t worry. We’ll
pull through
this as we always do.”
Following Through
with Things
The phrasal verbs
come through
,
follow through,
and
see
something
through
all mean to fulfill a promise; to do or to complete what one says one will do, or what others are expecting. These idioms often imply that one is reliable, dependable, and diligent.
In the following examples, the first definition for each idiom shows this meaning.
come through
1.
to do what other people expect or hope, sometimes under difficult circumstances ♦
Even though he has been sick lately, I knew that he would
come through
and finish the report.
♦
I didn’t think that my boss would give me a raise, but she
came through
for me.
2.
to wear through, appear, or reveal itself ♦
Oh no! My pen leaked, and the ink has
come through
onto my shirt.
♦
He tried to be polite, but his true feelings
came through.
3.
become visible or audible ♦
My radio picked up a station in Korea, but the sound didn’t
come through
very well.
♦
Can you send me that fax again? It didn’t
come through.
4.
to materialize or be approved; often used to talk about a loan ♦
When my student loan
comes through
I can buy my books.
♦
I’m waiting for a check to arrive, but it hasn’t
come through
yet.
follow through
1.
to do what is necessary to complete a project or process; to complete something that other people expected or hoped for; often said as
follow through with
♦
Jason applied to the university, but he never
followed through
with sending his transcripts.
♦
She told me that she would call me about the job, but she never
followed through. ♦
He said, “If you want people’s trust, you have to
follow through
with things.”
2.
to fully complete a golf stroke, tennis swing, or other similar maneuver ♦
Her golf instructor is showing her how to
follow through
on her strokes.
♦
In tennis, you need to
follow through
when you swing.
see through
1. (S)
to stay with a project until it’s completed ♦
Thank you for
seeing
the project
through. ♦
His dad said, “Don’t quit now. You’re almost finished.
See
it
through.”
2. (S)
to support, sustain, or provide for someone until the end of a specific time period ♦
Thanks for the loan. It will
see me through
until payday.
♦
This old coat will have to
see me through
the winter; I don’t want to buy a new one this year.
3. (NS)
to see or understand the true character or nature of something that is disguised ♦
It was easy to
see through
his charms. Everyone knows he’s dishonest.
♦
She pretended to be afraid, but we could
see through
that.
Getting Through
and
Working Through
The phrasal verbs
get through
and
work through
have a general meaning of to work diligently and steadily at something until it’s completed, or to work to resolve something like anger or pain.
get through
1. (NS)
to manage to complete something; to finish ♦
It took me six months to
get through
that book.
♦
Well, we’ve already
gotten
half way
through
the school year.
2.
to reach someone by telephone; to make a phone connection ♦
You’ll never
get through.
His line is always busy!
♦
It took awhile, but I finally
got through
to her in Rwanda.
3.
(S) to make clear or understandable; to have one’s reasoning understood. Using this idiom implies that the listener has trouble understanding because of language differences, lack of intelligence or knowledge, or resistance to certain ideas. The idiom can be considered impolite or insulting depending upon the context. ♦
The language barrier in my workplace sometimes makes it hard to
get
my ideas
through
to people.
♦
I’ve talked to my kids many times about the dangers of drugs; I hope I’m
getting through.
work through (S)
1.
to work on something or exert effort until a task is complete; to solve a mathematical problem ♦
I have a big pile of mail to
work through. ♦
She
works through
the crossword puzzle every afternoon.
2.
to resolve problems and personal issues by working on them, by making a concentrated effort ♦
The counselor helped her
work through
her anger.
♦
We’ve had some relationship problems, but we’ll
work through
them.
Grammar Note:
Although this idiom is separable, it is generally not separated.
When
Through
Means to Examine, Page by Page
The phrasal verbs
go through, look through, read through,
and
thumb through
mean to check or look at each page or item, either carefully or leisurely.
Check through
and
flip through
can also be used with this general meaning. The following examples show how to use these idioms and give more precise definitions:
go through (NS)
to check, look at, or read thoroughly; to review or examine; to sort ♦ Going through
the files, she found an old document.
♦
Let’s
go through
your homework and check for errors.
look through (S)
to casually look at something for pleasure, like a magazine, or to review something, like a report or essay, for information or errors. Although this idiom is separable, it is generally only separated by a pronoun. ♦
She
looked through
my research paper and said it was very good.
