Phrases & Expressions

To have your meal or entertainment paid for by the person who has invited you.

• Put your wallet away – you are my guest tonight, and I insist on paying.
• When our partners visited from Japan, we asked them to be our guests for dinner at the best restaurant in town.

To be placed far apart from each other over a wide area.

• Finding a meeting time that suits everyone is hard when team members are spread out across four time zones.
• In rural Scotland the population is spread out over a vast area, which makes public transport expensive.

To have a particular group of people working in a place or organisation.

• The student helpline is staffed by trained volunteers twenty-four hours a day.
• In remote areas, small clinics are often staffed by just one nurse and a part-time doctor.

To have an office job that keeps you inside and seated for most of the day.

• I became a park ranger because I couldn't bear the thought of being stuck behind a desk.
• Promotion means more money, but it also means I'll be stuck behind a desk instead of visiting clients.

To be better in quality than something else.

• Many readers believe that printed books are superior to e-books for deep, focused reading.
• The new model's camera is far superior to anything else on the market at this price.

To believe that certain things bring good or bad luck, without any logical reason.

• Many hotels have no room 13 because some guests are superstitious about that number.
• Professional footballers are often superstitious about what they wear or eat on match days.

To be extremely pleased and excited about something.

• My grandmother was thrilled to bits when we surprised her with a party for her eightieth birthday.
• The volunteers were thrilled to bits when the charity raised twice as much money as they had hoped.

To accept other people's beliefs or behaviour even when you disagree with them.

• Living abroad made me much more tolerant of different customs and religious beliefs.
• A healthy democracy needs citizens who are tolerant of opinions they strongly disagree with.

To be covered by a manufacturer's promise to fix or exchange a faulty product free of charge.

• Keep your receipt, because the TV is under guarantee for two years from the date of purchase.
• Before paying for repairs, check whether your washing machine is still under guarantee.

To be working properly, especially after being newly set up or repaired.

• The new online enrolment system should be up and running before the start of the autumn term.
• Within six months of the funding being approved, the community recycling centre was up and running.