Commonly used english part 70 ppt

put one's money where one's mouth is - to stop talking and do something I want the man to put his money where his mouth is and begin to do more than talk about things.. put one's nose to

put one`s foot in one`s mouth

- to say something that is the wrong thing to say in a situation

He put his foot in his mouth when he told his girlfriend about the surprise party

put one's head on the block for (someone or something)

- to take great risks for someone or something

Our supervisor was always willing to put his head on the block for any member of the staff

put one's mind to (something)

- to give one's complete attention to something

The boy can do anything if he puts his mind to it

put one's money where one's mouth is

- to stop talking and do something

I want the man to put his money where his mouth is and begin to do more than talk about things

put one's nose to the grindstone

- to keep busy doing one's work

I put my nose to the grindstone and worked all weekend on my history essay

put one`s own house in order

- to organize one`s own private affairs

Our boss should put his own house in order before he tells others what to do

put one's shoulder to the wheel

- to get busy and start working

I put my shoulder to the wheel and tried to finish my work so I could go home early

put one's thinking cap on

- to start thinking in a serious manner

I put my thinking cap on and tried to think of a name for the student newspaper

put one's two cents (worth) in

- to add one's comments to (something)

I tried to put my two cents in at the meeting but nobody would listen to me

put oneself in (someone) else's place

- to allow oneself to see or experience something from someone else's point of view

It was difficult to put myself in the woman's place after she had lost her only child

put our/your heads together

- to confer about something, to discuss something

We put our heads together to think of a new name for the football team

put out a fire/a light

- to make a flame or light stop burning, to extinguish a flame/fire

The police were able to put out the fire before the fire department arrived

put out about (something)

- to be inconvenienced or irritated about something

My friend was put out that her sister did not call her when she was in town

put out (some) feelers

- to attempt to find out something without being too obvious about it

I put out some feelers to see if it would be easy to find another job

put out (something)

- to produce/make something

The company decided to put out a newsletter for the employees

The band will put out another record soon

put some teeth into (something)

- to increase the power of something

The government plans to put some teeth into the new laws against property crime

put (someone or something) at (someone's) disposal

- to make someone or something available to someone

I put myself at my friend's disposal when he visited me last summer

put (someone) away

- to put someone in a mental institution/hospital

The man was doing much damage to himself and had to be put away in a mental institution

put (someone) down as (something bad)

- to judge that someone is bad or undesirable in some way

The store clerk immediately put the young man down as someone who may steal something in the store

put (someone) down for (something)

- to put someone's name on a list of people who volunteer to do something/give money for something/wait for something

The salesman put me down for one of the new cars that will soon arrive at the car dealership

put (someone) in his or her place

- to scold someone for rude or bad behavior, to rebuke someone

Our teacher was very angry and put the student in his place for his rude remark

put (someone) in the picture

- to tell someone what the situation is

The supervisor has finally decided to put me in the picture about the new policy at work

put (someone) off

- to make someone feel uneasy, to avoid responding to someone

He put me off with his complaints about our company

put (someone) on

- to fool or joke with someone, to tease someone

I think that my friend is putting me on I do not believe that he will move to Italy

put (someone) on a pedestal

- to respect/admire/worship a person

My father used to put my mother on a pedestal when I was young

put (someone) on hold

- to leave someone waiting during a telephone call

I phoned the bank and the receptionist put me on hold

put (someone) on the spot

- to ask someone embarrassing questions

The teacher put me on the spot with her questions during the class

put (someone) out

- to inconvenience/bother someone

I do not want to put my aunt out so I plan to stay in a hotel when I visit her

put (someone or something) out of one`s head/mind

- to try not to think about someone or something

My friend has been trying to put his girlfriend out of his mind since they stopped seeing each other

put (someone or something) out to pasture

- to retire someone or something

We finally decided to put the old horse out to pasture and stop riding him

put (someone) through the wringer

- to cause a lot of stress for someone

The man put his wife through the wringer during their long divorce

put (someone) to bed

- to help/make someone (often a child) go to bed

put (someone) to shame

- to be much better than someone else, to embarrass someone

The school project of my neighbor's child put our child to shame

put (someone or something) to sleep

- to cause someone to sleep/die through drugs or anesthesia

The doctor put the woman to sleep before the operation began

put (someone or something) to the test

- to see what someone or something can achieve or do

I put my boss to the test when I asked him to replace our sales manager at work

put (someone) up

- to provide lodging for someone

I always put my friend up when he comes to visit

put (someone) up to (something)

- to persuade or cause someone to do something

The boy's friend put him up to cheat on the examination

put (something) down in black and white

- to write something on paper, to write the details of something down on paper, to write down the terms of an agreement/contract

I had to put my proposal down in black and white

put (something) down to (something)

- to explain something as being caused by something else

The police put the accident down to the bad road conditions at the time

put (something) forward

- to state or advance an idea

I put my new plan forward at the meeting to see if anyone was interested in it

put (something) in mothballs

- to put something in storage

The government decided to put the old ferry in mothballs

put (something) into practice

- to start using a plan or idea

I think that our supervisor should put some of his ideas into practice

put (something) into print

- to have something printed and published

It was difficult to get the company to put the information pamphlets into print

put (something) into words

- to find a way to express a feeling with words

It was difficult to put my sadness at my aunt's death into words

put (something) on hold

- to postpone something, to stop the progress of something

We decided to put the weekend trip on hold

put (something) on ice

- to delay or postpone something

The city put the plans for the new stadium on ice as they tried to get more money for

put (something) on paper

- to write something down

I put my ideas for the new business on paper

put (something) on the back burner

- to delay or postpone something

We have put our plans for a holiday on the back burner as we try to do some repairs to our house

put (something) on the line

- to speak very firmly and directly about something

I put my reputation on the line when I supported my friend and his business proposal

put (something) over on (someone)

- to fool/trick someone

He was trying to put something over on his boss when he said that he was sick and could not come to work

put (something) past (someone)

- to be surprised by what someone does (usually used in the negative)

I would not put it past my friend to try and change jobs for the second time this year

put (something) plainly

- to state something firmly and explicitly

My supervisor put his ideas very plainly when we gathered for the monthly meeting

put (something) straight

- to clarify something

I tried to put our communication problems straight when I met my friend last evening

put (something) to good use

- to be able to use something

We were able to put the new computer to good use when we finally got it

put (something) to rest

- to put an end to a rumor, to finish dealing with a problem and forget about it

I want to put the rumor to rest that I will soon leave my company

put (something) together

- to consider some facts and arrive at a conclusion

The police were able to put the boy's story together after they interviewed him for several hours

put (something) up

- to build a building/sign/fence/wall

They are putting some new apartments up near our house

put (somewhere) on the map

- to make a place well-known

The new museum has put our city on the map

put the bite on (someone)

- to ask someone for money or favors

put the blame on (someone)

- to blame someone

The teacher put the blame on the young boys for breaking the school desks

put the cart before the horse

- to do things in the wrong or usual order

I think that he is putting the cart before the horse to talk about remodeling the house before he even buys it

put the finger on (someone)

- to accuse someone, to identify someone as the one who did something

The woman put the finger on the young man as the person who took the CD player

put the heat/squeeze on (someone)

- to put pressure on someone

The hospital is putting the heat on the insurance company to pay them the money

put the kibosh on (something)

- to put an end to something

I put the kibosh on my friend's plan to change our travel plans

put the screws to (someone)

- to try to force someone to do or say what you want

The police put the screws to the criminal to try and get some information from him