Phrasal Verbs (Part 5)

make a living — earn money to provide for life

зарабатывать на жизнь

He works hard. His family is big, and he has to make a living somehow.

make allowance for — take into consideration when judging

учитывать, делать скидку на

Don’t criticize him so hard, make (an) allowance for his inexperience.

make a point of — be sure to do something intentionally

считать обязательным для себя сделать что-то

Make a point of asking about his wife. Make it a point to be here by 10.

make ends meet — to have and spend only what one earns

сводить концы с концами

His doesn’t get much money. I wonder how he manages to make ends meet.

make friends — become friends

подружиться

Anton makes new friends easily.

make fun of — laugh at, joke about

высмеивать

He made fun of her German accent.

make no bones about it — say/do openly, without hesitation

сказать прямо, не скрывая отношения

I’ll make no bones about it: I don’t like your attitude to work.

make room for — allow space for

освободить место для

We can make room for one more dog.

make sense — be logical

имеет смысл

What you say makes sense.

make the most of smth — do the best in the given situation

извлечь лучшее из

Let’s make the most of our vacation.

make up — become friends again

помириться

I’m tired of fighting. Let’s make up.

make up for smth — compensate

компенсировать

I’ll make up for the time you spent on it.

make up one’s mind — decide

принять решение

When will you go? Make up your mind.

make yourself at home — be comfortable, feel at home

будьте как дома

Come in please. Make yourself at home.

man of his word — one who keeps promises, is dependable

хозяин своего слова, держит слово

You can depend on his promise to help. He’s a man of his word.

mean well — have good intentions

хотеть сделать, как лучше

He meant well, but it turned out that he spoiled a couple of things for me.

might as well — a good idea

может быть неплохо

I might as well telephone him now.

missing person — someone who is lost and can’t be located

пропавший человек (в розыске)

The little boy disappeared. The police registered him as a missing person.

meet someone halfway — compromise with others

идти на компромисс с кем-то

He’s reasonable and tries to meet his coworkers halfway, when possible.

never mind — it doesn’t matter

неважно, ничего

Thank you. — Never mind.

not to mention — in addition to

не говоря уж

We have three dogs, not to mention two cats.

no wonder — not surprising

неудивительно, что

He ate three big fish. No wonder he’s sick.

now and again — occasionally

время от времени

I meet them now and again at the bank.

odds and ends — a variety of small unimportant things or leftovers

мелочи, остатки, обрезки

I needed to buy some odds and ends for the kitchen.

off the cuff — without preparation

без подготовки

Off the cuff, I can give you only a rough estimate.

off the point — beside the point

не относится к делу

What I think about him is off the point.

off the record — not for the public, unofficially

не для публики, неофициально

Strictly off the record, I think the director is going to get married soon.

once and for all — decidedly

однажды и навсегда

You must quit smoking once and for all.

on credit — not pay cash right away

в кредит

He bought a car on credit.

on edge — nervous, irritable

нервный, раздраженный

He’s been on edge ever since she left.

on guard — on the alert

настороже, бдительный

He’s cautious and always on guard.

on hand — available

под рукой

Do you have a calculator on hand?

on one’s own — alone, by oneself

самостоятельно, один, сам по себе

She likes to live and work on her own.

on one’s toes — alert, attentive, prepared for difficulties

бдительный, собранный

He was on his toes and produced a very good impression on them.

on purpose — intentionally

нарочно, с целью

I didn’t do it on purpose, it just happened so.

on second thought — after thinking again

по зрелом размышлении

I’d like to sit on the aisle. On second thought, I’d like a window seat.

on the alert — on guard

начеку, настороже

He’s cautious and always on the alert.

on the carpet — called in by the boss for criticism

вызвать на ковер

Yesterday the boss called her on the carpet for being rude to the coworkers.

on the go — busy, on the move

в движении, на ходу

He is always on the go.

on the off chance — unlikely to happen, but still

маловероятно, но на всякий случай

On the off chance that you don’t find him at work, here’s his home address.

on the other hand — considering the other side of the question

с другой стороны

I’d like to have a dog. On the other hand, my wife likes cats better.

on the spot — right there

на месте, сразу

I decided to do it on the spot.

on the spur of the moment — without previous thought / plan

под влиянием момента

He bought this car on the spur of the moment, now he regrets it.

on time — punctual

в назначенное время

Jim is always on time.

out of one’s mind — crazy

сумасшедший

If you think so, you’re out of your mind.

out of one’s way — away from someone’s usual route

не по пути

I can’t give you a lift to the bank, it’s out of my way today.

out of the question — impossible

не может быть и речи

Paying him is out of the question!

pack rat — a person who saves lots of unnecessary things

тот, кто не выбрасывает старые ненужные вещи

Why does she keep all those things she never uses? — She is a pack rat.

pay attention — be attentive

обратить внимание

Pay attention to his words.

pick a fight — start a quarrel

начать ссору

He often tries to pick a fight with me.

pick up — take, get

подобрать, взять

I’ll pick you up at 7.

play one’s cards right — choose the right steps in doing something

сыграть правильно

If you play your cards right, he’ll agree to your plan.

potluck supper — a surprise meal, where nobody knows what dishes other guests will bring

ужин вскладчину, никто не знает, что принесут другие

You know what happened at our last potluck supper? Everybody brought macaroni and cheese, apples, and beer!

pull oneself together — brace oneself, summon your strength

cобраться с силами

Stop crying and complaining! You have to pull yourself together now.

pull the wool over someone’s eyes — deceive, mislead someone

обмануть, ввести в заблуждение

Are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes? It won’t do you any good.

put a damper on — discourage

охладить пыл

She always puts a damper on my plans.

put in a word for someone — say positive things about someone

замолвить словечко

I’d be very grateful if you could put in a word for me when you speak to him.

put off — postpone

откладывать

Don’t put it off till tomorrow.

put one’s foot down — object strongly

решительно воспротивиться

Her father put his foot down when she said she wanted to marry Alan.

put one’s foot in it — do the wrong thing, make a fool of oneself

сделать/сказать глупость

He put his foot in it when he told the boss his daughter wasn’t pretty.

put up with — accept, tolerate

мириться с, терпеть

I can’t put up with your bad work!