Get by

To get by means to survive, to manage, to cope with (or without) something.

1. Is it difficult to get by on minimum wage (salary) in your country? The minimum wage in Brazil is: $322/ R$622 per month. The USA: $7.25 per hour. Argentina: US$535 per month. The UK: £6.08 per hour.
Here is a minimum wage list by country: wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country

2. Can you get by without your coffee?

3.  You’ll have a hard time trying to get by without friends. Here’s an all time classic song, “ With A Little Help From My Friends”, originally sung by The Beatles… but I have to say my favorite version is sung by Joe Cocker live at Woodstock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y2RHMGqbWk. Here are some of the lyrics: "What would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song, And I'll try not to sing out of key. Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends, I get high with a little help from my friends,Mm, Gonna try with a little help from my friends."

4. I can get by on 6 hours of sleep every night, but like most people, I prefer at least 8 hours to feel OK.

Can’t get (something) out of your head

If you can’t get something out of your head/ mind, it’s either because you’re obsessed with it/ addicted to it or it was so traumatic that you can’t forget it. You can’t stop thinking about someone or something.

1. There are some songs that are so catchy (contagious) that you can’t get them out of your head. I find that children’s songs on the Discovery Channel and Bruno Mars’ songs are difficult to get out of my head. Listen to the lazy song by Bruno Mars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLexgOxsZu0

2.  It is best not to look at some images on the internet, because you will never get them out of your head… especially the violent, graphic ones. You will never get pictures of the holocaust out of your head.

3. Have you ever watched a movie that you can’t get out of your mind until you “Googled” it to find out other people’s opinions about the ending/ conclusion?

4. Have you been through a traumatic or embarrassing situation that you can’t get out of your head? Maybe an accident or an assault?

Let down

If you let someone down, you disappoint them or you don’t live up to/ meet their expectations. This is a more diplomatic way of expressing disappointment. The noun is a “letdown” (disappointment).


1.  Here are some lyrics to the Beatles’ song, “Don’t let me down”:
Don't let me down, Don't let me down, Don't let me down, Don't let me down...Nobody ever loved me like she does (Ooh she does… yes she does). And if somebody loved me like she does (Ooh she does… yes she does): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUNxWax8WGs

2. Do you follow all the rules and show up to work on time every day because you don’t want to let your boss down, or is it because you don’t want to get fired?

3. Do you feel that your president, governor, mayor… or any other politician has let you down? The reason we feel let down is that they usually make promises they don’t keep.

4. I always have high expectations every time I order a Big Mac… and inevitably it’s always a letdown. Why do we keep going back for more of the same when we know we will be let down in the end? Human nature?

Cry wolf

   

To “cry wolf” means to “give false alarm”, to cry or complain about something when nothing is really wrong. There is a fable by Aesop about a shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock. When a wolf actually does appear, the villagers do not believe the boy's cries for help, and the flock is destroyed. The moral of the story is that even if a liar tells the truth, no one believes him.
Audio: http://bit.ly/PzVSzu

1. When you cry wolf too many times, nobody believes you anymore and such is the case with excuses. I’m sure we all know people who have given us one too many excuses. Do you often make up excuses?

2. Hypochondriacs become alarmed about any physical symptoms they detect, no matter how small they are. They are convinced that they have or are about to have a serious illness. It is difficult to really believe a hypochondriac, even when they are experiencing something serious, because we think they are “crying wolf”. These days, using the internet for self diagnosis doesn’t help matters, because they can convince themselves that they have the symptoms that they read about.

Gear up

If you are gearing up for something, you are preparing yourself / getting ready ahead of time, in anticipation of something significant that will happen.

1. Many of my English students are already gearing up for better job opportunities by working on their English skills. It’s “the survival of the fittest”!

2. When a baby is on the way there is an incredible amount of anticipation and preparation involved before the birth. Parents try to gear up by buying all kinds of things…

3.  In Brazil, people gear up for the Carnival months ahead of time with party preparations, building floats, designing costumes and making travel plans. Are you gearing up for any celebration soon?