♦
We
looked through
the color samples to choose a color for our living room.
read through (S)
to read thoroughly and completely to check for information or mistakes. Although this idiom is separable, it is generally only separated by a pronoun. ♦
I need to
read through
the article again to fully understand it.
♦
We
read through
the contract and signed it.
thumb through (NS)
to look at or review casually while turning each page, as with a magazine, or noting each item, as with cards or photos ♦
At the doctor’s office, she nervously
thumbed through
a magazine.
♦ Thumb through
these photos and tell me which ones you like.
Note:
This idiom alludes to using one’s thumb to turn pages or flip through a stack of papers one by one.
Other Phrasal Verbs with
Through
Here are a few other common phrasal verbs with the preposition
through.
break through (NS)
to penetrate or appear from behind a barrier or closure (either physical or emotional) ♦
After five days of rain, the sun finally
broke through. ♦
He is a very closed and private person; no one can
break through
his tough exterior.
fall through
to fail to happen as expected; to not work out as planned ♦
She was disappointed when her travel plans
fell through. ♦
The deal
fell though
at the last minute.
put through (S)
1.
to successfully carry out or bring to completion; often used to talk about laws, agreements, deals, contracts, and other legally binding items ♦
Since the bicycle helmet law was
put through,
children are suffering fewer head injuries in bike accidents.
♦
We were able to
put
the initiative
through
in time for voters to vote on it.
2.
to connect two or more parties by phone; often done by a receptionist or a telephone company employee ♦
Hello. Could you
put
me
through
to the director, please?
♦
I’ll
put
you
through
to an international operator who will complete your call.
3.
(S) to force someone to endure or experience a hardship, a struggle, a personal or physical test, or some other unpleasant situation; sometimes said lightly, as in the third example that follows ♦
They
put
us
through
four hours of testing before we could register for our classes.
♦
He
put
her
through
many years of misery before she finally divorced him.
♦
We promise, we won’t
put
you
through
all of our vacation slides. Just a few.
run through (NS)
to rehearse a speech, song, musical or dance number, play, or other performance; to review a schedule, plan, rules, or procedures ♦
Let’s
run through
the number a few more times.
♦
Do you want to
run through
your speech? I can be your audience.
sit through (NS)
to sit patiently during something; to endure a long or boring event or an unpleasant experience. In this context, one can
sit through
something without actually being seated. ♦
It’s a long movie to
sit through,
but it holds your attention.
♦
If I get home too late, I’ll have to
sit through
one of mom’s lectures.
Putting Someone through the Wringer
There are a number of colorful expressions that people use to describe being forced to endure struggle, hardship, or challenge. Here is a list of some of the most common expressions:
put through the wringer
♦
My dad will
put me through the wringer
when he finds out that I failed three classes.
put through hell
♦
The chemotherapy treatments really
put me through hell.
When people are forced to pass a challenge or test or to work or practice hard to prove themselves, they may say one of the following expressions:
put through the test
♦
His boss really
put
him
through the test
before promoting him to manager.
put through one’s paces
♦
We
put
the new people
through their paces,
and they did very well.
sleep through (NS)
to continue to sleep while something loud, disruptive, interesting is happening ♦
I can’t believe that you
slept through
the earthquake!
♦
She wanted to watch the game on TV, but she
slept
right
through
it on the couch.
think through (NS)
to think about or analyze until one reaches a conclusion or resolution; to analyze a problem step by step ♦
Before making a big decision, take time to
think
it
through. ♦
After
thinking
it
through,
he decided not to change his academic major.
CHAPTER 20
THREE-WORD PHRASAL VERBS
Three-word phrasal verbs consist of three parts that work together as a unit, for example
get rid of
(to discard or throw away),
look forward to
(to anticipate with excitement), and
come down with
(to become sick with an illness). A typical three word–verb pattern is
verb + preposition + preposition
. The three-word verbs above show this pattern.
Another pattern for three-word verbs is
verb + verb + preposition
, such as
make do with
(to manage with limited resources). All three words of a three-word verb are necessary to create the special meaning of the idiom.
