Phrases & Expressions

Deliberate unfriendliness.

• She gave me the cold shoulder.
• Why are you giving him the cold shoulder?

To accept a difficult situation or unpleasant fact.

• He's coming to terms with the loss.
• She came to terms with the divorce.

The best of a particular group of people or things.

• In women's tennis, the Williams sisters are the cream of the crop.
• Of course you'll get accepted to Harvard — you're the cream of the crop.

Wearing very fashionable and attractive clothes, often to impress.

• She came dressed to kill.
• He was dressed to kill.

To negotiate forcefully so that the agreement reached favors you.

• I wanted to pay less for the car, but the salesman drove a hard bargain.
• Eric drove a hard bargain and got the company to raise their salary offer by $15,000.

Excessively conceited or self-absorbed.

• After she won the award, she became really full of herself.
• Mitch thinks he's amazing — he's so full of himself.

To gain understanding of or control over something.

• This new computer program is very difficult — I still haven't gotten a handle on it.
• Once you get a handle on how the game works, please explain it to everyone else.

To be very helpful or effective in achieving something.

• A little kindness goes a long way.
• This advice will go a long way in your career.

To fail completely; to go bankrupt.

• Many people lost their jobs when the factory went belly up.
• My company lost $3 million last year; we might go belly up.

To lose control and behave in a way that is not normal or acceptable.

• He went off the rails after the divorce.
• Don't let things go off the rails.