知识加油站－词汇天地

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148roof







go through the roof1

hit the roof

go through the ceiling

If the level of something such as the price of a product or the rate of inflation suddenly increases very rapidly, you can say that it goes through the roof or hits the roof. You can use `ceiling' instead of `roof'.

Interest rates were going through the roof.

In 1990, wool prices hit the roof.

Sales went through the ceiling and pharmacists began reporting shortages of the drug.



go through the roof2

hit the roof

hit the ceiling

If someone goes through the roof or hits the roof, they suddenly become very angry, and usually show their anger by shouting at someone. You can use `ceiling' instead of `roof'.

I admitted I had ordered a racing car, and found myself in terrible trouble. He went through the roof!

I don't know what to think. Everyone seems angry with me. My parents have hit the roof.

I hit the ceiling. I had wanted her sympathy, and I thought she was being really hard on me. I flounced out and drove home.



raise the roof  

lift the roof

If a person or a crowd of people raises the roof, they make a very loud noise, for example by cheering, singing, or shouting. In British English, you can also say that someone lifts the roof.

When the night staff came on, the infant was still raising the roof.

Best audience I've ever had in my life -- they practically raised the roof.

The cheers and roars of approval lifted the pavilion roof.

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149powderkeg







sit on a powder keg

If you say that someone is sitting on a powder keg, you mean that they are in a very dangerous situation, in which something could suddenly go seriously wrong at any time.

Prime Minister was all too aware that he was sitting on a powder keg which could explode at any moment.

Is there a sense Turkey that you really are sitting there on a powder keg, that any one of these conflicts that we've been talking about could erupt at any moment and really engulf your country?

People often use powder keg to refer to a dangerous situation or to a place where disaster could suddenly happen.

The trial the men accused of beating Reginald Denny is viewed here as even more of a powder keg than the retrial of the policemen accused of beating Rodney King.

The region has long been regarded as the powder keg of Europe.

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150picture







get the picture
If someone gets the picture, they understand what another person is trying to explain or describe to them. This expression is often used in contexts where you are saying that someone does not understand something immediately.

was giggling. She was beginning to get the picture.

They smoke, they play snooker, they do the pools. You get the picture, I'm sure.

in the picture1
If you say that someone is in the picture, you mean that they are involved in the situation you are talking about. Compare out of the picture.

Some don't believe it will ever be safe to go home as long as the are still in the picture.

If there is a home-wrecker in the picture, it is not her.

in the picture2   
If you are in the picture for promotion or success, you are very likely to get a promotion or be successful. Compare out of the picture.

I don't think Foreman is in the picture. The only way we would consider him is if he fought and beat someone like Lennox Lewis.

He told me that Annabella was back in the picture. She was the best one they could find.

out of the picture1  
If you say that someone is out of the picture, you mean that they are no longer involved in the situation you are talking about. Compare in the picture.

Once Derek was out of the picture, however, Malcolm's visits to the Swires became more frequent.

Maybe with Paula out of the picture, would be willing to talk.

out of the picture2
If someone is out of the picture, they are not one of the people who is being considered for a promotion or place on a team. Compare in the picture.

But I've been told I'm fifth-choice striker, so I'm totally out of the picture.

put someone in the picture
keep someone in the picture
If you put someone in the picture, you tell them about a situation which they need to know about. If you keep them in the picture, you keep them aware of any changes or developments in the situation. These expressions are used in British English.

I believe that I could now produce evidence to prove my case, if you are prepared to listen. I brought you here for that reason, to put you in the picture.

Has Inspector Fayard put you in the picture?

He's changed so many things -- too many to mention. But he's always kept me in the picture.

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151cost







count the cost
If you count the cost of something damaging or harmful, you consider the extent of the damage or harm that has been done. This expression is used mainly in British English.

Meanwhile, the government counted the cost of an action that humiliated it at home and abroad.

Many people have gone in hot pursuit of someone who physically fulfils their fantasies only to count the cost later when things go wrong.

The central government in Delhi is today counting the political cost of the escalating Tamil Nadu and which has already prompted the resignation of one government minister.

