Phrases & Expressions

To stay at someone's home or at an event for longer than the host would like.

• We left straight after dinner because we didn't want to outstay our welcome in their tiny flat.
• Guests who outstay their welcome can put a strain on even the closest friendships.

Too old to do something well, especially a job or a sport.

• Some employers wrongly assume that workers in their fifties are over the hill and unable to learn new skills.
• I'm fifty, but I'm hardly over the hill — I've just started learning the guitar and I love it!

To behave in a way that goes beyond what is acceptable or polite.

• Publishing photos of the actor's young children was a clear case of the newspaper overstepping the mark.
• I know you were angry, but you overstepped the mark by insulting your manager in front of everyone.

To describe someone in a way that makes people think well of that person.

• The documentary paints the factory owner in a positive light, but former workers describe him very differently.
• The biography paints the inventor in a positive light and ignores his failures.

To bring advantages or good results, often at a later time.

• Regular revision throughout the year paid dividends when exam season finally arrived.
• The company's investment in staff training has paid dividends, as productivity has risen sharply.

To praise someone or something extremely highly, sometimes more than they deserve.

• The critics praised the film to the skies, but I found it slow and rather predictable.
• Her teachers praised her to the skies, so her parents were surprised when her exam results were only average.

To promise someone wonderful things that you are very unlikely to be able to give them.

• Some online language courses promise students the earth, claiming they will be fluent within a month.
• The salesman promised us the earth, but the internet connection turned out to be slower than before.

To start living permanently in a place and become part of the local community.

• Young professionals find it hard to put down roots in big cities where rents rise every year.
• Many refugees want nothing more than a safe place where they can put down roots and raise their children.

To feel so sure that something will happen that you would be willing to bet on it.

• If you ask me, the new café will close within a year – I'd put good money on it.
• Most analysts would put good money on interest rates staying the same this month.

To be so much better than something else that it seems unimportant by comparison.

• The new phone's camera puts its rivals in the shade, especially for night-time photography.
• The city's new science museum puts the older museums in the shade with its interactive displays and virtual reality rooms.