Phrasal Verbs (Part 6)

quite a bit of — much, a lot of

много

I had quite a bit of trouble with that car.

quite a few — many, a lot of

много

He wrote quite a few good stories.

rack one’s brain — try hard to think

напрячь мозги

He racked his brain to solve the puzzle.

read between the lines — find or understand the implied meaning

читать между строк

His books are not easy to understand; you have to read between the lines.

remember me to — say hello to

передать привет от

Please remember me to your family.

right away — immediately

сразу же, немедленно

It’ very important to do it right away.

ring a bell — remind someone of something familiar /half-forgotten

напоминает что-то знакомое

Annabel Lee? Yeah, it rings a bell, but I can’t place it right now.

rock the boat — make the situation unstable

раскачивать лодку, вести к нестабильности

Peter always rocks the boat when we discuss company’s spending policy.

rub shoulders with — meet with

близко общаться с

He doesn’t rub shoulders with the rich.

rub someone the wrong way — irritate, annoy, make angry

раздражать, злить кого-то

His remarks rub many coworkers the wrong way.

run into — meet by chance

случайно встретить

I ran into an old friend yesterday.

save face — try to change the negative impression produced

спасать репутацию

He said a stupid thing and tried to save face by saying he misunderstood me.

save one’s breath — stop useless talk

не трать слова попусту

There’s no use talking to him about his spending habits, so save your breath.

scratch the surface — study something superficially

изучать поверхностно

He examines all the facts closely, he doesn’t just scratch the surface.

see about — make arrangements for

позаботиться о чем-то

I have to see about our plane tickets.

see eye to eye — agree

сходиться в мнении

We don’t see eye to eye any longer.

serve someone right — get what someone deserves

поделом

It serves him right that he didn’t get this job, he despised all other candidates.

serve one’s purpose — be useful to someone for his purpose

отвечать цели

I doubt that hiring this man will serve your purpose.

show promise — be promising

подавать надежды

This young actor shows promise.

show up — appear

появиться

I waited for hours but he didn’t show up.

size up — evaluate someone

оценить, составить мнение

It took me 5 minutes to size up that man.

sleep on it — postpone a decision till next morning

отложить решение до следующего утра

Don’t decide now, sleep on it.

a slip of the tongue — a mistake

обмолвка (ошибка)

It was just a slip of the tongue!

slip (from) one’s mind — forget

забыть

It slipped my mind what she asked me.

smell a rat — suspect something

подозревать недоброе

I’m not sure what it is, but I smell a rat.

so far — up to now

до сих пор, пока

So far, I have read 3 books by King.

so much the better — it’s even better

еще лучше

If he can pay cash, so much the better.

spill the beans — tell a secret

проболтаться

Who spilled the beans about our plan?

stand a chance — have a chance

нет шансов

He doesn’t stand a chance of getting it.

stand out — be noticeable

выделяться

He stands out in any group of people.

stand to reason — be logical

логично, что

It stands to reason that he apologized.

straight from the shoulder — speak frankly

честно, откровенно

Don’t try to spare my feelings, give it to me straight from the shoulder.

take a dim view of something — disapprove of something

не одобрять

My sister takes a dim view of the way I raise my children.

take a break — stop for rest

сделать перерыв

Let’s take a break, I’m tired.

take advantage of — use for one’s own benefit, to profit from

воспользоваться возможностью

We took advantage of the low prices and bought a computer and a monitor.

take after — be like one of the parents

быть похожим на родителей (родителя)

Tom takes after his father in character, and after his mother in appearance.

take a stand on something — make a firm opinion/decision on smth.

занять четкую позицию, мнение

People need to take a stand on the issue of nuclear weapons.

take care of — look after, protect, see that smth. is done properly

позаботиться о ком-то, чем-то, присмотреть за

Can you take care of my dog while I’m away? Tom takes good care of his car.

take hold of something — take, hold

взять, держать

Take hold of this rope and pull.

take into account — consider smth.

