take a crack at
The phrase ‘take a crack at (doing) something’ means ‘attempt (to do) something, or take a turn trying (to do) something ‘.
Take it away!
The phrase ‘Take it away!’ means ‘ Let the show begin!‘.
take it from there
The phrase ‘take it from there’ means ‘continue from that point onwards‘.
take note of
The phrase ‘take note of [someone or something]’ can mean one of the following.
It can mean ‘notice [someone or something]‘. It can also mean ‘commit [something about someone or something] to one’s memory, possibly by making a note on paper‘.
take to
The phrase ‘take to’ has several meanings.
One of its meanings is ‘have a fancy, liking or desire for‘.
Another meaning of ‘take to’ is ‘develop a habit‘, as illustrated by the phrase ‘took to drinking‘.
Thirdly, ‘take to’ also means ‘apply oneself to an occupation or practice‘, as illustrated by the phrase ‘take to carpentry‘.
taken on a skew
Do you think the phrase ‘measurement taken on a skew‘ is grammatically correct?
that is
The phrase ‘that is’ means ‘in other words, to clarify, or to explain more clearly‘.
The following sentences serve as examples that illustrate the meaning of ‘that is’:-
- ‘His name is James — James Bond, that is.‘
- ‘He has never met her — not formally, that is.‘
- ‘We will be there tomorrow morning, that is, after about 9 o’clock or so.‘
the first time round
The phrase ‘the [first/second/…] time round’ or ‘the [first/second/…] time around’ means ‘the [first/second/…] time that [something] happens‘.
The thing is
‘The thing is’ is an informal expression that is used to introduce an excuse or an explanation.
the way forward
The phrase ‘the way forward’ refers to a development or action that one approves of because it is likely to lead to success.
the word ‘…’
Consider the sentence ‘Take a look at the word, ”book”.‘.
Although it is a good practice to have a comma in the above sentence (as shown), technically it is not wrong to omit the comma.
There you are
You can say ‘There you are’ when you give something to someone after his/her request for the item, e.g. when you give someone goods that he/she has bought’. An informal equivalent of this phrase is ‘There you go’.
You can also use ‘There you are’ to mean ‘I told you so‘ as illustrated by the following sentence: ‘There you are, I knew you would forget if you did not jot it down.‘
there you go
The phrase ‘there you go’ can be used to express acceptance of something unlucky, as illustrated by the sentence ‘I didn’t win the match, but there you go – I can always try again next time.‘.
there you go again
The phrases ‘there you go again’, ‘there they go again’, etc. are used for emphasizing that an action is often repeated, as illustrated by the sentence ‘There she goes again, making trouble.‘.
this coming Monday
Let’s say today is Friday, 16th November, and you would like to take a day off on 19th November.
If you say to your boss, “I would like to take a day off next Monday“, he might misinterpret that as referring to the Monday after next week, i.e. 26th November. (A lot of people do make the same mistake.)
So, it is better to use the phrase ‘this coming Monday‘ rather than ‘next Monday’ for clarity purpose.
This means
The sentences ‘This means I love you‘ and ‘This means that I love you‘ are both acceptable.
throw shade
The phrase ‘throw shade’ means ‘publicly and subtly issue criticisms, insults, or expressions of disapproval or contempt for someone‘.
The following sentences serve as examples that illustrate the usage of the phrase ‘throw shade’: ‘He threw shade at me, saying, ”Some of us are glued to our couch every weekend!”‘; ‘She is the queen of throwing shade, always criticizing my hairstyle.‘
tick [someone] off
The phrase ‘tick [someone] off’ means ‘make [someone] angry‘.
tie up loose ends
The phrase ‘tie up (some/a few) loose ends’ means ‘finish or resolve (some/a few) issues or pieces of business that have remained outstanding though not critical‘.
to say the least
The phrase ‘to say the least’ means ‘at the very least, or to put it mildly without overemphasizing the subject‘.
to the right
The following sentence serves as an example that illustrates the meaning of the phrase ‘to the right’: ‘At the top of the window TO THE RIGHT of your base name, click the Delete link.‘
track mud/dirt on
The phrase ‘track mud/dirt on the floor’ means ‘leave marks made of mud/dirt on the floor‘.
transitive verb
A ‘transitive verb’ is a ‘verb that requires one or more objects‘.
turn [someone/something] over to
The phrase ‘turn [someone/something] over to [someone/something]’ means ‘assign, release, transfer or deliver [someone (e.g. a bank robber)/something (e.g. money, duties, etc.)] to [someone/something]‘.
turn in for the night
The phrase ‘turn in for the night’ means ‘go to bed‘.