SIT ABOUT – sit somewhere doing nothing and wasting time In any difficult situation, Florence prefers to sit about hoping somebody else will solve her problems. SIT BACK – 1) to sit somewhere and relax; 2) to not be involved in something...

PASS AROUND/ROUND – to distribute smth among those who are present They were sitting near the fire passing around a bowl with a strange substance inside it. Everybody had to drink it, otherwise it would be disrespectful to others. PASS...

KNOCK ABOUT/AROUND – 1) to discuss something or exchange ideas casually; 2) to beat someone or treat someone in a brutal way; 3) to be or walk somewhere without a purpose Fred knocked his wife about (2)! They seemed to be the perfect...

GROW APART – to experience changes in the relationship and become less friendly or close Despite being very close in the past, Budin and Brumb are growing apart now. They don't share their toys anymore and can't decide who's bigger and...

DROP AROUND – to visit a place for a short time Well, I just think it’s a good idea to drop around Kara to see how she is doing. DROP BACK – 1) to move slower than other people and take the position behind them; 2) to take a lower...

COUNT AGAINST – 1) to be disadvantageous and cause someone or something to fail or be less successful; 2) (count something against someone) to use something against someone Don’t tell’em anything! Your words may count against (1) you and...

CAST ABOUT/AROUND FOR – to search for or think of the right thing to say or do especially when it must be done quickly Translators and interpreters usually face the problem of casting about for an appropriate word or phrase in the target...

KEEP AROUND – to continue to have something near you Mr.Grey grabbed Mr.Purple's collar and grinned: “Don't even expect that I will let you leave. It’s better to keep you around to make sure you don't get us into a mess again" KEEP...

RUN ACROSS – to find / meet / encounter smth by accident. I ran across my childhood diary when I was looking for my birth certificate. RUN AFTER – to chase smth or sb (both literally and figuratively) “He should stop running after her,...

CARRY FORWARD – 1) to take a column of figures or a page and transfer it to the next column or page; 2) to progress or make something or someone else progress Tom, you should carry forward (1) the total from this page to the next one!...

CALL AFTER – to name someone (usually a baby) in honor of someone else How did she even come to an idea to call her baby after a cartoon character? Maybe she got a psychological trauma when she first saw Mufasa’s death? CALL AROUND...

PUSH ABOUT – 1) to give orders, to tell somebody to do something in a very bossy, unkind way; 2) to throw a scare into somebody. Cassie Cage was aware of her mother’s methods of education: being a general, Sonya used to push about (1)...

TURN AGAINST – 1) to start disliking or disagreeing with smth or someone 2) to make someone start disliking or disagreeing with smth or someone. People turned against (1) Simon Shady after they learned about his dealings with the...

GIVE AWAY – to let someone have your possessions or products for free / to tell smth that is supposed to be a secret / to show an emotion that you don’t want to show / to walk a woman down the aisle on her wedding day (usually it’s the...

DRAW BACK – to prefer to not take any actions, to retreat Bellamy's furious look made everyone around him draw back in fear. It was better not to get too cocky and look for a fight with such a man. DRAW DOWN – 1) to physically move...

SHOW AROUND – to take someone to a place for the first time and show them its parts. Come in, guys, I will show you around while we wait for Helen. SHOW IN – to lead someone inside. When Helen arrives, Kyle will show her straight in....

FALL ABOUT – to laugh very hard. Jake has a very dark sense of humor but every time he jokes he makes everyone fall about laughing. FALL APART – to break into pieces/to fail, to stop functioning/to lose control over emotions. I love this...

COME ABOUT – to happen, to occur. I’m sure that most people wouldn’t have read the books if the show had never come about. COME ACROSS – to find or meet by accident, by chance / to seem, to make a certain impression. I was surfing the...

GET ACROSS – to convey a message, to make someone understand a point. Ryan’s art looked nice but I never quite got the ideas he was trying to get across. GET ALONG – to manage to do smth, to handle smth/to be on friendly terms with...

PICK APART – 1) to perform an attempt to find disadvantages in something or someone via very detailed negative analysis; 2) to take something to pieces, disassemble. Knowing that it is as easy for our father to take apart (1) my speech...

TAKE ABACK – to shock, to take by surprise. I was quite taken aback when I heard the news about Sheila’s husband. TAKE AFTER – to resemble (in appearance or character). Let’s hope her son doesn’t take after his father. TAKE APART – take...