American Idioms
Far cry from: very different from
e.g. Your achievement this time is a far
cry from your previous one.
Sit on one’s hands: refuse to give any help
e.g. When we needed your help; you just
sat on your hands.
Alive and kicking: living and healthy; okay
e.g. I had been sick for some time, but
now I am alive and kicking.”
e.g. “How are you?” “Well, alive and
kicking.”
Slang and Colloquial Expressions
Pardon
my French: excuse my bad language.
e.g.
Please pardon my French: I was so angry with
his remarks.
All the
rage:
fashionable.
e.g. Wearing a hat will be all the
rage
this summer.
Slow on
the uptake: slow to understand.
e.g.
I'm a bit slow on the uptake.
Can you explain it once more?
Choice of Words
Await / Wait
Await means wait for an
event, an occurrence, or a development; it does not require a preposition, such
as for. Wait always carries
the preposition for.
e.g. We await
your decision.
e.g. The people
were awaiting the outcome of the election.
e.g. He is waiting
for your reply.
e.g. Don't wait for me; just go ahead.
Prepositional Words and Phrases
Follow on: die at a date later than someone.
e.g. His wife passed
away. He followed on a few months later.
Follow through: continue to supervise.
e.g. I hope someone
would follow through on this project until its completion.
Follow up: check something
out.
e.g. Please follow
up this lead, and see what will happen next.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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