Three-word verbs are idiomatic because together the three words have a special meaning that is different from the literal meaning of the individual words. Like two-word phrasal verbs, three-word verbs cannot be translated literally. For example the phrasal verb
look forward to
doesn’t mean to look or to move in a forward direction;
come down with
doesn’t refer to coming or moving in a downward direction.
To summarize, three-word verbs have the following characteristics:
- The three words act as a unit to form the verb.
- The meaning of the three words together is idiomatic, not literal.
- All three parts of the verb are necessary to create the meaning.
All three-word verbs are followed by one of these structures:
- A gerund:
For example, “We really
look forward to
taking
a vacation.” - A pronoun:
For example, “We really
look forward to
it.
” - A noun or noun phrase:
For example, “She
came down with
the flu
” or “He should
face up to
what he did.
”
What Is a Three-Word Phrasal Verb and What Isn’t?
Three-word verbs may be tricky to recognize because sometimes they look just like a simple verb followed by two prepositions. You can see the difference in the following examples. Compare the idiomatic meaning of the three-word verb to the literal meaning of the simple verb plus two prepositions:
Three-word verb:
He
fell in with
some bad people (began associating with).
Verb + prepositions:
When he was fishing at the lake he
fell in with
his fishing pole (fell into the lake, along with his fishing pole).
Other three-word verbs that end with the preposition
to
might look like a simple verb and preposition followed by an infinitive. But with three-word verbs, the preposition
to
is followed by a noun or pronoun, not by a verb. Notice the difference in structure and meaning in the following examples:
Three-word verb:
He
looks up to
his father (admires and respects).
Verb + preposition + infinitive:
He
looks up to see
the moon (looks in an upward direction because he wants to see something).
Placement of the Objects
All three-word verbs are transitive, meaning they require a direct object, and are inseparable, meaning they cannot be separated by their direct object. However, some three-word verbs also require an indirect object, which generally comes between the verb and first preposition. In the following expression, the indirect object is shown in bold:
talk
(someone)
out of
(something): to convince someone not to do something
For example: “We
talked
him
out
of
buying an expensive car.
In this chapter, three-word verbs that require an indirect object are presented like the preceding example,
talk
(someone)
out of
(something), and the placement of the indirect object is shown in parentheses between the verb and first preposition. The direct object is also shown in parentheses at the end so that you can clearly see that the idiom requires two objects. Three-word verbs that require only one object (a direct object) are shown in the standard way without parentheses, for example:
get rid of.
In some cases the three-word verb requires another type of object or qualifier such as an adjective or adverb after the verb, as shown in bold in this example: “He got
a lot
out of the workshop” (receive a benefit or advantage from something). These types of three-word verbs are also shown like the example in the preceding paragraph.
The following sections show many examples of three-word verbs categorized by their ending preposition.
Three-Word Verb “Cousins”
Some three-word verbs are a kind of extension (or relative) of a two-word verb. For example:
sit up with
(to stay awake, often during the night, with a sick or troubled person), has a very similar or related meaning to its two-word “cousin”
sit up
(to stay awake late or all night). The added preposition, “with,” gives more specific meaning to the original two-word verb.
Other two- and three-word verbs are more “distant cousins,” having dissimilar meanings like:
get around
to
(to find time to do) and
get around
(to be widely traveled, known, or experienced). These two look very similar, but their meanings are unrelated. The addition of the preposition “to” creates a completely different idiom.
Still other three-word verbs, such as
get wind of
(to hear about something, by chance) have no two-word-verb “cousins.” There is no such idiom as “get wind,” which is a meaningless phrase by itself. The preposition “of” is absolutely necessary to create a meaningful expression.
Three-Word Verbs Ending with
Of
Many three-word verbs ending with
of
follow the pattern of verb +
out of,
for example:
get out of, grow out of, talk
(someone)
out of.
The four phrasal verbs that follow require two objects:
cheat
(someone)
out of
(something)
1.
to cause someone to give up or to lose something by tricking or cheating ♦
They trusted their employer, but he
cheated
them
out of
their retirement funds.
2.
to deny oneself or someone else opportunities ♦
If you quit school, you’ll
cheat
yourself
out of
a future.
♦
She was
cheated out of
a normal life by the long-term effects of the accident.
get
(something)
out of
(something)
to receive a benefit or pleasure from something ♦
I
got
a lot
out of
the conference.
♦
He’s not
getting
much
out of
the class. It’s too easy for him.