принять во внимание

You must take into account her old age.

take it easy — relax, be calm

не волнуйся

Take it easy, everything will be OK.

take (it) for granted — accept as given

принимать как должное

Mother’s love is always taken for granted by children.

take one’s breath away

захватить дух

That great view took my breath away.

take one’s time — do slowly

делать не торопясь

Don’t hurry. Take your time.

take one’s word for it — believe

поверить на слово

Take my word for it, he won’t go there.

take pains — try hard to do it well

прилагать усилия

He took pains to make his report perfect.

take part in smth. — participate in

принять участие

Mary is going to take part in the show.

take place — happen

иметь место, случиться

The accident took place on Oak Street.

take someone’s mind off things — distract from fixed ideas/thoughts

отвлечь от навязчивых мыслей

Go to a concert or a movie to take your mind off things.

take steps — take action /measures

принимать меры

We need to take steps against it.

take the words right out of one’s mouth — say the same before somebody else says it

сказать то же самое чуть раньше, чем другой говорящий

I was about to say the same! You took the words right out of my mouth.

take time — take a long time

занять много времени

It takes time to get used to a new place.

take time off — be absent from work

взять отгул

He took time off to attend the wedding.

take turns — alternate doing something one after another

делать по очереди, меняться местами

We went to Minsk by car. We didn’t get tired because we took turns driving

talk back — answer rudely

дерзить

Don’t talk back to the teacher!

talk it over — discuss

обсудить с кем-то

I’ll talk it over with my family.

tell apart — see the difference

различить, отличить от

Can you tell the twins apart?

That’s just the point. — That’s it.

В этом-то и дело.

That’s just the point! I hate this job!

the writing on the wall — a sign of future events (usually, trouble)

предзнаменование (обычно, беды)

The plane crashed. Tim said he saw the writing on the wall about this flight.

not think much of — think low

невысокого мнения

I don’t think much of her cooking.

think over — consider carefully

обдумать

Think over your answer. Think it over carefully.

till one is blue in the face — try hard

стараться до посинения

I repeated it till I was blue in the face!

to make a long story short — in short

короче говоря

To make a long story short, we won.

to say the least — to make the minimum comment about smth.

самое малое, что можно сказать

The film was boring and long, to say the least.

try on — put on new clothes to test them for size or look

примерить одежду (перед покупкой)

Try on this leather coat, it’s very good. She tried it on, but it didn’t fit her at all.

try one’s hand at something — try

попробовать себя в

I want to try my hand at painting.

turn on / off — switch on / off

включить/выключить

Turn on the radio. Turn off the water.

turn out to be — result/end this way

оказаться

He turned out to be a very good actor.

turn over a new leaf — make a fresh start in life, work, etc.

начать (жизнь, новое дело) заново

He promises to turn over a new leaf and quit alcohol for good.

turn the tide — reverse the course of events

повернуть вспять ход событий

The new evidence turned the tide, and the defendant was acquitted of charges.

twist one’s arm — make to agree

выкручивать руки

They twisted his arm to sell the house.

under the weather — feel ill

нездоровится

I’m a little under the weather today.

up-and-coming — showing promise of future success

многообещающий, подающий надежды

He is an up-and-coming young lawyer who might help you with your case.

up in arms — hostile to, in strong protest against something

протестовать против, сопротивляться

The employees are up in arms about the new retirement rules.

up in the air — undecided

еще не определено

My vacation plans are still up in the air.

(not) up to par — equal in standard

(не) в норме

His behavior isn’t up to par.

used to — did often in the past, but not now

в прошлом делал, сейчас нет

I used to play the piano when I was in school (but I don’t play it now).

walk on air — be very happy

летать от счастья

He got the job and is walking on air now.

waste one’s breath — speak uselessly, to no purpose

не трать усилия зря

Don’t waste your breath trying to make him do it, he won’t change his mind.

watch one’s step — be careful

быть осмотрительным

Watch your step!

watch out — look out, be careful

остерегаться

Watch out for that car! Watch out!

wet blanket — a kill-joy, who spoils everybody’s fun

тот, кто портит всем удовольствие

Remember what a wet blanket he was last time? Please don’t invite him again.

What’s the matter? — What is it?

В чем дело?

What’s the matter? What happened?

which way the wind blows — what the real situation is

какова реальная ситуация

He knows which way the wind blows and always acts accordingly.

white lie — unimportant lie

невинная ложь

A white lie is told to spare your feelings.

word for word — in the same words

дословно, дословный

Tell me word for word what he said.

would rather — prefer

предпочитать

I’d rather stay at home today.