4. Gearing up for something many times involves preparing yourself both mentally and physically for what is about to happen. It may include a lot of personal reflection… and perhaps a few pushups while you’re at it!

For all (you) know

This phrase is used to contradict what someone knows, thinks or expects. It is used to emphasize a possibility that someone hasn’t thought of. It means that, “despite everything (someone) knows” there may be a factor that they haven’t considered. It introduces a new possibility or one not considered.

1. We’re planning a trip to the beach this weekend, but for all we know it could rain… so maybe we should look for some alternatives just in case. Maybe we could see the new 3D movie that’s coming out.

2.  It’s never a good idea to get married to someone you’ve just met recently or to meet someone online. For all you know that person could be a serial killer.

3. When watching movies, we usually make up our minds (decide) who the “bad guys” are very quickly. Sometimes things are not what they seem. For all we know, the “bad guys” could be working undercover.

4. When you are waiting for someone because they are late, you could think of all the worst case scenarios - all of the things that could have happened to someone along the way - but for all you know, they are probably just stuck in traffic.

5. Nat King Cole sang, “For all we know we may never meet again, Before you go make this moment sweet again, We won't say "Good night" until the last minute, I'll hold out my hand and my heart will be in it For all we know this may only be a dream, We come and go like a ripple on a stream.”

6. In many situations it’s easy to jump to conclusions and assume we know the answer or the reason to something based on limited knowledge, especially with what we think people are thinking. We could give people the benefit of the doubt and say, for example, “For all we know, he could be under the weather.”

A (dog) person

   

A dog person is someone who likes dogs. A tea person is a person who prefers tea to coffee. By using the phrase, “a (noun) + person”, we express a preference, a taste etc. that suits our lifestyle or personality, showing our likes and dislikes.

1. I’m generally not a morning person. It’s difficult for me to be energetic and full of life in the morning - only when I have to be. If you’re not a morning person it will normally take some time to warm up (to people and life). The opposite could be “a night owl”.

2. Most British people you meet will be tea people, while most Americans will be coffee people. Isn’t it fascinating how our cultural heritage affects our tastes in life? Wikipedia says, “Since the 18th century the British have been the largest per capita tea consumers in the world, with each person consuming on average 2.5 kg per year.” The country with the highest per capita coffee consumption is Finland, followed by Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden. Could it in any way be related to the weather? :) In an article on “Coffee Culture in the USA”, it says: “Although the average European drinks more coffee per year than the average American, the cultural importance and its effects on the average American is far greater.”

3. At heart I am an outdoor person, however, watching TV series has made me into somewhat of an indoor person recently. A person who prefers to stay at home is called a stay-at-home person or a “homebody”.

4. I often meet people who live close to the beach here in Brazil who are not really beach people… they prefer the mountains and cooler regions. I am without a doubt a hot-weather person… I like a year-round summer, whereas many people I know are cold-weather people. They like taking vacations in Europe during the winter. Which type are you?

Show off

If someone shows off, they try to make a good impression. They want people to admire them. If you show off, you exhibit your abilities or what you have.

1. When you buy something new, do you like to show it off to everyone? If you send emails from your iPad, iPhone or Blackberry, do you include the email signature, “Sent from my iPad”? It is the default (automatic) setting, but it is possible to turn it off. Personally it doesn’t bother me, but many people say that the owner of the device is just showing off. I should end all my emails with, “Sent from my Windows netbook”.

2. The title of an article on nervousbreakdown.com states, “Adults Have Ruined Facebook with Juvenile Showing Off.” It continues, “Facebook has become a tool for one-upping others, or keeping up with the Joneses… I do not think that Facebook should be used to gloat, brag, show off or try to make other people feel like losers compared to you.”

3.  Often when people show off they have accidents. Take a look at this video of someone falling off a motorbike while doing a “wheelie”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxAPobrzZqE

4. If you are good at something, do you like to show it off? Perhaps you play a musical instrument or maybe you have a good knowledge in some particular area?