Grammar Note:
In this idiom, the verb
get
is generally followed by a noun or adjective such as
nothing, a lot, something, anything,
and so on.
get
(something)
out of
(someone)
to force, convince, or inspire someone to reveal a secret or to talk or give information ♦
We finally
got
the truth
out of
him about what happened.
♦
The police questioned the suspect, but they couldn’t
get
anything
out of
him.
talk
(someone)
out of
(something)
to convince someone to do, or not do something; also to convince someone to give up or relinquish something, as shown in the third example that follows ♦
He wanted to quit school, but his parents
talked
him
out of
it.
♦
I’ve made up my mind, so don’t try to
talk
me
out of
it.
♦
I wasn’t able to
talk
my dad
out of
the car keys.
The following three-word verbs using
of
require only a direct object:
get out of
to avoid or escape from having to do something, usually work or a commitment ♦
I’ve already made a commitment; it’s too late to
get out of
it.
♦
In my house, no one could ever
get out of
doing their chores.
get rid of
1.
to eliminate, throw something away ♦
It’s difficult to
get rid of
termites. They always come back again.
♦
I’m going to
get rid of
these old magazines.
2.
to heal an illness or pain ♦
She finally
got rid of
her cold.
♦
This ointment will help you
get rid of
that rash.
♦
I still have a headache; I can’t
get rid of
it.
3.
to fire someone ♦
When profits went down, they
got rid of
200 employees.
♦
I
got rid of
my incompetent accountant and found a better one.
get wind of
to hear some news, by chance or from an outside source ♦
He
got wind of
the surprise party being planned for his birthday.
♦
When they
got wind of
the plans to divert the river, they formed a protest.
grow out of
1.
to grow too tall or big to wear one’s clothes ♦
Children
grow out of
their clothes very quickly.
♦
I often wore the clothes that my sister had
grown out of.
2.
to become too mature for a childish or inappropriate behavior; used to describe a person or a pet ♦
He used to suck his thumb, but he eventually
grew out of
it.
♦
Our new puppy chews everything. We hope she
grows out of
that soon.
Three-Word Verbs in Context
The following short paragraph incorporates some of the three-word verbs in this section:
When her parents
got wind of
Leslie’s decision to drop out of college, they tried to
talk
her
out of
it. “Don’t
cheat
yourself
out of
a future,” they said. They explained that she’d
get
a lot
out of
an education and be able to
take care of
herself as an adult.
make fun of
to tease, mock laughingly, or ridicule ♦
The other kids
made fun of
his interest in birds.
♦
Don’t
make fun of
me! I’m doing the best I can.
take care of
1.
to baby-sit or care for someone’s needs ♦
He
took care of
his younger brothers and sisters while his parents worked.
♦
She
took
very good
care of
him when he was sick.
2.
to maintain something in good condition; to treat or be careful with a physical problem ♦
He didn’t
take
good
care of
his health, and now he has problems.
♦
We hired someone to help
take care of
the house.
3.
to meet one’s financial responsibilities; to eliminate debt ♦
I usually
take care of
all my bills on the first day of the month.
♦
You need to
take care of
your overdrawn bank account.
4.
to do or handle in general, such as work, logistics, or problems ♦
I’ll
take care of
all the arrangements for Chuck’s retirement party.
♦
They asked the manager to
take care of
the problem.
Three-Word Verbs Ending with
On
Three-word verbs ending with
on
include these combinations following the verb:
back on, down on, in on,
and
out on.
The three phrasal verbs that follow require two objects:
let
(someone)
in on
(something)
to allow someone to be included in a secret, plan, or endeavor ♦
I’ll
let
you
in on
a secret.
♦ Let
me
in on
any plans for a surprise party for Ann.
[See
get in on
(to be included) later in this section.]
take
(something)
out on
(someone)
to make another suffer for one’s own anger, frustration, bad mood, and so on ♦
Hey, I know you’re upset, but don’t
take
it
out on
me. It’s not my fault.
♦
He
took
his frustration
out on
everyone by refusing to cooperate.
try
(something)
out on
(someone)
to test something or experiment using others ♦
I’ll
try
this recipe
out on
my family before I serve it to my guests.
♦
You can
try
the speech
out on
your colleagues before presenting it to the committee.