知识加油站－词汇天地

lspjy

176leaps







in leaps and bounds
by leaps and bounds
If something grows or progresses in leaps and bounds or by leaps and bounds, it grows or progresses very rapidly. If someone improves in leaps and bounds or by leaps and bounds, they make rapid progress in something they are doing.

Once child passes his second birthday, speech develops in leaps and bounds and the more you talk to him and involve him in what you do, the greater his vocabulary becomes.

The U.S. population grew by leaps and bounds.

He's improved a in leaps and bounds this season.

lspjy

177days







have seen better days
If you say that something has seen better days, you mean that it is old and in poor condition.

The houses had seen better days and their crumbling plaster was now dirty grey and moist.

There was an old brass double bed with a mattress that had seen better days.

it's early days
it's early in the day
If you say that it's early days in a situation, you mean that it is too soon to be sure about what will happen in the future. You can also say that it's early in the day. These expressions are used in British English.

The British Embassy cannot recall when he last paid a visit. However, it is early days yet and this could swiftly change.

Maybe in time we can find some common ground but it's very early days.

The spokesman did not expect any immediate moves on new competition or pricing policy. `It is very early in the day yet.'

someone's days are numbered
If you say that someone's days are numbered, you mean that they are not likely to survive or be successful for much longer.

days are numbered. He seems mortally ill, is terribly thin, coughs all the time, gasps for breath at the slightest movement, and is running a high temperature.

As rebels advanced on the capital became clear that days in power were numbered.

lspjy

178praise







damn with faint praise

If you damn someone with faint praise,

you say something about them which sounds nice but which shows that you do not really have a high opinion of them. People occasion­ally say that someone is damned by faint praise.

In recent months he has consistently damned the government with faint praise, but earlier this week he issued an appeal for continuity.

Why you English seem oblivious to his talents and damn him with faint praise is totally be­yond us. a You can also just talk about faint praise.

Mr Robinson acknowledged Mr Golub this week as 'the most obvious internal candidate'. That sounds like ominously faint praise.

lspjy

179jam







jam tomorrow
jam today
If someone says `jam tomorrow', they mean that people are being promised that they will have something in the future, although they cannot have it now. This expression is often used to suggest that people are in fact unlikely to receive what they have been promised. It is used mainly in British English.

The City simply does not believe it. It has been promised jam tomorrow too many times before.

There is also an element of `jam tomorrow' about some of Mr Lamont's measures.

Jam today is used to refer to the idea that people can have or get something immediately, rather than having to wait.

Economists generally assume that most people value jam today more highly than the same quantity of jam tomorrow.

lspjy

180gloss







put a gloss on something   
If you put a gloss on something or put an optimistic or positive gloss on it, you try to convince people that things are better than they really are. Other verbs are sometimes used instead of `put'.

The clash came when the smaller auction house attempted to put a gloss on poor figures resulting from the art market slump.

Garland could see no harm in putting an optimistic gloss on what the specialist had actually said.

The gloss put on this most recent setback by Mr Yeltsin's advisers that it is a wise tactical retreat.

lspjy

181places







go places
If you say that someone is going places, you mean that they are showing a lot of talent or ability and are likely to become very successful.

When we came out, one of the doctors said, `You're a hell of a surgeon. You are going places.'

If we can play like that every week, then this club is going places.

in high places
People in high places are people who have powerful and influential positions in a government, society, or organization.

You do not rise so high, so fast, without having a few friends in high places.

Last year's attempted coups had been motivated, the plotters said at the time, by the desire to end corruption in high places.

An opponent talked of his `flawed pedigree'; a rival once spoke of `low standards in high places'.

lspjy

182corner







fight your corner
If you fight your corner, you state your opinion openly and you defend it vigorously. Verbs such as `argue', `defend', and `stand' are sometimes used instead of `fight'. This expression is used in British English.

The future of Britain lies in the EU and we must fight our corner from within using honest and intelligent arguments.

At any rate, he quickly showed that his courage to stand his corner, his enthusiasm and his friendliness made up for any lack of stature.

I always defend my corner and I often disagree with what gets included.

in a corner
in a tight corner
out of a corner
If you are in a corner or in a tight corner, you are in a situation which is difficult to deal with or escape from.

The government is in a corner on interest rates and the same could happen on fiscal policy.

Herb was a big, muscular man on the edge of 50: a guy who could obviously fend for himself if placed in a tight corner.

When he had been in a tight corner before, Mr Gorbachev had been able to use his own powers of persuasion to produce a compromise.

If someone backs you into a corner, they put you in a situation which is difficult to deal with or escape from. You can replace `back' with other verbs such as `force' or `drive'.

As Atwater told the story, his own mother backed him into a corner and asked, `Lee, did you do that?' `No, Mama,' he replied.

He appears to have backed himself into a tight corner and his only escape appears to be promotion.

If something gets you out of a corner or out of a tight corner, it helps you to escape from or deal with a difficult situation.

The South African move has got English cricket officials out of a tight corner.

in your corner
If you say that someone is in your corner or that you have them in your corner, you mean that they are supporting you and helping you.

Harry and I were encouraged. We felt we had made a pretty good despite Irwin and his . From words spoken after our meeting, we felt we already had Bob Uhlein in our corner.

I remember Jackie saying years ago that Red was a gentleman and he always was in his corner, he could always depend on Red to give him the necessary backup he needed.

just around the corner
If you say that something is just around the corner, you mean that it is about to happen. You can vary this expression, for example by saying `just around the next corner', or, in American English, by saying `right around the corner'.

With summer just around the corner, there couldn't be a better time to treat your home to a bright new look.

He said the strike would adversely affect democracy when general elections were just round the corner.

Fearful that war was right around the corner, they promptly began to lay in extensive stores of food supplies.

The worry is about what may lie around the next corner.

paint someone into a corner
box someone into a corner
If someone paints you into a corner or boxes you into a corner, they force you into a difficult situation where you have to act in a certain way. If you paint yourself into a corner or box yourself into a corner, you put yourself in a difficult situation by your own actions.

The big banks have allowed themselves to be painted into a corner. They need deregulation in order to turn things around, but won't be able to get it unless they can reassure the public that deregulation won't result in another financial disaster.

You'll fight to the death when you're boxed into a corner unless you're provided a reasonable way out.

The Government has painted itself into a corner on the issue of equalising the State pension age.

turn the corner
If someone or something turns the corner, they begin to recover from a serious illness or a difficult situation.

Joe turned the corner, medically.

Has California's economy finally turned the corner? In April the official figure for the state's unemployment rate dropped for the second month running.