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152bush







the bush telegraph
If you talk about the bush telegraph, you are talking about the way in which information or news can be passed on from person to person in conversation. This expression is used in British English.

No, you didn't tell me, but I heard it on the bush telegraph.

Jean-Michel had heard of our impending arrival in Conflans long before we got there. The bush telegraph on the waterways is extremely effective.

not beat around the bush
not beat about the bush
If you don't beat around the bush, you say what you want to say clearly and directly, without avoiding its unpleasant aspects. In British English, you can also say that you don't beat about the bush.

I decided not to beat around the bush. `I'm at I told her. didn't come back from his paper route yet. Nobody knows where he is.'

Let's not beat about the bush -- they rejected it. The Review Group said it was their most important single recommendation and the Government rejected it.

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153rule







a rule of thumb
A rule of thumb is a general rule about something which you can be confident will be right in most cases.

As a rule of thumb, drink a glass of water or pure fruit juice every hour you are travelling.

A good rule of thumb for any type of studio especially is to use no more light sources than are strictly necessary.

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154dog







die like a dog
If someone dies like a dog, they die in a painful and undignified way, usually after they have been shot or injured in a violent fight. This is an old-fashioned expression.

film begins with our chic hero stealing cars and ends with him dying like a dog in the street.

a dog and pony show
If you refer to an event as a dog and pony show, you mean that it is very showy because it has been organized in order to impress someone. This expression is used mainly in American English.

I'm bombarding him and the others with charts, graphs, facts, and figures. responds by dozing off during most of our dog and pony show.

The first step in Florida, as in most states, is the governor's office applying for a share of federal grant money. If, months later, the money is granted, state agencies spend more months putting on `dog and pony shows' in hopes of getting a share.

dog-eat-dog
You use dog-eat-dog to describe a situation in which everyone wants to succeed and is willing to harm other people or to use dishonest methods in order to do this.

In the 1992 campaign, that if it was going to be `dog eat dog' he would do anything it took to get himself re-elected.

The TV business today is a dog-eat-dog business.

dog-in-the-manger
If you say that someone has a dog-in-the-manger attitude, you are criticizing them for selfishly wanting to prevent other people from using or enjoying something that they cannot use or enjoy themselves.

I think there'll be a certain group of intransigent Republicans who'll take a dog-in-the-manger kind of attitude and that try to frustrate anything the president wants to achieve.

The council has an ambivalent attitude to the Carnival. On the one hand it has a high regard for its tourist benefits, but on the other does not want it to the thunder too too high a . It's a dog-in-the-manger attitude which has taken the fun out of a great event.

a dog's breakfast
a dog's dinner
If you refer to a situation, event, or piece of work as a dog's breakfast or a dog's dinner, you mean that it is chaotic, badly organized, or very untidy. These expressions are used in British English.

The act created what many admitted was an over-complex but inadequate regulate the selling of life assurance, personal pensions and unit . One senior regulator described it as a dog's breakfast.

Now she's having to watch as those whom she grew up with in politics are in Cabinet and making a dog's breakfast of it.

The whole place was a bit of a dog's dinner, really.

every dog has its day
If you say `every dog has its day', you mean that everyone will be successful or lucky at some time in their life. This expression is sometimes used to encourage someone at a time when they are not having any success or luck.

Former England Davies said: `Every dog has his day, although the way I kicked throughout the game, who would have thought that drop goal would even reach the posts?'

`I don't have any money to fight him. These people are all the time in court, anyway,' Cecchini says. every dog has its day I have lots of patience.'

it's a dog's life
People say `it's a dog's life' when they are complaining that their job or situation is unpleasant or boring.

It's a dog's life being a football manager.

you can't teach an old dog new tricks
If you say `you can't teach an old dog new tricks', you mean that it is often difficult to get people to try new ways of doing things, especially if these people have been doing something in a particular way for a long time.

It is a convenient myth that a person cannot change their personality. Or as the saying leopard cannot change his spots' `You can't teach an old dog new tricks'.

This expression is often varied. For example, if you say `you can teach an old dog new tricks', you mean that it is possible to get people to try new ways of doing something.

Our work shows that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

An old dog can learn new tricks if he has both the will and the opportunity.