out cold- to be unconscious, to have fainted The patient was out cold when the nurse went into his room to check on him.. out in the cold - to be alone, to not be included I was out in t
Trang 1other fish to fry
- other more important things to do
I think that he has other fish to fry and will not be happy to continue with his present job
the other side of the tracks
- the poorer/richer section of a town
The girl came from the other side of the tracks and was not welcome into the home of her wealthy boyfriend
the other way round
- the reverse, the opposite
It was the other way round It was my friend who wanted to go swimming - not me
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
- it is easier to prevent something bad than to deal with the results
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and I decided to stay home and rest rather than go out in the cold with my sore throat
out Idioms
out and about
- to be able to go out and travel/move/walk around
My aunt is out and about again after the operation for her knee
an out-and-out (something)
- a complete or absolute something
The man is an out-and-out liar and nobody believes anything that he says
Trang 2out cold
- to be unconscious, to have fainted
The patient was out cold when the nurse went into his room to check on him
out from under (someone or something)
- to be free and clear of someone or something
My friend is out from under her critical older sister who has gone to live in a different city
out front
- to be in the front of one's house
"My bicycle is out front," said the young boy
out in force
- to appear in great numbers
The volunteers were out in force all weekend as they tried to collect money for the new hospital
out in left field
- to be far from the right answer
His question was out in left field He has no idea what we were talking about
out in the cold
- to be alone, to not be included
I was out in the cold after the class went to the movie without me
Trang 3out like a light
- to have fallen asleep very quickly
I went to bed early last night and I was out like a light
out of a clear blue sky
- suddenly, without warning
The orders from our boss came out of a clear blue sky and everyone was surprised
out of all proportion
- of an exaggerated proportion
The complaints of the students were out of all proportion to what we thought the problem was
out of bounds
- to be outside the boundaries of a playing area
The ball went out of bounds and the boys had to go over the fence to get it
out of breath
- to be tired and breathing quickly
I was out of breath after running from the station
out of character
- to be unlike one's usual character, to be inappropriate for one's character
Getting into an argument with the sales clerk was out of character for my father He almost never argues about such things
Trang 4out of circulation
- to be not active, to not join in what others are doing
He has a new girlfriend so he will be out of circulation for awhile
out of commission
- to be broken, to be not operating
The old boat is out of commission and will not be operating for several months
out of condition
- to be not in good physical condition
I am out of condition and I need to exercise more
out of consideration for (someone or something)
- with consideration for someone or something
The police did not release the names of the accident victims out of consideration for the family members
out of control
- to be uncontrollable/wild
The soccer fans were out of control after their team won the championship
out of courtesy
- in order to be polite to someone
We phoned our customers out of courtesy to tell them about the late arrival of the products
out-of-date
- no longer current or in style
Trang 5Computer equipment becomes out-of-date very quickly
out of earshot
- too far from a sound to hear it
My parents were out of earshot and I could not hear what they were saying
out of favor (with someone)
- to not have a person`s goodwill
I have been out of favor with my boss for a few months now
out of gas
- to have no gas in a vehicle, to be tired/exhausted
The truck was out of gas so we could not use it last night
out of hand
- to be uncontrollable/wild
The party got out of hand and we had to call the police to quiet things
out of hand
- immediately and without consulting anyone
The police dismissed my complaint about my neighbors out of hand
out of keeping with (something)
- to be not following the rules of something
The early lunch was out of keeping with our policy of working until early afternoon before we had a break
out of kilter
Trang 6The door is out of kilter and does not open very well
out of line
- to be unacceptable, to be not correct
His proposal to travel to New York is out of line We can never accept it
out of luck
- without good luck
I was out of luck and could not find the part for my computer printer at any local store
out of necessity
- because of necessity, due to need
The library began to close on Saturday out of necessity It has no money
out of one`s element
- to be in a situation where one does not belong or fit in
He is out of his element teaching the computer course He does not know anything about computers
out of one`s hair
- to go away because one is a nuisance
The woman got her children out of her hair and was able to do some work
out of one's mind/head/senses
- to be silly/senseless/crazy
My friend was out of his mind to buy a new computer just before he went overseas to work
Trang 7out of one`s shell
- to move from silence or shyness and into friendly conversation
We got the girl out of her shell and she joined in with the rest of the group
out of order
- to be not working
The public telephone was out of order
out of order
- to be against the rules, to be not suitable
His question was ruled out of order by the judge and he was not able to ask it
out of place
- to be in the wrong place, to be at the wrong time, to be improper
His comments at the party were out of place He should have said them another time
out-of-pocket expenses
- the actual money that one spends for business or personal use
My out-of-pocket expenses for my recent business trip were very low
out of practice
- to be performing poorly due to a lack of practice
I am out of practice and I cannot play the trumpet very well at all
out of print
Trang 8The book is now out of print and is very difficult to obtain
out of proportion
- to be showing the wrong proportion relative to something else
The size of the curtains were out of proportion to the small window that we wanted to use them for
out of reach
- to be not near enough to be reached or touched, unattainable
The top of the bookshelf was out of reach and I could not get the dictionary easily
out of season
- to be not easily available for sale at this time of year, to be not legally able to be hunted
Strawberries are now out of season
The hunting of ducks is now out of season
out of service
- to be not now operating
The elevator has been out of service all week
out of shape
- to be not in good physical condition
My mother is out of shape and cannot walk for a long distance
out of sight
- to be not visible
The children were out of sight and we could not see them
Trang 9out of sight
- to be unbelievable/stunning
The view from the tower was absolutely out of sight
out of (something)
- to have none left of something
The restaurant was out of fish so we had meat instead
out of sorts
- to be in a bad mood
He is out of sorts today so you should wait until tomorrow to speak to him
out of spite
- with the desire to harm someone or something
My friend would not help me out of spite for what he thought that I had done to him
out of step
- to be not in step or keeping pace with someone
The soldiers were out of step when they were marching in the parade
out of step with (someone or something)
- to be out of harmony or not in agreement with someone or something
The man is out of step with the rest of the group and he needs to think about what he should be doing
out of stock
Trang 10The hammers were out of stock when I went to the hardware store this afternoon
out of style/fashion
- to be not fashionable, to be obsolete
The kind of jeans that my friend wears have been out of style for a long time now
out of the blue
- to be unexpected, to come from nowhere
From out of the blue I asked my girlfriend if she wanted to get married
out of the corner of one's eye
- at a glance, a glimpse of someone or something
I saw the car coming out of the corner of my eye and quickly moved off the street
out of the frying pan and into the fire
- out of one trouble and into more trouble, from something bad to something worse When he changed jobs he jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire His new job
is much worse
out of the hole
- to be out of debt
I am working at an extra job to try and get out of the hole
out of the ordinary
- to be unusual
There was nothing out of the ordinary that the police saw at the scene of the accident
out of the question
- to be impossible